Princeton University Remembers 9/11

There was an eerie silence south of 14^th Street.

Firefighters coated with grey dust walked the streets near Ground Zero while people applauded a fire truck that drove by.

Thousands of letters of pictures of family and friends were posted on makeshift billboards, left by those desperate to make contact with loved ones.

There was an outpouring of compassion in the days and months after the attacks, former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley ‘65 told a packed crowd at Princeton University’s Gathering of Remembrance of Sept. 11, 2001 on Sunday.

“Too often that humanity is covered up by the pursuit of material things, worrying about what other people think, the anxiety of personal relationships, the grind of everyday life, to get an A, to climb that personal ladder.

“The challenge is for us to access that energy that gives us compassion in crisis and hold it with us every day,” Bradley said. “The result would be a different society.”

Bradley spoke at Cannon Green on Sunday afternoon, along with university President Shirley M. Tilghman, Philosophy Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah, Chloe Wholforth ’07 and Charles Metzger ’13.

Metzger didn’t have close friends or family who died that day.

He didn’t live in New York or Washington, D.C.

But like millions of others, he remembers exactly where he was that day and hopes it will spur his generation to action.

“I continue to hope that the events of 2001 have changed all of us and I hope it has brought terror and intolerance to our generation to create a new sense of civic engagement that will ensure that the events of a decade ago are never repeated.”

Chloe Wholforth’s father, Martin Phillips Wholforth, ’53, died while working at Sandler O’Neil on the 104^th floor of the second tower.

“I grew up loving Princeton because my dad loved Princeton, and that’s just what little girls do,” Chloe said.

Two months after her father died, Chloe received her acceptance letter to Princeton. She arrived on campus for her freshman year on the one-year anniversary of her father’s death.

On September 14, 2003, Princeton University dedicated its memorial garden to honor the 13 Princetonians who died on Sept. 11, 2001.  

Tilghman said Princeton, like other colleges and universities, is well positioned to promote cultural tolerance.

"As we welcome the class of 2015 and embark on a new academic year, let us dedicate ourselves to building the strongest possible bridges between us and others, regardless of race, creed and culture, and to rekindle the flames of personal and collective engagement that burned so brightly in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks,” she said. 

The university on Sunday also held a private memorial service on campus and an community interfaith service at 7 p.m.