A cool morning air gently flows over McCullough Plaza carried on by a peaceful morning breeze. At 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 17 years ago, the first plane, Flight 11, crashed into the the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Today, at the same time of the attacks, Chancellor Ray Wallace and a small group of students and faculty held a short ceremony in remembrance.

“Today is not a day for speeches, it is a day for reflection,” Wallace said.

Jacquelyn Singleton, assistant professor of Education, and Debi Mink, associate professor of education, brought their classes out to attend the event.

Since a majority of their students were three or four-years-old at the time of the attack, they said they believed it was important for them to be apart of the commemoration.

“I don’t think anyone who actually saw it will ever forget it,” Mink said. She was in Miami at the time, preparing to speak at a professional development workshop when her boss called her to watch the coverage.

“Take this moment to think about what today means to you,” Wallace said before joining the others under a weighted blanket of silence.