Program of "Remembrance and Healing" set for Sept. 11

UB will mark the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedies with a variety of events and activities, including a university program of "Remembrance and Healing," to be held at 3 p.m. Sept. 11 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.

The commemoration will include an address by President William R. Greiner, as well as student musical selections and multi-denominational and multinational prayers of healing and hope.

A memorial stone containing the names of UB alumni who died in the terrorist attacks will be unveiled and a procession of members of the campus community will escort the stone to the circle in front of the Center for the Arts, where it will be installed near the bronze buffalo.

Earlier in the day, members of the university community will be asked to observe six moments of silence representing the times that the hijacked airplanes struck the World Trade Center and the moments that the twin towers fell, as well as the crashes at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania-8:47 a.m., 9:03 a.m., 9:43 a.m., 9:59 a.m.,10:10 a.m. and 10:29 a.m. Bells also will toll at 10:29 a.m.

During the day, a "discussion and assistance room" will be open in the Student Union on the North Campus and staffed by members of Campus Ministries and the Counseling Center. National broadcasts of commemorations being held in other parts of the country will be televised in the Student Union Theatre and the Drama Theatre in the CFA. Faculty members are encouraged to hold discussions of the events of Sept. 11 and their impact and future implications during their classes.

On the evening of Sept. 11, the undergraduate Student Association and Residence Hall Association will sponsor a candlelight vigil at 9 p.m. on Moody Terrace in the Ellicott Complex, North Campus. Prayers will be offered by members of Campus Ministries, followed by an opportunity for spontaneous prayers and thoughts offered by participants. Candles will be provided.

On Sept. 10, a musical tribute will be presented by the Department of Music at 8 p.m. in Slee Hall, North Campus,featuring the Slee Sinfonietta, UB's professional chamber orchestra led by musical director Magnus Mårtensson; the Maine-based DaPonte String Quartet; the contemporary music sextet eighth blackbird, and several UB faculty members. Mårtensson says that each work on the program "speaks to the tragedy of Sept. 11 and the city it devastated." Works to be presented include Aaron Copland's "Quiet City," Charles Ives' "Central Park in the Dark," Elliot Carter's "Elegy" and Luciano Berio's "Folk Songs." Tickets are available at the CFA box office (645-ARTS).

WBFO 88.7 FM, UB's National Public Radio affiliate, along with NPR, will remember the anniversary by presenting nearly 24-hour coverage, beginning at 5 a.m. Sept. 11 through 1 a.m. Sept. 12. This special production will include live coverage of memorial events, plus NPR's signature in-depth reports, interviews and music.

Leading up to the anniversary, WBFO will air documentaries and shorter pieces produced by other public-radio stations across the country in a coordinated week of programming titled "Understanding America after 9/11." The pieces will be broadcast at 9 a.m. each day from Sept. 3-10. Highlights include:

-- "The Sonic Memorial Special," Sept. 3. The nation came together over the last year to chronicle and commemorate the World Trade Center and the surrounding neighborhood. From dozens of interviews comes this collection of voices, stories and sound. "All Things Considered" also will feature pieces from the "Sonic Memorial Project" Sept. 9-11.

-- "We Were on Duty," Sept. 4. First-person oral history of the attack on the Pentagon.

-- "A Need to Belong: Citizenship in America," Sept. 5.

-- An hour-long documentary that explores patriotism and the place of loyalty and dissent in our changed world.

-- "Unfriendly Skies," Sept. 6. Logan Airport in Boston, departure point of two of the hijacked planes, is the starting point for this documentary on aviation security.

-- "Living With Terror: America Speaks a Year after 9/11," Sept. 8. Ray Suarez will host this program, featuring live town-hall audiences in Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Boston. Participants will talk, compare views and even argue about how Sept. 11 has changed their lives and the country, and how the fear of terrorism will influence the future.

-- "Changed New York," Sept. 9. Even as New York begins to rebuild, there remains a deep sense of loss in the city. How are New Yorkers coping with their loss, whether it is the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or the loss of a sense of security?

This documentary will present stories of people whose lives have changed dramatically as they cope with the lasting impact of the attack.

-- "Days of Infamy: Dec. 7 and Sept. 11," Sept. 10. Twice during the past 100 years the Library of Congress has sent fieldworkers throughout the nation to collect the reactions of Americans to a surprise attack. The first time was Dec. 8, 1941, the day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The second was almost 60 years later, on Sept. 12, 2001. Extensive selections from both sets of tapes will get their first-ever broadcast in "Days of Infamy."

WBFO also will feature reports addressing local issues,including the continuing impact of Sept. 11 on the area's four international border crossings and the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, as well as homeland security in Erie County. The station will explore the impact on UB as well. For more information visit the WBFO Web site at www.publicbroadcasting.net/wbfo/news.newsmain or listen to 88.7 FM.

The UB Art Galleries and Museum Studies Program will join the Association of American Museums and museums across the country in commemorating the Sept. 11 tragedy. The University's Anderson Gallery will sponsor special programming, entitled "Celebrate America's Freedoms: A Day of Remembrance," that will include extended gallery hours of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., continuous showing of an HBO special on the tragedy and installation of a new artwork. Among the highlights:

-- "9.11 cwk," an exhibition of new works on paper by Terri Katz Kasimov

-- "In Memoriam: New York City 9/11/01," all-day screening of UB alumnus Brad Grey's Emmy-nominated HBO documentary

Both will be on display through Sept. 29.

The gallery also will sponsor a "Community Response Collage" from 2-4 p.m. on Sept. 14 during which members of the community are invited to create a commemorative collage by writing or drawing responses to the events of Sept. 11. The project will be facilitated by Kasimov. The finished banner-shaped collage will be displayed at a Buffalo firehouse. An artist's reception will follow from 5-7 p.m. at the gallery, located on Martha Jackson Place in Buffalo. For more details, contact the gallery at 834-2579.

For more information about any of the Sept. 11 commemorative events, contact the sponsoring unit or the Office of Conferences and Special Events at 645-6147.