Record crowd honors 25th anniversary of 9/11 with Ohio Stadium stair climb

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Record crowd honors 25th anniversary of 9/11 with Ohio Stadium stair climb

Students, faculty and staff join in effort to remember sacrifice of Sept. 11

More than 3,100 people filled the staircases in Ohio Stadium this morning for The Ohio State University's annual 9/11 memorial stair climb. From cadets and midshipmen to students, university leaders and local first responders, a record number of supporters joined in to remember the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

The university's tri-service ROTC departments (Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force) host the climb each year. And each year, more supporters arrive before dawn to climb hundreds of steps in honor of the first responders who climbed into the World Trade Center to rescue as many people as possible.

"There's nothing like a little pain and discomfort, and soon the morning sunrise, to remind you that you're alive. … It's a privilege," said Trevor Brown, Ohio State's interim executive vice president and provost. "I hope as you're running up and down these stairs, you feel that privilege of being alive and that joy of being in a community. Thank you for getting up early and joining all of us to remember what happened 25 years ago."

Brown was joined in the opening remarks by keynote speaker Maj. Gen. John C. Harris Jr. (Ret.), director of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services.

"I encourage you, even those of you who weren't born yet, to never forget the plight of that day," he said.

Harris spoke about the central question in the National Anthem that still echoes today: Is the flag still there?

"The flag does not wave over our armed forces, our economic systems. It waves over the land of the free and the brave," he said. "And that's not only those who wear the uniform of the nation, but all those who stand behind them. You are the free and the brave. So as you run the stairs today, I encourage you to query yourself, have I done my part to ensure this is the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

Following the blast of an air horn, volunteers march up and down the stairs in the stadium for 45 minutes. The climb is the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs - symbolic of the 110 floors of the World Trade Center towers.

For Emilia Riddell, a third-year graduate student in the occupational therapy doctorate program, the first experience with the stair climb was moving.

"It was incredible seeing everyone come together for such a special event. I'm doing work with the Upper Arlington Fire Department for my capstone, so I got to see a couple of them and cheer them on today," she said. "I have so much gratitude for all of our fire, police, military, everyone."

Riddell said the attendance at the memorial stair climb shows the exceptional qualities of the Buckeye community.

"The Buckeye community is already so strong. Like anywhere you go, you see Ohio State gear," she said. "I knew it was already a tight community, but coming together for more than just Ohio State, seeing surrounding communities come in, it's just incredible."

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