Night Watch Stands Guard Through the Morning of Sept. 11

Around the nation the night of Sept. 10, people whispered a prayer for peace, knowing that their sleep would be anything but peaceful overnight. At the University of Cincinnati Hillel Jewish Student Center, religious and civic leaders, UC students, administrators and faculty, and other attendees of different faiths, nationalities and race, all stood watch through the uneasy night.

The UC Campus Ministries sponsored program, Night Watch, was inspired by the prophet Isaiah, quotes Rabbi Abie Ingber: "My Lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime and I stand on guard the whole night."

Ingber says it was a full house that was on guard when the program began at midnight. "Like many of you, I set aside the images of Sept. 11 for quite a few months," he said, then added that after watching a special on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy, "...it took about three seconds for the feelings of anxiousness and fear to return."

Ingber explained the Night Watch would be filled with messages of healing and of lessons learned -- with prayer, poetry and song, as those on watch waited out the night. The Night Watch would end at exactly 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, the exact moment of the first plane crash into the World Trade Center.

The first guest speaker was Dr. B. Salem Foad, a member of the board of trustees for the Islamic Center of Cincinnati. "When God looks down at you, He doesn't see your face or possessions. He looks at your heart and he looks at your deeds. If you apply these two standards to Sept. 11, you can easily discern that the people who committed these acts were criminals who were raising the banner of religion to justify their actions," said Foad.

Foad says after the attacks, the Islamic Center was often consulted to explain the Muslim beliefs of its followers to the community. "One of the positive things that has happened is an awareness about Islam. One of the things that worries me is that many Americans surrendered liberties in the name of security.

"If this continues, this is an erosion of our freedom that many fought so hard to have."

Cincinnati city council members John Cranley and Paul Booth were also among the first featured speakers at Night Watch.

As the hours stretched into early morning, the names of those killed at the Pentagon, the attacks in New York, and the Pennsylvania crash of United Flight 93 were read between personal reflections and musical selections. A candle burned in memory of the victims.

At 6:15 a.m, Sept. 11, Mitchel D. Livingston, UC Vice President for Student Affairs and Services, examined "Reflections in Higher Education: One Year Later." Citing the Chronicle of Higher Education, Livingston spoke of the profound impact Sept. 11 had on the educational community. "Blocks from Ground Zero, a counselor at Manhattan Community College listens to her students and answers their questions. Nine of their peers were lost in the World Trade Center."

Other higher education issues making news included required reading of the Koran for students at the University of North Carolina, commentaries on aspects including academic and religious freedom as well as issues of privacy and diversity.

"Without question, the events of 9-11 have had a profound impact on the higher education community," Livingston said. "We have questioned in fundamental ways who we are; our basic rights and responsibilities; our relationships with one another; the morality of our conduct; the limits of academic freedom; the role of religion in public higher education; and how to pursue justice and peace in an unjust world.

"However, no matter how horrific the acts of 9-11 were, because we are free to pursue these fundamental questions, we will be a better community as a result. And for this, we will always remember. For this, we count our blessings," Livingston said.

Richard Friedman, senior assistant dean of McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, gave an emotional account of being out of the country last Sept. 11, a trip to Italy that began as a celebration of his 36th wedding anniversary. "We arrived in Florence, Italy on Sept. 11. I don't think I'll ever forget what happened in the lobby of the hotel. The desk clerk had his back to us. He appeared to be turned to a screen. I guess I was the first to ask, 'Are we supposed to be here to check in?' He turned to me and said tearfully, 'I think your country is under attack.'

"There were people in our (traveling) party from New York, and we looked on painfully. We disappeared to our rooms, turned on the news, and watched, and watched and watched. Thirty-five Americans on that day, abroad in Italy. We clung to one another. We supported one another. But day by day, our trip was clouded with difficult moments of what had been a trip to celebrate our 36th anniversary.

"One couple had a daughter-in-law who worked in New York. They were finally able to get through -- joy among 35 Americans."

On his arrival back in the United States, Friedman first landed in New York City, and says he'll never forget the sight of a Delta attendant holding an American flag in her hand, saying, "Welcome home."

"I'll never forget the clerk, the attendant, or the video of the New York firemen," he said.

Folk Musicians David Gilligan and Laura Hasek played just before daylight and Randy Levin chanted a Jewish prayer. Napoleon Maddox, a UC student, reception desk worker at the Arlitt Center, and Cammy Award-winning musician, said he was asked by co-organizer and UC Professor Steve Sunderland to contribute to the service, but at first felt he wasn't sure what he could give. With no other instrument than his voice, Maddox played the "rhythms of peace," in a profound interpretive performance.

Co-organizer Mindy Kuhlman, at one time filled with emotion from the service, vowed to dedicate more time to her family, her husband and herself, as the 25-year-old copes with the busy demands of everyday life.

The final reflection of the morning was from Karla Topper, a 23-year-old UC student majoring in health promotion and education.

Rabbi Abie Ingber asked attendees to come forward as the moment of silence at 8:46 drew closer. A group reading of the poem, "We Remember Them," ended the service. "As long as we live, they too will live; for they are now a part of us, as we remember them."

Return to first page of Sept. 11 coverage.