Memorial Service Remarks
President Karen R. Hitchcock
University at Albany
Recreation and Convocation CenterSeptember 21, 2001
Good afternoon and welcome to you all.
The cruel tragedy we all share, though now some ten days in our collective past, remains as vivid and horrifying as it was during the morning hours of September 11. It will remain in our minds and hearts for the rest of our lives ... seared into our consciousness by the enormity of human anguish.
We all continue to share the deep sorrow of that moment and the hours that followed ... a time of hate and violence and unspeakable loss.
While our identity as New Yorkers and Americans focuses our attention on the ever-unfolding tragedy in our beloved New York City, in Virginia and Pennsylvania ... towns and cities all over this country are suffering the loss of deeply loved members of their communities. Indeed, these acts of terrorism have affected much of the world. Citizens of over 80 countries have been lost ... their lives cut short by an act of such barbarism that we are still unable to accept its reality.
And even as our brothers and sisters across the globe suffer their own painful losses, they have reached out to us here at the University at Albany ... we have heard from the Chancellor of Moscow State University and the Rector of the Universidad Del Salvador in Buenos Aires, from colleagues in Israel, India, China, England, Saudi Arabia, France, and on and on. Their message? "We are grieving and mourning with you."
Today we come together to grieve, to mourn with those of our University family and those throughout our community who have suffered most directly from the horrific acts visited on our country. Our students, faculty, staff and alumni have lost mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and beloved friends. And, sadly, we continue to hear of others severely injured, and still missing. Our dear friend, Commissioner Arthur Roth, lost 39 of his colleagues in the Department of Taxation and Finance. We have lost women and men who graduated from our University, and who greatly enriched their alma mater by their presence. Some were firefighters, others I am certain displayed acts of quiet courage we will never know. All were innocent people whose loss affects us deeply.
We come together today united in our compassion for all who have lost their loved ones; united in our prayers for those lost those gravely injured; united in our commitment to democratic ideals — to freedom and the value of each and every human life.
As painful as it is to do so, we must commit to memory these tragic events in honor of those who have suffered ... those who have been lost. And commit ourselves to our belief in the rights of people everywhere to life and to freedom ... to our abhorrence of hatred, violence, bigotry and the ignorance that breeds these evils.
It is in fulfilling the responsibilities placed upon all of us by our commitment to democracy and to the sanctity of human life that we will best memorialize those of our University family who have lost their lives so prematurely, so tragically.
Here in our University community we are united by shared values and beliefs ... by the belief that knowledge can triumph over cruelty and violence; by the belief that each of us, each human life is important and valuable beyond measure; by the belief that the differences which have so long divided and confounded us can be bridged with compassion and mutual understanding.
Now more than ever before, we must, together, speak out ... must stand up for these beliefs.
If, in our despair, we abandon these beliefs and values ... if we lash out indiscriminately in order to ease our own pain; if we let our fears prevent us from defending the core values which define us; if we become too lazy to seek out hard truths and let simple-minded slogans substitute for real thought; if we don't seek to understand the context of this tragedy and the democratic imperatives for our future — then we will have lost ourselves and our way of life.
But, if we remain vigilant in defense of human freedom and dignity, seeking actively to understand our world and each other, we will create a living monument to the thousands that we have lost.
Throughout the days since we were so heinously attacked, millions have come together from all over the world in shared compassion and grief. Leaders of almost every country on earth, virtually every organized religion, have stepped forward in abhorrence of these unspeakable acts. Here in our own community, we have seen selfless acts of courage and compassion. Our students, faculty, staff, alumni and our community neighbors have sought to respond in any way possible ... donating blood, medical supplies and money for the victims, joining the rescue efforts in New York City, providing trauma and grief counseling ... and reaching out in every possible way to comfort those in need.
I am so very proud to be a part of such a loving community.
Indeed, such loving communities exist across our region, our state, our nation, our world. And therein lies our hope for the future. For a moment in time, we are all united, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion. In this moment of shared anguish, we have learned that we can draw hope from each other; that we can become stronger, more compassionate, more devoted than ever to each other.
There can be no more powerful a memorial to those we've lost. We will honor them to the degree that we focus our justifiable anger and frustration on the defense of our principles — overcoming hate, not adding to it; rejecting prejudice, not condoning it; responding to this evil act with wisdom and balance; protecting the innocent and supporting them in our mutual time of mourning.
We can, together, persevere through this terrible time. Love will triumph over hatred and ignorance. We know this in our hearts. Yes, this is the memorial we can build together to honor those we have lost ... those who will always be in our hearts and in our prayers. Please, let us join hands now in a moment of silence for all those injured and killed ... for all those suffering the terrible loss of a loved one ... for all those who continue to risk their lives for others ... for all who are in pain.
Interfaith Memorial Service Honoring Victims and Remembering Their Families
