After having served as the location for the myriad of songs, hand plastering and dancing that took place yesterday afternoon, College Green remained eerily silent last night as hundreds of students gathered on the grass moments before the University's interfaith vigil.
The vigil was held on this commemorative day in order to enable students of various faiths to share stories and prayers with one another, remembering the attacks that had overwhelmed the United States exactly one year ago.
Students solemnly sat on the grass, bearing lit candles in their hands on the somber occasion. Some remained isolated, with their hands covering their tear-streaked faces. Others found solace in the embrace of friends as they listened to a line of speakers address them.
University President Judith Rodin began the vigil by reflecting on the strength of the Penn community, despite its wide variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds.
"We can argue passionately, and we can differ, but as long as we can stay together, there is no way we can be undone as a shared community," she said.
Following Rodin's opening remarks, two students approached the podium to share a few lines from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita. As they concluded, another student led the group through a Jewish prayer. Then, yet another shared a few lines from the New Testament.
Finally, a Muslim student approached the podium, and his prayers took on a slightly different form. His voice resonated as he sang the lines of the Qur'an that translated into a call for peace and righteousness.
Passers-by halted to listen for a while before continuing to their destinations. Even a group of boisterous children, riding their bicycles down Locust Walk, fell immediately mute as they passed by the green.
College junior Ben Herzig, vice president of the Muslim Students Association, spoke about his grief despite being geographically detached from the events of last September.
"I do not stand before you as a victim," he said. "The victims were the firefighters and workers who lost their lives... I nonetheless feel uncomfortably linked to the events of September 11, but I am not a victim. I am a Muslim."
He continued by expressing his gratitude towards the entire Penn community for their universal understanding and for providing an environment in which thoughts and discussions could be intelligibly fostered.
Finally, the microphone was left open to audience members who wished to share their thoughts with the group. By now, the speaker's faces were virtually indiscernible to the recent nightfall. Only their voices pervaded throughout the air, lit solely by the scattered clusters of candles.
College senior Melissa Byrne was the first to approach the microphone.
"We must look at tomorrow as the day we reach out and start undoing hate," she said.
Byrne said she respected the ways that the University focussed on peace and healing, rather than falling victim to the national media propaganda that flooded most of the event.
Executive Director of the Christian Association Beverly Dale used the forum to express the importance of being grounded in a faith-based tradition.
Later, four students filed towards the podium to sing "Amazing Grace."
The song signaled a fitting conclusion to the night for most of the students who stood to leave, but the nearly 100 students that remained seated listened to five more students, one by one, come up to share their sentiments.
One student requested that everyone stand up to hug the person sitting beside them.
Engineering sophomore Kris Lord said that the event reaffirmed the unity he felt within the Penn community.
"Last year, when I came here, it was the first week, and I didn't really know anybody, but that was the first time I felt like I was a part of the Penn community," he said. "This event brought back these memories, seeing everyone of different faiths come together like this."
