The University will hold a series of events today to commemorate the anniversary of last year's terrorist attacks, beginning at 6:30 a.m. in Houston Hall.
The series -- entitled "9.11.02: Remembrance, Reflection, Community" -- will serve as "a way for everybody to reflect and remember and just observe September 11 in their own way," Social Planning and Events Committee Secretary Jennifer Toll said in an interview last week.
Beginning with a community breakfast, morning events in Houston Hall include a Red Cross blood drive to be held on the second floor and a makeshift memorial wall in Bodek Lounge.
Throughout the morning, area churches will help mark the exact moments of last year's attacks by tolling their bells. The first bells will sound at 8:45 a.m. -- the moment American Airlines Flight 11 struck One World Trade Center last year.
From noon until 3 p.m., an anticipated 1,800 students, faculty and staff members will gather on College Green to be part of the "Hands of Hope" sculpture project. Connecticut artist Sasha Bergmann Lichtenstein will supervise as participants make and decorate casts of their hands, which will then be attached together to form a permanent display.
Other events scheduled for this afternoon include a spiritual gathering hosted by the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to be held in Stemmler Hall, as well as an interfaith prayer service sponsored by St. Agatha and St. James Cathedral.
Later in the afternoon, Irvine Auditorium will host an organ concert by Joan Lippincott beginning at 3 p.m., which will be followed by "Academic Reflections," a panel discussion that will include University President Judith Rodin, as well as several notable Penn professors.
The day will be capped off with a candlelight vigil on College Green to begin at 7 p.m.
Throughout the day, the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology will show the HBO documentary In Memoriam: New York City 9/11/01 on a continuous loop.
Today's events were planned by a team of faculty and students that worked with the University Chaplain's office throughout the summer.
