Cornell will commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks this Sunday, Sept. 11, at 6 p.m. on Ho Plaza in front of Willard Straight Hall. The ceremony is open to the public; in the event of inclement weather it will be held in the Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room.

Organized by Cornell United Religious Work (CURW), the commemoration will include remarks by Saim Chaudhary ’17, president of the student organization Islamic Alliance for Justice; ROTC student Eva Marie Garrido ’17; Nate Rogers, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly engineering representative; and CURW Director Rev. Kenneth I. Clarke. Members of the Cornell Chorale will perform the “Evening Song.”

In addition to marking the 15th anniversary, Clarke said: “There are factors that make all the more important the commemoration and remembrance of the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, and our need, through that tragedy, to remember and reflect on the lessons to be learned from these past 15 years.”

He cited the need “to avoid demonizing entire communities, either based on their race or their religion, because of the actions of those persons or organizations that are not representative of entire groups of people.”

“In light of the current state of geopolitical affairs as well as this year’s presidential election, particularly important are the ways in which we need to build bridges of understanding, and engage these issues in a substantive scholarly and intellectual manner,” Clarke said.

The 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and an airliner downed in central Pennsylvania claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people, including 21 Cornell alumni.

A plaque honoring the Cornellians who died in the Sept. 11 attacks will be dedicated in Anabel Taylor Hall in October.