As the 18th anniversary of 9/11 approached, CUNY Chancellor Felix V. Matos Rodriguez recognized the tragic event and made a public announcement that honored the lives lost.

He stated that CUNY recalls the “Borough of Manhattan Community College’s Fiterman Hall, located mere blocks from the Twin Towers, was nearly destroyed and how, in the days after September 11, the lower Manhattan campus was established as a hub for first responders,” and continued, “this year, as we do each September 11 on campuses across the University, we commemorate the lives of those who perished in those unprecedented attacks.”

He continued, “this year, as we do each September 11 on campuses across the University, we commemorate the lives of those who perished in those unprecedented attacks.” 

“Their memory is indelible. At BMCC, the college places a wreath around a plaque just outside of the Chambers Street building. At John Jay College, 3,000 flags have been planted — one for each life lost in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., as a result of the attacks. At the College of Staten Island, in the borough that was home to so many first responders, a memorial will be held for the entire Staten Island community, to honor their sacrifice.”

Baruch College did not officially host any event to commemorate the victims as other CUNYs have.

Some clubs on campus, however, such as one of Baruch’s fraternities Alpha Phi Omega hosted a 9/11 letter writing event on Sept. 9 in the Newman Vertical Campus with the theme of gratitude.

Students were able to write thank you letters and cards to 9/11 responders to commemorate the memory of the tragic event that occurred 18 years ago.

The event was organized by APO Recruitment Chair members Tiffany Chen and Tammy Sfoglia.

The evening began with different Baruch students introducing themselves to the groups.

During the introduction, students told everyone their names, majors and fun facts about themselves.

Chen and Sfoglia reminded the students that the anniversary of 9/11 was nearing and members explained that the idea of this event was to create these cards for 9/11 first responders as a gesture of goodwill.

Before the APO allowed students to start making the thank you cards, they began with a moment of silence for those who died as a result of the attacks.

After the moment of silence was completed, the students then began to create their thank you cards. 

The rest of the evening was comprised of music, snacks and bonding among one another.

“9/11 is coming and even though we were young, we were heavily impacted by impact,” Sfoglia stated as the reason for the event.

“Sending thank you cards is the perfect way to give back. After all, we are a service fraternity,” Chen stated.

She continued, “As a service fraternity, we have a duty to not only to serve our present day but to help our members those who came before us and serve our communities,”

To end the evening, the APO e-board thanked everyone who came out to create a thank you card for the 9/11 responders that they will be sending out.