A small group of Syracuse University students and chaplains gathered in a semicircle on a rainy afternoon. In front of them stood hundreds of wooden dowels, marking the lives of those killed in Iraq.

‘This project will live with me for a long time,’ said Edward Aiken, a museum studies professor, to the group in front of him.

As part of Sunday’s installation of the public artwork Numbers Without Number, a 15-minute memorial service was held in front of the piece Monday. Aiken and three chaplains from Hendricks Chapel gave speeches to honor the lives of American soldiers lost in Iraq and to share their impressions of the project.

Numbers Without Number is an installation artwork done by the advanced class in the museum studies graduate program. It consists of an unidentified number of wooden dowels placed in the grass between the Schine Student Center and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, each representing an unspecified amount of people who have died in Iraq. The project intended to be a nonpartisan, culture-blind memorial.

‘People have been slowing down when they walk by, and cars have been slowing down when they drive by,’ said Jennifer Barbour, a graduate student who worked on Numbers Without Number.

Alex Ozenberge, a recent broadcast journalism graduate, was one of those passersby who, like Barbour said, were drawn to the memorial.

‘I was just walking down the sidewalk, and I saw it,’ Ozenberge said. ‘I really do get an impression of the toll that this war has had.’

Monday’s ceremony began with Aiken, the professor overseeing the Numbers Without Number project, congratulating those involved with the project.

‘Every hand made a difference,’ he said. ‘The sense of camaraderie and accomplishment when working on this project was extraordinary.’

Gail Riina, a Lutheran chaplain, spoke about the stages of grief and how they related to the Iraq War. She highlighted four stages: denial, anger, bargaining and acceptance.

‘This memorial puts an end to denial,’ she said. ‘We can begin the process of healing.’

Catholic chaplain Linus DeSantis’ speech dealt with war and how it results when people in power seek their own will instead of God’s. He concluded by offering prayers to all present and all affected by war.

‘I pray for all those in positions of authority to seek the common good,’ he said. ‘I pray for all those who have fallen. I pray for all who enjoy freedom, and that they may appreciate its cost.’

After the ceremony, DeSantis mentioned that he felt it was important for him to speak to give a voice to those who have fallen, and to speak for peace and harmony.

Tomi Jacobs, a Protestant chaplain, expressed a need to speak because of her disapproving feelings toward the war.

‘I think that we’re responsible for what’s happening,’ Jacobs said. ‘We’re responsible for the loss of lives. We paid these men and women to go and lose their lives in other countries and cause all kinds of pain and suffering in these other countries.’

rhkheel@syr.edu

Published on September 30, 2008 at 12:00 pm