On a mid-September morning, the sound of bells chiming from over twenty places of worship will greet members of the Dartmouth and Upper Valley community as they face the one-year anniversary of the terror attacks that claimed over 3,000 lives in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C.
That minute of synchronized ringing -- which will commence at 8:45 a.m., a minute before the first plane collided with the World Trade Center's North Tower a year ago -- will mark the first observation of a day of solemn remembrance. 12 hours later, the Baker Library bells will ring for peace.
The anniversary events at the College, nearly a year in planning, will focus on memorializing the lives lost, rather than examining political and cultural aspects of the ongoing conflict.
"We felt that the most important thing on this date is to remember the people whose lives were touched by tragedy," Dean of the College James Larimore said. Addressing the question of "where do we go from here," he added, is a task better suited to the academic year.
Though the anniversary will come at a time when few Dartmouth students are on campus, the athletes, incoming freshman and others returning to campus early will have an opportunity to join high school students and Upper Valley residents at a candlelight vigil that evening on the Green. Attendees will light approximately 3,200 luminaria -- one for each victim of the Sept. 11 attacks.
"Our world was forever changed on Sept. 11 last year," President James Wright, who will speak at Rollins Chapel on that date, said in a press release. Wright noted that Dartmouth has a responsibility to "remember and examine this pivotal time through its teaching, scholarship and other activities."
Though freshman orientation won't kick off for another week, the anniversary will coincide with a time reserved in other years for play -- Dartmouth Outing Club Trips.
In planning the hikes and other trips over the summer, DOC Trips Director Emily Lesher '02 encountered a significant number of requests to not be assigned a trip overlapping with Sept. 11, particularly from students living in the New York area. Other students did not want to travel on that date. The DOC was able to accommodate all such requests.
Last year, news of the attacks spread in the midst of DOC Trips.
"Trips dealt with it last year in very different ways," Lesher, who was a member of Lodge Croo at the time, said. In some groups, everyone broke down and cried, while others discussed the events with less overt emotion.
"A handful" of the over 400 students in the woods at the time decided to leave their trips midway through after volunteers hiked out and notified them of the tragedy, Lesher said.
According to the DOC Annual Report 2001-2002, 32 students failed to arrive in Hanover for their trips due to flight cancellations.
The occurrence of the attacks during later sections meant that relatively few students from affected areas such as New York and Washington D.C. had not yet completed their DOC Trips.
This year, observances during DOC Trips will aim to keep the memory of the event in students' minds rather than putting forth any political message or "cheesy" activities, Lesher said. "The goal of DOC Trips is to make everybody feel really comfortable."
Participants in section F, which begins on Sept. 11, will skip their swim test and instead gather for reflection on the BEMA. These freshmen will also take part in the candlelight vigil on the Green later in the evening.
Since no DOC Trips will depart Hanover on Sept. 9, only one set of trippees, those students in section E, will be camping outside on the anniversary. Lesher said that trip leaders will be instructed to instigate discussion among their freshmen, but not in a structured format.
Incoming students rounding out their DOC Trips experience at Mt. Moosilauke's Ravine Lodge that evening will listen to a faculty speaker speak on issues related to the memory of the terror attacks.
Members of the class of 2006 at the Ravine Lodge, in the wilderness and preparing for trips in Hanover will all participate in a DOC Trips-wide moment of silence at 9 p.m.
No programming during freshman orientation week will "directly address" memories of Sept. 11, Dean of First-Year Students Gail Zimmerman said. However, some activities, such as the meeting of the World Affairs Council's World Week in Review, may relate to ongoing political conflict in the Middle East. Zimmerman said that staff working with incoming students during this time will need to balance "the need to reflect" with the excitement of beginning a college career.
Dartmouth alumni Dr. Paul Ambrose (Dartmouth Medical School House Staff '96-'99), Juan Cisneros '99, Christopher Colasanti '90, Kevin Connors Tuck School of Business '73, Kevin Crotty '80, Brian Dale '80 Tuck '81, Joseph Flounders '77, Jeffrey LeVeen '68, Frederick Rimmele III '97 (Maine-Dartmouth Family Practice Residency), Thomas Theurkauf, Jr. Tuck '81 and Richard Woodwell '79 died on Sept. 11, 2001.
