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Shannon Moran '14 sits on the Eric R. (Rick) Thorp memorial bench in memory of Thorpe a graduate of the class of '89 who was killed September 11 in the World Trade Center.
By Michele Tallarita ’12
When Shannon Moran ’14 (Levittown, N.Y.) rides the bus back from Lafayette to her home state of New York, she can’t help but stare at the empty space in the skyline and think about the day the Twin Towers fell.
“I graduated with multiple students who lost parents in the attacks. Every Sept. 11, these students were not in school because they were at the services in the city,” says Moran. “Every time I drive around my town, I see the streets renamed after those who lost their lives in the attacks and am reminded. Every time I watch the news and see that more men and women are dying overseas, I am reminded.”
At home, Moran is surrounded by the effects of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In hopes of educating the campus community on these effects and in honor of those who were lost, Moran led a team of Marquis Scholars in the organization of World Trade Center (WTC) Remembrance Week. It will be a series of talks held by Lafayette professors during the week leading up to the 10-year anniversary of the attacks.
The events will begin on Sept. 6 with a talk by Kirk O’Riordan, assistant professor of music, and Andrew Smith, associate professor of English, on the response to the attacks in art and music. Later in the week, Seo-Hyun Park, assistant professor of government and law, and Ilan Peleg, Dana Professor of Government and Law, will speak on the war on terror and U.S. policy; Jim Lennertz, associate professor of government and law, and Katalin Fabian, associate professor of government and law, on the ethical aspects of the war on terror; Jennifer Talarico, assistant professor of psychology, on the memory of 9/11; and Jennifer Rossmann, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and Stephen Kurtz, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, on the World Trade Center before, during, and after the attacks. These talks were coordinated by Marquis Scholars Helen Xu ’14, Henry Lam ’14, Monica Manglani ’13, and Bridget Hentz ’12.
Other Lafayette events in remembrance of Sept. 11 include an interfaith service of unity at 2 p.m. Sept. 11 in Colton Chapel followed by a human “Chain of Unity” around the Quad, and a free concert by pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn from 4-6 p.m. Sept. 11 in the Williams Center for the Arts.
A full schedule of events is listed below.
“We were all just kids back then. No one told us what was really going on,” says Moran. “I hope that these talks will fill in the blanks for us and educate us all on the attacks and their effects so we can better understand that day and every day since.”
Inspired by her own lack of knowledge in this area, Moran first proposed WTC Remembrance Week to the Marquis Scholars Steering Committee, who gave her the go-ahead and helped her decide on the topics for each talk. She then contacted professors with the appropriate expertise, delegated Marquis Scholars to coordinate with the professors, and kept up a correspondence with everyone to get the week in place.
“We all worked together to solidify the plans for each talk,” says Moran. “It’s been great getting to know and work with the other scholars. They bring so many great ideas to the table and have been working so hard this summer to help make these talks possible.”
Moran is not new to teaming with other students to craft campus events. She’s a member of the Concert Choir and the Marquis Consort, a music group that performs pieces from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. An English major, she loves studying literature (and that includes Harry Potter) and plans to go on to graduate school.
Moran has also spent the past year taking lessons on classical guitar at Lafayette. Like being a New-Yorker, music is something she takes to heart. “It is and always has been part of who I am,” she says.
Lafayette Events in Remembrance of Sept. 11