By Maisarah Miskoon

A cloudy Thursday morning in September did not daunt a crowd of 60 from uniting to remember 9/11 here on the SMCC South Portland campus. They were gathered in front of the Campus Center as Ms. Tiffanie Bentley, the Dean of Student Life, uttered a brief yet poignant soliloquy on the strength of the community in times of adversity before honoring the men and women in uniform who had defended and are still defending the United States against terrorism happening all around the world. Her speech was followed by a moment of silence.

Bryan Noyes, a veteran and former SMCC student who currently is working at the Maine Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) then played taps on the bugle as the flag was lowered by security officers to half-mast. The ceremony ended with Professor Dave MacLean playing “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes.

An assembly of 40 students and faculty members attended a ceremony at the Mid-Coast campus, which is home to the Maine Fire Service Institute (MFSI). William Guidon, the Director of MFSI, addressed the gathering on the importance of remembering the heroic acts and sacrifices of servicemen and civilians on that day and on being thankful for the progress the nation has made thus far. Then a moment of silence was observed as the American flag was lowered to half-mass by a staff member from the MFSI. People were also encouraged to visit the 9/11 Memorial they had on campus.

Across the nation, people gathered in many different ways to remember the day. Ceremonies ranged from: the 3,000-named roll call at the 9/11 museum, the two beams of light projected into the sky above the World Trade Center site, wearing a light blue ribbon, writing a one woman play, having a pancake brunch, as well as the numerous moments worth of silence.

In varying degrees of emotional intensity, all of them had one thing in common – remembering the people: the heroic servicemen and women, the fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, daughters, and sons who perished that faithful day. Surely, their deeds and strength live on in our moments of silence and in our hearts.