Fighting tears as she looked out over a group of college students, Bakersfield College President Dr. Sandra Serrano said that America will “not be defeated by acts of terrorism.”
On Sept. 14, a day declared by President George Bush as a national day of remembrance, at 9 a.m. the Associated Students of Bakersfield College held a prayer vigil for the victims and survivors of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Serrano was among the speakers who addressed the sensitive issue.
“It has been a difficult week for all of us,” she said. “I feel the same way many of you feel. I ask you to join me and those in the community to show unity and compassion.”
Sumeet Batth, ASBC president, said that she needed to provide students “with a service to mourn,” which is why she called the last-minute service.
“I hope these events will unite us as Americans,” Batth said. “I thank BC for being so supportive.”
Since the attack, BC students have expressed a great deal of emotion. But Batth said that she has heard of students who have felt discrimination.
At the service Serrano asked the campus to be “sensitive to the needs of others.”
She said that she hopes that everyone will feel safe.
“I am confident that we will recover,” she said. “We are a nation of strong people.”
After the comments of Serrano and Batth, BC student Jenny Schnipp sang the national anthem to the crowd of teary-eyed students. Her song brought the group together as people held hands and hummed along with her a capella performance.
BC professor Dr. Mark Staller was the main speaker at the vigil. He commented on the needs of the victims.
“I so desperately want to be there (in New York),” he said. “I want to help improve the situation. Our work today is to come together to mourn and to pray. Our job is to come together as a nation.”
Staller issued a call for us to “stand not just as a nation, but as a world.”
“We join together as a nation to pray,” he said.
Serrano said the service was held “to bring together the college community. It was a sign of unity and solidarity to show respect for lives that have been lost. It was support for the great nation we stand for,” she said.
He reminded the community not to “lash out at people who look of Middle East origin,” he said. “Don’t confuse Muslim and Sikh friends with an imagined enemy.”
The service, attended by many different religious leaders, included music performed by the choir of St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church and the choir from Olive Knolls Nazarene.
Hall said that Americans can “fight hate and racism by closely embracing each other.” He said that only through education can citizens finally feel free to love one another.
The Rev. Sara Haldeman-Scarr of the Church of the Brethren agreed,
“I was scared and I wanted to protect my children,” she said. “Don’t assume your children will be protected because the TV is off. Children will find out. Be honest with them. The children who have experienced this are are the parents of tomorrow.”
Hall announced that Bakersfield firefighters are counted among those helping in New York. Two rows of firefighters at the service were met with resounding applause and a standing ovation.
The Rev. Ted Virts of the First United Methodist Church said that the attack is not God’s will, as some have assumed.
“We have reached out to each other,” he said. “Some say this is God’s will, it is not. His will is life. In the midst of the rubble and the fear and anger, God calls. God is our refuge and strength.”
His comments were echoed by other religious leaders, including Nazar Kooner of the Sikh community. Kooner said that all citizens are Americans, no matter ethnic origin.
Many community leaders spoke besides Hall, such as state Assemblyman Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
“(It makes you) remember just how fragile life is,” he said. “What is it these terrorists hoped we’d learn from these murderous acts?”