By Ana Ruiz Brictson | Staff Writer
As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, the Department of Wellness and the Department of Campus Recreation take part in a national challenge that honors those who were lost that day.
The challenge involves a person stepping on and off a platform 581 times, allowing them to take the 2,701 steps that are the equivalent of reaching the top of the World Trade Center. The challenge is located in the McLane Student Life Center.
Beginning on Sept. 8, students, faculty and staff were invited to participate in the challenge and earn a certificate of completion. The last day to do the challenge is Sept. 11.
Houston senior Britney Gomes, who is currently a peer health educator helping those who are interested in doing the challenge, said that they are honoring those who were lost but that it is also important to remember the first responders who risked their lives to save people in danger.
“I think that most of us were really young,” Gomes said. “I was born in 2000. I was a baby. This is something we are doing to keep that memory alive.”
Assistant director of Wellness, Fitness & Nutrition Van Davis said that for her, it is really important to commemorate 9/11. On the day of the attack, Davis was in the SLC with coworkers when she saw the news.
“Everything just stopped,” Davis said. “No matter where you were, it was everywhere on the news. For the rest of the week, you would continue to see it on TV. To know that the majority of the students that are going to school right now were not even born or were only toddlers makes us want to let students know how impactful that day was.”
The step challenge is a movement that many schools around the United States are taking part in. It shows how people all over the country are honoring everyone who was lost or harmed that day.
According to Davis, the Department of Wellness and the Department of Campus Recreation also invite students, faculty and staff to join them behind the Baylor Sciences Building (BSB) at 12:15 p.m. on Friday. They will be walking one mile, which is two laps around the Cub Trail and adds up to an estimated 3,000 steps.
Baylor continues to prepare other ways in which it will remember 9/11. There will be several activities on Friday and Saturday to commemorate its significance and honor the millions of lives that were impacted.
