The Veterans Resource Center (VRC) hosted the 9/11 25th anniversary memorial ceremony in the University Student Union on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. The event was an emotional day marking the tragic time in the United States when a total of 2,977 people were killed in the attacks. The memorial ceremony included remarks from CSUN Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students William Watkins and former and current Associated Students Presidents Tari Hunter and Hermoni Douglas.
When walking through the memorial, there were many posters showing the timeline of events that led to the tragedy, as well as the names of the victims from the World Trade Center and the first responder agencies that helped lead the United States out of these dark times.
The ceremony showed an emotional video from the day of Sept. 11, showing news outlets reacting to the tragedies that were unfolding in New York City, Washington, D.C., and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Watkins began his remarks by thanking the VRC for hosting the event, the veterans for their service and remembering the first responders and the victims of the attack. Watkins also emphasized how the CSUN community overcame this adversity.
“Service, community and conviction that we are stronger together, that’s the Matador way,” said Watkins. “This university makes sure that a day this consequential like 9/11 will never just become complete in the past, but something that shapes how the next generation of matadors will meet.”
Former AS president Tari Hunter, who served in the position from 2001 to 2002, said she was about to take her kid to school when her roommate told her about the attacks. She added that, days later, she remembers the weight of the moment with her fellow college students.
“I remember peering out from the Library onto the library lawn and seeing people in pain,” Hunter said.
Hunter said this incident helped her understand what leadership can mean.
“I remember that leadership isn’t about always having all the answers … sometimes leadership is simply about being present when your community needs you,” Hunter said.
Hermoni Douglas said to know your history and that the memorial was a perfect example. She explains her mother’s perspective of Sept. 11, 2001, and that overall people were afraid all around the country.
“Parents were thinking about their children, families trying to find one another, people wondering whether the people they loved were safe,” Douglas said. “Know the people and know their stories and understand what they experienced because history is context for the world we live in today.”
Overall, the speeches of Hunter and Douglas reminded people about community, leadership, service and remembrance.
Other notable attendees included Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo and California Senator Caroline Menjivar. Schiavo was emotional when walking up on stage while thanking all those who served and honored CSUN VRC by awarding them a resolution plaque for the Sept. 11, 2026, 25th anniversary memorial.
Senator Menjivar presented a powerful speech about unity within the United States
“Today, you can turn on the news and all we see is black, brown, white hatred of each other. But 25 years ago, for a moment, America was united, but it shouldn’t take the prices like that to unite us,” Menjivar said. “We don’t need another attack on our soil to look at your neighbor and say you and I are together in this… because we need that kind of community now.”
Manager of the VRC Robert Graves ended off the ceremony with a speech regarding his experience of finding out about 9/11 and how two weeks after he was in Okinawa, Japan, he was in Afghanistan fighting a war. Graves also said he wants Sept.12, 2001, to be remembered as well.
“Sept. 12 was the day when people cried together, people held one another, people cared for strangers, people stepped into roles they never knew they were capable of stepping into,” Graves said. “People reached into places of destruction because somewhere beneath the rubble might have been another human being who had the chance to get home…it showed us what human beings are capable of when even for a moment we stop seeing one another as strangers.”
