In honor of those lives, Cullen and other members of the university’s College Republicans will spend the evening of Sept. 10 on Mudd Field planting 2,977 flags — one for each life lost on 9/11. The organization Young America’s Foundation distributed the flags to Washington University and 100 other universities nationwide.
Washington University also will lower the American flag on 9/11 and ring the bells of Graham Chapel at 9:28 a.m., the moment the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.
Cullen, who is majoring in political science and economics, with a minor in Arabic, all in Arts & Sciences, said she hopes the memorial sparks conversations among classmates.
“I was dismayed that last year there was no recognition of 9/11,” Cullen said. “It was almost like no one wanted to talk about it. So many of us were so young that we don’t have any recollection of 9/11. Our families wanted to shield us from this tragedy.
“But this event has changed us, our nation and our world. It’s important that we know this part of our history.”