Sept. 11 was commemorated by Adelphi University the way it should be across the globe - as a day of thought and reflection. This a day where people should be going to work and school and continuing with their lives, not putting their lives on hold for one day in their homes.

National Holidays like Memorial Day and Veteran's Day seemed to have lost their meaning with time because we generally associate those days with time-off from work and school. Instead of remembering those that fought and died for our country, many of us concern ourselves with 50% off sales, or an extended weekend. If Sept. 11 was to ever become a national holiday, it runs the risk of sharing the same fate as these other holidays.

Adelphi's administration planned everything perfectly for the anniversary. The recognition of the four moments of silence were optional, with only one specific moment, at 10:29 being physically honored at the flag pole. A forum was planned during the University's recognized "activity hour" so that students and faculty could do what they should be doing on such a tragic day - talking about it, and sharing ideas. Then at night, a candlelight vigil was planned so students and faculty could once again gather to show their support. However, what was most important about all of these scheduled events was not a single class was cancelled.

It is evident that Adelphi's administration recognized a very critical point about the Sept. 11 anniversary; that everyone needs to honor it their own way. Perhaps some students chose not to honor the day at all, but Adelphi realized that there was nothing wrong with that. Instead of imposing anything on the community, they provided us with something that the media failed to: options.

Many believed that the media's coverage of the anniversary was excessive, specifically the television coverage. Although there were surely millions of viewers who tuned in, there were certainly many who wished they could turn on their television sets and not have to have to view the ongoing coverage on the anniversary.

This was not an issue at Adelphi, will hopefully, not be an issue nationwide in the future. We must continue to honor and observe Sept. 11 for what it was, a day where over 3,000 lives were lost in a despicable act of terrorism. It should not be national holiday, a day off from work or a day where people's lives are forced to cease.

We must be flexible. Sept. 11 means something different to every person in our country and no one should ever be told what and how to feel on that day.