Memorial commemorating 9/11 anniversary to be unveiled

Students, faculty, administrators and members of the public will gather tonight at 6 p.m. in front of the Dept. of Public Safety office to unveil a monument commemorating the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The memorial features a piece of an I-beam from the World Trade Center, and the event will be free and open to the public. The Fire Department of New York and the September 11th Families’ Association donated the structure after Jennifer Massey, a senior majoring in history, spearheaded an effort to establish a remembrance memorial for the victims of Sept. 11 at USC.

Massey came up with the idea for a remembrance memorial after she heard those around her discuss 9/11 from an Angeleno’s perspective. Locals said they felt disconnected from the tragedy because it happened across the country. With this in mind, she set out to find a way to bring a piece of the World Trade Center to campus.

“The university was extremely supportive from the beginning and thought the memorial was a great idea,” Massey said in an email to the Daily Trojan.

She said she wanted the memorial to serve as a reminder for future generations.

“Most current students remember very little about that day,” Massey wrote. “Sadly, in a few years, USC students will not have been born when it happened. This memorial will allow generations of Trojans to remember and learn about that tragic day.”

The beam is intended to be a tribute to those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks and will give the campus community and surrounding public a space to reflect on the events of that day and pay their respects to anyone impacted. A plaque will be included in the display, and in the coming months USC will include a history board near the beam.

“I am so honored and grateful that of all the places in Los Angeles, USC will have one of the few 9/11 mementos from that horrific day,” Dept. of Public Safety John Thomas said.

The unveiling of the memorial will include members of the USC Naval ROTC, Air Force, Army and Color Guard to present the colors.  Massey and Thomas will speak at the memorial tonight. Dr. Varun Soni, dean of religious life, and Kevin James, president of the City of Los Angeles Board of Public works, will also give speeches.

“9/11 was an American tragedy and a global tragedy,” Soni said in an email to the Daily Trojan. “There were more than 90 countries represented in the deaths at the World Trade Center, and this was a tragedy that reshaped the world in many ways.”

He emphasized that the diversity of the student body enabled it to recognize the importance of the memorial.

“So it is entirely appropriate to install a 9/11 memorial here at USC as our Trojan Family is truly a global family, representing virtually every state in the country, every [country] in the world and every religion on the planet,” Soni wrote.

A wreath will be placed at the memorial site every year on Sept. 11 to honor the 440 first responders, as well as thousands of others who lost their lives on the Tuesday morning that forever changed America.

Chief Thomas has been safely guarding the beam in his office since its arrival in Los Angeles. He noted the spiritual significance behind the beam and how important it was to prevent the I-beam from sitting in an unguarded warehouse.

“What’s important is that we always remember, and never forget, and this is a way that we can never forget,” Thomas said.