Healing and progress were the themes of the memorial gathering on Library Mall Wednesday morning to commemorate the anniversary of Sept. 11. In remarks delivered to a crowd of several hundred students, faculty and community members, UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley and Associated Students of Madison Chair Bryan Gadow expressed sorrow for the tragedies of a year ago.
The bulk of both speeches, however, praised America, the Madison community and the university for moving forward.
Wiley emphasized the importance unity has played in the aftermath of the attacks, especially on a diverse campus like UW-Madison.
\Today, we are again united by our common feelings'feelings of grief and sorrow, of appreciation for the sacrifice of heroes and of hope for the future,"" he said. ""While today I am filled with sadness about the tragedies that befell our country one year ago. ... I also have great feelings of pride.""
The chancellor cited Madison's ""good will, generosity of spirit and great resolve"" as evidence of commitment to unity after the attacks, saying, ""Our shared memories give us reason to mourn today, but our shared ideals give us reason to believe in the potential of tomorrow.""
Though Wiley was optimistic throughout his speech, he noted that images have now become part of our ""geography of human suffering.""
However, he said he felt even these painful recollections have a purpose.
""We owe it to the victims to seek to understand these attacks. ... Memory, although at times painful, is our path to understanding and we must follow it,"" he said.
Gadow's speech focused primarily on students' responses to the attacks and their commitment to ""repairing our nation's wounds"" one year later. He noted that previous generations were often asked where they were when former President John Kennedy was assassinated.
""When historians reflect upon the events of September 11th in years to come, the same kind of question will be asked of our generation,"" he said.
The fear of cultural differences caused by attacks was another element of Gadow's remarks.
Although they united many Americans, the events ""also induced harassment of peoples based upon cultural backgrounds and national origins due to fear and misunderstanding,"" he said. ""This was even apparent on our own campus.""
However, he commended the community for continuing to ""work through this fear,"" citing students' willingness to donate time and effort to repairing the wounds created that morning.
Following the speakers' comments and a minute of silence, the bell in Music Hall tolled for a full minute to commemorate the time by which all three planes had crashed Sept. 11. A bagpiper played ""Amazing Grace,"" and the crowd was left to its own reflections.
The program comforted UW-Madison juniors Susan Evans and Jill Peerenboom.
""It's nice to unite and share feelings with people who are feeling similar,"" Peerenboom said.
Evans, who echoed the speakers' praise of unity, said, ""I wanted to share this with the community and take advantage of the community of school, too.""
However, Alix, a UW-Madison freshman from New Jersey, felt uncomfortable with the memorial's emphasis on progress, leading to an emotional response.
""Our town lost a lot of people,"" she said. ""It's a little hard to move ahead. It was a very positive speech, but I think they could have been a little more compassionate for people who aren't quite ready to move ahead.\
