Photos by Mark Schmidt

With an outpouring of compassion and unity in countless ways, UAlbany students, faculty and staff quickly responded to Tuesday's horrific events.

By the hundreds, UAlbany community members lined up to donate blood at the Campus Center in the hours after the terrorist attacks. UAlbany members of National Guard units, six Five Quad EMTs, and others prepared to join rescue efforts in New York City. And in small and large groups, in organized and informal gatherings, UAlbany community members offered support to one another.

Carl Martin, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, leads UAlbany community in the pledge of allegiance.

On Tuesday evening, as many as 1,000 students, faculty and staff attended a candlelight vigil around the main fountain area at the center of the campus.

   
And an even larger UAlbany group — an estimated 3,000 in number — walked together, joined hands, shared prayers and sang together on Wednesday during a Campus Unity Walk.

"As we all come together today, we are united in our compassion for the members of our University family — indeed for all who have lost loved ones in yesterday's tragic events, united in our support of those who suffer the agony of grave injury or the terrible anguish of not yet knowing the fate of their friends and family, united in our desire to be of service to those in need, and united in our commitment to democratic ideals — to freedom and the value of each and every human life," said University President Karen R. Hitchcock at the Campus Unity Walk.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Raymond Murphy and his family. A freshman here, Raymond lost his father, one of the many courageous firemen who gave their lives to save others," said Hitchcock.

President Hitchcock's remarks at the Campus Unity Walk

"Our students have come together like I have never seen them come together before," said Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Carson Carr. Then, speaking directly to the many students who participated in the walk, Carr said their many acts of compassion boded well for the future for "you are our future leadership. We are counting on you."

As she walked, sophomore Lakiesha Hall recounted how she had spent the hours following the attacks trying to get information about relatives who worked at the World Trade Center. An uncle, she said, was one who escaped before the buildings collapsed, but her family had not yet heard from a cousin. Her godmother, Elaine Penn, had come to Lakiesha's residence hall on Tuesday night to pray with her and friends.

Following the Campus Unity Walk, faculty members led campus forums and teach-ins.

The School of Business Faculty held a session on current events in the context of ethics, reason, and culture in the Campus Center Assembly Hall.

The New York State Writers Institute offered readings by English department faculty William Kennedy, Judith Johnson, Pierre Joris, and Donald Faulkner, in Humanities 354.

Wednesday evening, School of Social Welfare faculty held a session on coping with trauma in the Page Hall lounge of the downtown campus.

Also providing teach-ins were the College of Arts and Sciences, the Schools of Criminal Justice and Education, the School of Information Science and Policy, and the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. The latter offered a session on international, domestic, and political policy implications of the tragedy.

Approximately 36 percent of the University's undergraduate students come from Long Island and New York City. Classes were cancelled Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, but were scheduled to resume Thursday.

Campus Unity Walk Photos