On the evening of Sept. 11, 2007, less than 50 students attended a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of Sept. 11 outside of Sykes Student Union, an outcome that disappointed not only the people who put the vigil together, but the people who attended the vigil too. Two years ago, upperclassmen who attended said at least 200 people were holding candles outside of Sykes. “Some students didn’t even know what today was,” one student said. “It’s really upsetting.”
When are too many years enough? When do you say “no more vigils?” Those are the questions Steve McKiernan, director of Student Programs, and Dave Timmann, director of Sykes Student Union, are now faced with because of the lack of response to the candlelight vigil and how the number of people attending continue to decrease.
“We will continue holding vigils for as long as students keep coming,” Timmann said.
West Chester University students are being asked because these students are the future of the vigils. If nobody attends, then the vigils will end. But if people continue to attend to remember and reflect, then the vigils will continue, according to McKiernan and Timmann.
“We didn’t advertise it [this year] because we wanted to see how many people would come,” McKiernan and Timmann said. “We wanted to see how many people would remember.” Also, in contrast with previous years, there were no formal speeches or erected memorials – just silence. A few students spoke on the event and how it impacted their lives.
Next year, they plan on doing the same.
McKiernan and Timmann report that they do plan on holding another candlelight vigil for the Virginia Tech massacre anniversary that everybody is welcome to attend sometime in the spring.
“We just hope people don’t forget [September 11th] like they forgot Pearl Harbor,” McKiernan said.
Jenn Halligan is a first-year student majoring in secondary English education. She can be reached at JH653435@wcupa.edu.