A year after the Sept. 11 attacks, fifth-year architecture student Jeremy Welu is back in Muncie.
Last year on Sept. 11 he was working as an intern in Manhattan.
"I will always remember that day," Welu said. "I feel so removed from Manhattan here."
Welu said, since the attacks, he has seen changes within the people of Muncie and New York.
"For the first time in New York you'd see people looking into other people's eyes," Welu said. "They stopped thinking about themselves and tried to find out more about other people."
Welu spent his morning handing out Sept. 11 remembrance packets with Campus Crusade for Christ -- one of many efforts by members of the university to reflect on and remember the attacks of last year.
Students flocked to classes wearing patriotic and Sept. 11 memorial shirts. Flags waved from cars driving though campus.
In the morning, English department faculty provided readings in the Art and Journalism Building. Students and faculty attended classes and community members went about their day. By 5 p.m., a group gathered on the grassy area between Bracken Library and the Architecture Building in a formal commemorative ceremony.
President Blaine Brownell, Student Government Association president Tolu Olowomeye and Provost Beverley Pitts gave speeches.
A mix of processions, vocals and music from the Shafer Tower carillon bells also highlighted the event.
Speeches focused on the remembrance of the victims, honoring the rescue workers and the changes in Americans since the attacks.
"Lives without basic freedom are lives not worth living," Brownell said. "We must reaffirm our commitment to intellectual discovery and freedom of expression."
Olowomeye took the opportunity to reflect and address the efforts of the student generation.
"We have been tested by tragedy but never consumed by fear," Olowomeye said. "(Sept. 11) will never be just another day. We will honor and remember those who lost their lives."
Students and faculty who attended and planned the events said they were impressed with the turnout.
Sophomore Crystal Moberly spent part of the day fundraising. As a member of the Lamda Alpha Epsilon criminal justice fraternity, Moberly and other members sold carnations and ribbons to benefit police officers. She said the campus remembrance events were important.
"I've heard a lot of people complain about how sick they are of 9-11," Moberly said. "It is something that should never be forgotten."
In the past year, Moberly said she has seen a positive change in the way police officers are treated.
"Officers are getting more respect than before and it's nice to see that," said Susan Taylor, a Muncie resident who brought her one-year-old daughter Riley with her to the ceremony.
"In such a complete tragedy, things will never go back to the way they were," Taylor said. "Children will grow up in a different world than we did."
An evening candlelight vigil, held in the same grassy area as the remembrance ceremony, allowed additional time for reflection. The vigil, sponsored by the Residence Hall Association, the National Residence Hall Honorary and the Student Government Association was a success, sponsors said.
Sophomore Sharna Horn of Woody-Shales residence hall said planning for the vigil began in July, and the expected turnout was 500 people.
"We had 1,000 candles and we handed them all out," Horn said.
Faculty members said they were most impressed with the initiative of the students.
"The university handled the events appropriately," said Donald Whittaker, director of academic assessment. "I'm also impressed with the student turnout at the vigil. It shows the concerns of students about the events."
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