The Daily OrangeMarshall Street vigil unites community
By Stephanie Veale
Posted: 9/11/05, 11:14 PM EST Section: News
A dozen people gathered at the corner of Marshall Street and University Avenue Sunday evening to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The MoveOn.org-sponsored vigil honored Sept. 11 victims, U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq and victims of Hurricane Katrina.
"It looks like the vigil that never happened," said Austin Paulnack, Syracuse coordinator for MoveOn.org.
Paulnack later said that more than 100 people showed up to the vigil after 7 p.m. Even before the crowd came, Paulnack said he was not concerned about turnout.
"It's not about the numbers, it's about the idea," he said.
Those attending the vigil held small American flags and listened to peaceful music while they chatted. All said reflecting on Sept. 11 is still important four years later, but one participant said not all vigils are created equal.
"There are a number of events on 9/11 which frankly offend the hell out of me," said Blaine DeLancey, a college recorder in The College of Arts and Sciences.
DeLancey said he doesn't like the tone of many events - like the Pentagon memorial Freedom Walk - because organizers assume that if you mourn victims of Sept. 11, you support the War on Terror and President Bush. While DeLancey considers himself a civic-minded individual and a patriot, he does not agree with the war in Iraq.
Jude Camwell, a political blogger for Syracuse.com, said she liked how this vigil linked victims of Sept. 11 with Katrina victims and fallen U.S. solders because their deaths are symbolic of governmental failure.
"We're talking decades that New Orleans had been ignored," Camwell said.
The mainstream media only provide one opinion when it comes to Sept. 11, the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina, Camwell said, and that's the opinion of those in power.
"I think that our voices get drowned out, the ordinary citizens," she said, adding that the government often uses Sept. 11 as a tool of manipulation.
The MoveOn.org-sponsored vigil honored Sept. 11 victims, U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq and victims of Hurricane Katrina.
"It looks like the vigil that never happened," said Austin Paulnack, Syracuse coordinator for MoveOn.org.
Paulnack later said that more than 100 people showed up to the vigil after 7 p.m. Even before the crowd came, Paulnack said he was not concerned about turnout.
"It's not about the numbers, it's about the idea," he said.
Those attending the vigil held small American flags and listened to peaceful music while they chatted. All said reflecting on Sept. 11 is still important four years later, but one participant said not all vigils are created equal.
"There are a number of events on 9/11 which frankly offend the hell out of me," said Blaine DeLancey, a college recorder in The College of Arts and Sciences.
DeLancey said he doesn't like the tone of many events - like the Pentagon memorial Freedom Walk - because organizers assume that if you mourn victims of Sept. 11, you support the War on Terror and President Bush. While DeLancey considers himself a civic-minded individual and a patriot, he does not agree with the war in Iraq.
Jude Camwell, a political blogger for Syracuse.com, said she liked how this vigil linked victims of Sept. 11 with Katrina victims and fallen U.S. solders because their deaths are symbolic of governmental failure.
"We're talking decades that New Orleans had been ignored," Camwell said.
The mainstream media only provide one opinion when it comes to Sept. 11, the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina, Camwell said, and that's the opinion of those in power.
"I think that our voices get drowned out, the ordinary citizens," she said, adding that the government often uses Sept. 11 as a tool of manipulation.
