UC remembers victims of 9/11 on 25th anniversary

The University of Cincinnati remembered the victims and first responders of the 9/11 terror attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., with a memorial stair run at Nippert Stadium.

Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed 2,977 people. Many others, including first responders, have died from ailments connected to the toxic dust they inhaled that day and during the emergency response. 

Hundreds of UC students turned out to Nippert Stadium in shorts and T-shirts, running the steps before classes on Friday to pay tribute to those who died. The annual event challenges participants to climb 2,071 steps at the stadium representing the steps in the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

Among the victims were UC alumni David Scales and Catherine Salter. Scales was a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and a pianist who studied music composition in UC's College-Conservatory of Music. Salter was an avid Cincinnati Reds fan and vice president at Aon Corp. with offices in the World Trade Center. She studied history in UC's College of Arts and Sciences.

An estimated 750 participants ran the stadium's steps under a scrolling banner with the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed that day. Participants included members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, area firefighters, police officers and members of the public.

“These steps honor the heroic first responders who ran toward danger — who climbed those stairwells with courage and sacrifice before the towers fell,“ UC Vice Provost of Student Affairs Nicole Mayo said in opening remarks.

“The run is more than a physical challenge. It is a powerful symbol of resilience, remembrance and unity,“ she said. “We also remember how, in the days and weeks following that tragedy, our nation came together as one. That spirit of unity, compassion and shared resolve is just as important today as it was 25 years ago.“

Local news media including WLWT and Local 12 spoke to some of the participants. Many UC students were born after the events of 9/11, but the world they grew up in was shaped by the resulting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It's really great to see that 9/11 isn't forgotten. And while we weren't born yet, we still come out because we know what a big event in history it was,“ UC student Jenna Lutz told Fox19. 

Alyssa Alsip came to the stair run to remember the first responders who perished trying to save others that day.

Alsip was just 9 years old when her school principal made an announcement about the plane crashes over the intercom in her social studies class. She didn't realize the magnitude of the tragedy until later that day when her father, retired Cincinnati firefighter Tom Pretty picked her up from school.