Student volunteers ended this year’s CIVITAS Week by cleaning up local parks and planting flags on the Quad in remembrance of the victims of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Throughout the week, students volunteered for various community service opportunities such as building a green roof on the Kogod School of Business that will boost the school’s sustainability and organizing a clothing drive for veterans, according to Community Service Coalition Director Stephen Bronskill.
Last Wednesday, students helped underfunded D.C. Public Schools by cleaning science equipment such as test tubes and beakers before donating them to the school labs.
Students also participated in a blood drive on Friday in the McDowell Formal Lounge and volunteered at an urban farm, Neighborhood Farm Initiative, in Fort Totten on Saturday, Sept. 4, according to Bronskill.
Bronskill believes AU students made a valuable contribution to the community through this week of service.
“While the events varied in size and subject, they all have a common thread that will help tie our campus community together in the spirit of service,” he said. “The incredible thing about AU students is that all of us truly care about leaving our city, our country and our world better than when we found it.”
Through their efforts in these projects, students served the community and displayed their dedication to the future, Bronskill said.
“I believe that these service events are where we start to truly connect with our community and bring about the change we want to see,” he said.
On Friday morning, students planted American flags in the main quad as a memorial to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A simple sign behind the installation explained that students planted one flag for every three victims out of more than 2,700 lives lost on that day.
Before the volunteers planted flags, they heard from Bronskill, AU College Republicans President Stephen Laudone, and Tim McBride, Vice President of AU College Democrats.
Laudone spoke about the importance of keeping the event non-partisan and uniting Americans while paying respect to those who lost their lives.
“Acknowledging what we lost that day and how Americans came together to move forward is important, and it is a continual process that is not nearly finished,” Laudone said. “Today, AU Students participated in the continuing process together."
Bronskill was glad to see a high turnout for the event.
“It was absolutely inspiring to see almost 50 AU students wake up at 7 AM to remember [the victims of 9/11] and [to] serve,” Bronskill said.
On Saturday morning, students gathered for a community cleanup in different green spaces around AU. Students picked up trash in an effort to beautify the three local parks, Battery Kemble, Glover-Archbold and Soapstone Valley.
Like the flag ceremony, the cleanup also commemorated 9/11, but in an optimistic gesture that signified strength and moving forward, Bronskill said.
“We hope to make this incredible city even better and brighter than ever before,” Bronskill said.
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