Rev. Evan Young stood in front of the crowd.
It was there. He saw the vision his heart yearned for — a group of individuals with different faiths and from different walks of life all joined together.
More than 100 Ohio University students and Athens residents gathered to participate in the seventh annual Better Together 9/11 Interfaith Peace Walk on Monday evening. Organized by OU’s Better Together campaign and in partnership with United Campus Ministry, the event honors the lives lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and aims to unite students to stand in solidarity with one another.
“I’ll tell you what I see,” Young, the campus minister at United Campus Ministry, said. “I see community … I see white people and brown people and black people, men and women and every gender imaginable. And I see you all together.”
Beginning at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 64 University Terrace, participants walked through the streets of Athens, passing by several religious establishments around town.
OU President Duane Nellis gave an opening speech and walked along with the participants. Nellis was accompanied by First Lady Ruthie Nellis, and the two held hands throughout the walk.
“We need to celebrate what makes us diverse,” Duane said. “We’re a better community by the inclusivity that comes from the spectrum of all the people who are part of this community.”
The goal of the Interfaith Peace Walk was to introduce individuals of different faiths to one another and strengthen the bonds between the groups, Zach Reizes, the Center for International Studies senator for Student Senate, said.
At the OU branch of Hillel, Reizes, a junior studying global studies war and peace, recited a Mi Shebeirach, a Jewish prayer for healing, comforting the crowd of participants.
“During this time, there’s a lot of people who feel scared. There’s a lot of people who feel that they’re not included,” Jenna Grams, the vice president of International Student Union, said. “No matter what their faith, their background, their sexuality, anything. (We) just want to make sure everyone feels included and supported.”
With President Donald Trump’s administration pushing for an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, many students within the program are afraid to identify themselves, Grams, a junior studying linguistics and music production, said.
Ohio University President Duane Nellis and First Lady Ruthie Nellis participate in the Interfaith Peace Walk alongside Vice President of Student Affairs and interim Chief Diversity Officer Jason Pina (left) on Sept. 11. (FILE)
DACA is a program protecting undocumented immigrants within the U.S. from deportation, according to a previous Post report. The program was enacted during the Obama-era and allowed immigrants to request consideration of deferred action as well as allowing them to apply for work permits.
It can be dangerous for DACA students to identify themselves, and because of that, many do not speak up, Grams said.
“It’s really important that we raise our voices (for them), especially when they do feel uncomfortable identifying who they are,” she said.
As the sky grew darker, participants reached the Islamic Center of Athens where they held a candlelight vigil, helping each other spread the flames among their candles.
Ranin Rabbani, a doctoral student studying chemistry, said it was his first time attending the Interfaith Peace Walk, and he was motivated by the politics taking place around the world.
Hate groups around the world have been growing larger during the last couple of years, Rabbani, an international student from Iran, said. He believes, however, there is a way to “defeat them.”
“The only way to defeat them … is by uniting, no matter what you believe in. You have to be united with others,” Rabbani said. “We are many people with many beliefs, and if we’re all here together for one reason that is peace in humanity, it means we can defeat the hate.”
