Most members of the newest freshman class were only 10 years old on Sept. 11, 2001. Even so, the Cornell community commemorated the emotion-filled events of that day in various ways on Friday.

The Cornell Republicans, assisted by the Cornell Israel Public Affairs Committee, created a memorial on the Arts Quad by putting up a flag for each of the 2,998 victims of the attacks. Around 2,000 flags were placed the night before Sept. 11, while passers-by could participate and put the rest of the flags in the ground during the day, according to Grace MacRae ’11, executive director of the Cornell Republicans.

“The flags spell out “Remember 9 11” and each flag is in remembrance of a victim,” MacRae said.

The groups also gave out quarter cards and accepted donations from passers-by. Each quarter card featured a victim, and the donations will go to Veterans of Foreign Wars, an organization that assists veterans returning from wars.

The Cornell University Police Department, which sent representatives to ground zero in the aftermath of 9/11, also hosted a memorial on Friday. In the lobby of the CUPD office, hundreds of names and photos of service members who lost their lives in ground zero are shown on a commemorative plaque. A flag, presented to CUPD by visiting firemen from the New York City Fire Department, was framed and displayed next to the plaque. According to Ellen Brewer, a CUPD patrol officer who was one of the members of the group that went to ground zero, the flag was draped across victims’ remains as they were brought out from ground zero.

Never forget: Members of the Cornell Republicans placed flags on the Arts Quad Friday. Each flag represented a victim of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.Every year on Sept. 11, the area turns into a memorial in which people can come by, leave wreaths and pay their respects. This year, the memorial started on Friday midnight and lasted for 24 hours.

Brewer recalled that eight years ago, CUPD had asked the Cornell community if they wanted any memorial items to be brought down to ground zero. The community responded with an outpouring of various memorial items they had made and money they wanted to donate, as well as a ton of apples from the orchards. A team of around 18 people, including CUPD officers and dispatchers, members of the Ithaca College Police Department, the traffic department, and the judicial administrator’s office delivered all items to ground zero. When they were there for the first two weeks of December, they were given a tour of the PoliceOne building and ground zero and spent the rest of their time supporting the police and fire personnel that were still on scene.

“It’s our intention never to forget,” Brewer said.

Another event on campus was hosted by the Lambda Theta Alpha sorority as part of the Latino Living Center’s Café Con Leche series, in which a Major was invited to share his experiences in the armed forces. According to Sherina Giler ’10, a LTA sister and co-chair of La Asociación Latina, they discussed the involvement of Latinos in the military post-9/11, as statistics show that the percentage of Latinos in the military has dramatically increased.

“We also held a moment of silence for the victims of 9/11 and all the people who have passed away from the war, and then made cards which will be sent to soldiers to show them our appreciation,” Giler said.