Students, staff and community members can gather Wednesday morning to memorialize those who died on 9/11 at the remembrance ceremony.

Beth Dunahee, assistant director of military services, said the purpose of the ceremony is to reflect and recognize that freedom is a privilege.

“Remember it and remember those who lost their lives at that time, and how we still have to have people fighting for freedom and joining together to make sure that we are able to do the things we can do,” she said.

Dunahee said military student workers and student veterans will hang flags around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning around the Library Quad, where the ceremony will be held.

The flags will stay up all day, so people who cannot attend the remembrance ceremony can still visit them at the Quad. Helpers will take them down around 5 p.m. Wednesday evening.

Eastern President David Glassman and UPD chief Kent Martin will speak at the ceremony, with Martin giving keynote remarks, she said.

Trumpet players will also play taps, and a wreath memorial will take place before closing remarks.

In case of rain, the ceremony will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union at 9 a.m.

Dunahee said the ceremony gives students the opportunity to come together with the rest of the community, much in the same way communities came together during the 9/11 attacks.

Community togetherness in times of tragedy is powerful, she said.

Dunahee said communities should continue coming together during these times in the form of civic engagement.

“…If we all come together, we can still have that community and still have that engagement, so I think if we kind of light the way of it, (students) will hopefully follow in the path and know the importance of what we are doing,” Dunahee said.

Since 9/11 was 18 years ago, Dunahee said a generation of people who were not alive when it happened are beginning to enter colleges, and people are beginning to view it as a historical event.

Even though people are perceiving 9/11 as a historical event, Dunahee said its effects are still present today, which is why memorial ceremonies are necessary.

Those present during the 9/11 attacks need to be remembered, said Skylar Farris, a senior athletic training major involved with the Military Student Assistance Center.

“It’s something that we should never forget, to be honest, no matter what,” Farris said. “(We) need to teach people about this … because it’s part of history now.”

Logan Raschke can be reached at 581-2812 or at lrraschke@eiu.edu.