Jean Morrow fixed her gaze on the rows of 3-inch tall American flags.
"That many people lost their lives," said Morrow, a political science junior, as she stood before the nearly 3,000 American flags shaping the numbers nine and 11 on the Plaza of the Americas.
About 20 students gathered at the 9/11 memorial Thursday evening to pray and remember the Americans who lost their lives seven years ago.
The memorial was constructed by members of UF's College Republicans with locally donated flags, Morrow said.
"It's just something we can never forget," she said.
Morrow wore a somber expression as she walked to the front of the cluster of students to read a prayer.
Some students, holding candles framed by paper plates, looked at Morrow or the flags. Others stared into the flames that glistened from white candles in their hands. Most looked at the ground, listening to Morrow speak.
During her prayer, a moment of silence and the sounds of "Taps" floating from a trumpet, the students stood together in silence.
"This is kind of comforting to know that you can spend it with other people," said Jen Neukamm, a UF freshman, about the event.
Neukamm said it was important for her to commemorate Sept. 11 though its significance has changed since she first heard about the terrorist attacks as a sixth grader.
"I didn't really know what it meant," she said. "I think I have a better understanding of it now."
She said she's found a mixed response to the anniversary this year.
One of Neukamm's professors told her class that the anniversary is not receiving as much news coverage as in the past, she said.
For UF sophomore Matt Panzano, however, the memory is still fresh for him and fellow northerners, he said.
"It's kind of distant for some people whereas it's sort of a personal thing, so I'm going to remember it every time," said Panzano, who is from New Jersey.
"Around this time of year, it feels like yesterday."
