UCM to Host Sept. 11 Memorial Stair Climb at Walton Stadium

 

Students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to lace up their sneakers and take part in a powerful tribute on Friday, Sept. 11, at the University of Central Missouri (UCM).

The 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb is hosted by the UCM Office of Military and Veteran Services and UCM’s Army ROTC Fighting Mules Battalion. The challenge is 2,071 stairs, each step representing the courage, sacrifice and ultimate dedication of the first responders who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

The inaugural event is Friday morning, Sept. 11, at Audrey J. Walton Stadium. It is free and open to the public, but participants must register online by Sept. 9. The challenge is from 6 to 10 a.m., and registration includes selecting a start time between 6 and 9 a.m. Those who sign up can complete the challenge individually or as part of a team (2-10 people). 

Participants are asked to bring three canned goods or non-perishable items to support the UCM Campus Cupboard. Stair climbers will receive a patch to commemorate the event.

A moment of silence presentation will take place at 8:30 a.m.

In addition to the remembrance event, students and staff will place 2,977 small American flags in front of the Administration Building in memory of those who died during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the hijacking and crash of a passenger airplane in a Pennsylvania field. 

Military and Veteran Services staff will place the flags on Wednesday, Sept. 9, with help from the Army ROTC Fighting Mules Battalion. The flags will remain until Friday evening, Sept. 11.

For more information, email vets@ucmo.edu.