By: Maanas Oruganti ’18
Every year, to honor those who passed away on September 11th, 2001, the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) club conducts memorial events around campus.
Graham Grisedale ’18 and Evan Frane ’18, the leaders of YAF, helped organize the memorial this year to honor the innocent victims of the terror attacks 16 years ago.
“The first thing we do is set up around 2,900 American flags in the quad, one for each life lost in the attacks,” Grisedale said.
YAF also sets up a table on campus to hand fliers and pins, both containing the message about never forgetting 9/11.
“I think this anniversary is a reminder of what can happen,” Frane said. “Just as we learn about the Holocaust and how that impacts us today, so should we about 9/11.”
The leaders of YAF urges our community to become more aware of the devastation caused by these terror attacks and the importance of remaining vigilant and educated about these incidents.
“9/11 was the largest terrorist attack in American history,” Graham said. “And the saddest part is that [the terror attacks] keep happening, just not on as large of a scale, like the ones in France and the Pulse nightclub in Florida last summer.”
Evan and Graham believe that raising awareness about terrorism and reminding people about 9/11 can help reduce the possibility of terror attacks in the future.