One year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks shook the nation and brought life at Duke to a sudden halt, the University will commemorate the anniversary with a day filled with academic and spiritual events, all with a somber and respectful tone.
Last year's events have impacted almost all aspects of life on campus, which The Chronicle today details in an enclosed supplement. From bioterrorism research to blood donations, the University's last year has bared the scars of Sept. 11.
Despite the changes, however, a quiet sense of normalcy has returned to life and work at Duke. Just as classes continued throughout Sept. 11 last year, they will remain uninterrupted today, with professors encouraged to incorporate the anniversary into their class discussions, if possible. Other work and research around the University and in the Medical Center will also go on as normal as possible.
Central to the University's remembrance of the attacks and the more than 3,000 people who died is the chiming of a Chapel bell at the exact times of each of the major events exactly one year ago, beginning with the 8:46 a.m. crashing of American Flight 11 into the north tower of the World Trade Center. The bell will toll for five more events, plus six additional times at 11 a.m. for each of the Duke alumni who died in the attacks. Trees will also be planted in the West-Edens Link quad in honor of the six.
Anniversary observances are set to begin early in the day, with an 8 a.m. tribute at the Duke University Museum of Art including remarks by President Nan Keohane. Throughout the day, memorial services, academic discussions and spiritual gatherings will also commemorate the date.
Memorial services will take place at the School of Law, the Fuqua School of Business, the Duke University Police Department station and on the Chapel Quadrangle.
The University will also host academic discussions at the School of Law at noon, at the White Lecture Hall at 1:10 p.m. for a political science analysis, and at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy at 7 p.m. for a multidisciplinary approach.
The Chapel will be open throughout the day, and there will be hourly prayers. At 10 a.m., Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe professor of theological ethics, will preach in York Chapel. An interfaith service will begin at 1 p.m. in the Duke Chapel, followed by a Vespers service at 5:15 p.m. and a Catholic Mass at 9 p.m.
Other groups will commemorate the day with smaller gatherings across campus and in the Medical Center.
In preparing for the anniversary, administrators said they expected the tone of the day to be somber and respectful, and they urged the University community to reflect on how their own lives have changed since Sept. 11, 2001.
With that date ingrained forever in the minds of all Americans, Duke plans to forge on, pausing for a day to remember and reflect.
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