WEST HAVEN, Conn. — Students at the University of New Haven have kept a time-honored tradition going in spite of the hurdles posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each year on the campus quad, students join faculty and first responders to recognize those lost on September 11th.
Sofia Martinez, the UNH student government president said, “I think even in a pandemic, it’s a time for the community to get together.”
With social distancing and masks on, the more than one hundred people who showed up watched a short ceremony that was held on the quad, and then everyone proceeded to the “Memorial Tree” across campus to plant small American Flags in the ground.
Michael Abelowitz, a UNH freshman from New Jersey and an active firefighter said, “I feel deeply involved, I have family members that went down and worked on the pile.”
Lorenzo Boyd, the chief diversity officer at UNH and a professor of criminal justice said of the 9-11 ceremony, “even when the students don’t’ remember it because of their age they understand the gravity of the day.”
Sofia Martinez added, “even though this year is different, the ceremony should not be different… we will not forget.”
