September 4, 2002 — This week and next the University of Utah will present a variety of campus activities and diverse, local radio and television programming to memorialize the victims and the events of last Sept. 11th and to reflect on the freedoms America enjoys.

“It’s important students do this as a commemoration of what happened last year. Sept. 11th changed the world,” says Bill Edwards, U student body president. “This week will be a great opportunity to increase student awareness of the importance of tolerance, understanding and peace.” Edwards will be speaking at the U’s candlelight vigil on Wednesday evening.

Other sponsors of the events include the ASUU Presenters Office, the Union Programming Council, the Latter-Day Saints Student Association (LDSSA), The Newman Center, the Residence Halls Association, the Hinckley Institute of Politics and Caring Connections: A Hope and Comfort in Grief Program.

“9/11 is a date that impacted our lives and will forever be a part of us,” explains Heidi Spilker, chief of staff for ASUU, one of the campus groups sponsoring the activities. “We need to remember the events and the things we felt on Sept.11th. And we want to move beyond tolerance into acceptance and love for all people.”

From Monday, Sept. 9 through Friday, Sept. 13, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily, students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to sign or write reflections on the events of 9/11 on pieces of fabric in the Olpin Union lobby and in the Heritage Center. The fabric will be sewn into a Union remembrance quilt that will be framed and permanently displayed in the Union.

Following is a list of events for the week of Sept. 9:

Monday, Sept. 9
12 noon: U of U Olpin Union Ballroom. Karen Dace, U associate vice president for diversity, will speak on the week’s theme of “Beyond Tolerance-In Memoriam of 9/11 We Move Beyond Tolerance and Acceptance to Celebrate Difference.” Her remarks will be followed by “Beyond Tolerance, Faith in Acceptance,” a panel discussion with representatives from various faiths.
12 noon: “A Reassessment,” presented by Ibrahim Karawan, director of the U’s Middle East Center, and Peter von Sivers, U of U associate professor of history, will be held in room 255 in Orson Spencer Hall.

Tuesday, Sept. 10
12 noon: Olpin Union Patio. A musical tribute to 9/11.
12 noon: “9/11: America a Year After,” in room 255 of Orson Spencer Hall. A discussion with U political science faculty: John Francis, professor; Dan Levin, assistant professor; Hakan Yavuz, assistant professor; and Philippos Savvides, adjunct instructor.

Wednesday, Sept. 11
12 noon: Olpin Union Patio free speech area. Moment of silence and music, including the national anthem.
12 noon: “Surviving 9/11-Where Do We Go From Here? Perspectives from a 9/11 Survivor and an Olympic Security Coordinator.” Featuring Stephanie Gordon, survivor of the World Trade Center attacks, and Douglas Arnot, managing director of operations and security for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. In Orson Spencer Hall, room 255.
7-8 p.m.: Second Annual Grief Awareness Day, sponsored by the U’s Caring Connections: A Hope and Comfort in Grief Program. The brief program, “Beyond a Star,” candle lighting ceremony and patriotic remembrance of 9/11 will be on the plaza located south of the College of Nursing and east of the College of Pharmacy on the U campus. Participants can view the Memory Wall and the new Memorial Garden. For more information on the event or the Caring Connections program, call 801-585-9522.
8 p.m.: Park Building Steps. Candlelight vigil with U President Bernie Machen, ASUU President Bill Edwards, State Senator Karen Hale and Hinckley Institute of Politics Director Ted Wilson. Also to include music and singing of the national anthem.

Thursday, Sept. 12
12 noon: The Post Chapel in historic Fort Douglas. Student discussions on events since 9/11, to be followed by a tree planting near the Heritage Center. The planting is sponsored by the Residence Halls Association.

Friday, Sept. 13
10 a.m.: Speak Out/Open Microphone on Olpin Union Patio.
12 noon: Tim Wise, an anti-racist, social justice activist in the U.S., will present “Beyond Tolerance” in the Olpin Union Ballroom.
1:30 p.m.: Speak Out/Open Microphone on Olpin Union Patio.

This week, for the first time in broadcast history, public radio stations nationwide will collaborate to bring locally produced programming together to form a coordinated national broadcast dialogue titled “Understanding America after 9/11.” Three short stories, produced by local news reporters, will air on KUER FM 90, the U’s public radio station.

KUER news reporter Jenny Brundin will contribute two stories for the project. “Blackhawk Helicopters and Ice Skates,” the story of the largest domestic security effort in U.S. history during the recent Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, will air on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 a.m., in the local insert of NPR’s Morning Edition. “Navajo Reflections on 9/11,” an audio portrait featuring sounds and music of Native American reflections on Sept. 11th and its aftermath, will air Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 7:30 a.m.

“Demanding Dignity,” by local reporter Vince Pearson, is about how the Salt Lake City International Airport raid of local, undocumented Latino workers spurred them to organize, will air on Friday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 a.m.

KUED-7 will air “A Dialogue on Freedom,” the broadcast component of an unprecedented educational outreach activity between Utah’s secondary school students and legal professionals, presented by the Utah State Bar Association.

Utah lawyers, together with representatives from the state’s executive, legislative and judicial branches, are leading discussions this month with students about our democratic system of government and the freedoms we enjoy.

KUED-7 will air a half-hour discussion on issues of freedom and democracy with Utah Supreme Court Justice Christine Durham, noted defense attorney Ron Yengich and Utah high school students. The program will air on Thursday, September 5, at 1:30 p.m., and at 11:00 p.m. on Fridays, September 6 and 27. It will also air on Wednesday, September 11, at 1:30 p.m. A related “Civic Dialogue” will air Sunday, September 8, at 5:30 p.m. The guest is 10th Circuit Court Judge Stephen Anderson.

KUED Special Report: “One Year After September 11,” will air on Thursday, September 5, at 9 p.m., and will repeat Saturday, September 7, at 6 p.m. The program examines how Utahns are responding to the terrorist attacks one year later. KUER FM 90’s Doug Fabrizio and University of Utah professor Theresa Martinez will join a studio audience for an intimate discussion on how 9/11 affected the West.

In recognition of the one-year anniversary of Sept. 11th, KBUL 93 radio station is inviting members of the community to participate in the creation of a giant, human American flag at the U’s Rice-Eccles Stadium, from 3 until 5 p.m., on Wed., Sept. 11th. KBUL hopes 6,000 volunteers will congregate in the east bleachers to hold a red, white or blue 23- by 29-inch card that will, if viewed from afar or aerially, collectively create an American flag. For more information, call 801-485-6700.