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On the steps of Fogler Library a single white candle glowed in the uncharacteristically warm, mid-September night. The flag rested gently against the pole as the chimes of 7 p.m. echoed against a metallic blue and orange sky.
It was before this backdrop that over 200 people converged in a peace vigil Tuesday night on the mall. The Peace Studies Program, the Maine Peace Action Committee and the Peace and Justice Center of Bangor swiftly organized the vigil in the wake of a series of terrorist attacks that struck the nation earlier in the day.
“I find it encouraging that I don’t know at least 3/4 of you, [and] it’s good to see so many caring and concerned members of our university community,” Doug Allen, professor and chairperson of the philosophy department, said.
The candle vigil was the second such gathering to take place on the mall Tuesday. The Campus Crusade for Christ organized an impromptu gathering at 1 p.m. for students wanting spiritual comfort.
“People need an open forum to express what they’re feeling. For some, that’s the healing process,” said Eric Dellaire, a member of Crusade for Christ.
During the night vigil, Allen turned the microphone over to the gathering. Over the next hour, students, facility and others took turns not only in exploring their emotions over the tragedy that occurred, but also reiterating their hopes for the prevalence of peace both in this crisis and for the future.
“The only thing that I hope is if you have even the slightest amount of love and hope in [your heart], if you can just [give it] to yourself or to someone else, `cause that’s the only thing that’s going to bring us together,” Jennie Leland, a student at the University of Maine, said.
Others sought to confront why it happened, and many spoke of their disagreement with how the U. S. government acts in relation to other nations as a major factor in provoking the violence that occurred Tuesday.
“It’s beautiful to see how people come together for each other in crisis.with a sense of [oneness] with the country, [as well as] being more in touch with the world,” Kathleen Worcester, a senior, said.
Worcester spoke of friends from other nations having to deal with violence on a daily basis, and how Americans, until today, haven’t really understood what that’s like.
“A lot of people in the world thought America had the sense of.[having] a big wall up.I think a lot of people are scared right now,” she said.
Other students, such as Andy Hicks, related how the day’s events were even more personal, in that they had either friends or family working not only in close proximity to the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but actually within the buildings themselves.
Among others, Allen voiced his fear concerning the anger and retaliation that may come in the immediate future against those of Arab descent in the U.S.
Kamal Shannak, former vice-president of the student government and a native of Jordan, spoke from that perspective.
“I feel the fingers are not just being pointed there (the Middle East), but also at me.just because I am from there.”
Admitting that it was not easy for him to say that, Shannak relayed a hope shared by the majority assembled.
“I appreciate human life as much as all of you do. And I hope this incident doesn’t make you a close-minded person.[rather] it makes you an open-minded person, and instead of generalizing, just stick to each other, and express your anger [in order to] make it better.and more peaceful.”
Bangor Daily News