By Jacqueline Hlavenka

Just one year ago, the September 11 memorial quilt hanging in the student center was vandalized, defaced and removed from display. For junior political science major Alex McHale, he was not only furious, but heartbroken.

“When I found out it [the quilt] was vandalized last semester, I was outraged,” McHale explained, recounting the first time he saw the damage. “I asked ‘Why would anyone do that to something so sacred?’ I felt cut, almost like I was going to cry-it was bad.”

McHale is a transfer student from Nassau Community College who received an ROTC scholarship to the University. For as long as he can remember, McHale-part of a large military family-wanted to serve his country. He grew up in the rural upstate town of Cornwall-on-Hudson, located 50 miles north of New York City, the same area where General David Petraeus graduated from West Point military academy in 1974. McHale’s father served in the first Gulf War and his grandfather fought in World War II, the latter wounded twice and awarded a silver star.

“I come from a household where patriotism is valued, where military service comes from a long lineage in my family,” McHale said. “For me, it was more of a duty more than something I just wanted to do. I guess in my family in particular, religion and faith was a big part of making up who you were,” McHale explains. “The culture where I’m from is a lot different than here on Long Island. I’m used to family values. Some people would call it right-wing conservative.”

All politics aside, on September 11 McHale tragically lost a family-friend when the first plane hit the tower.

“When I saw the banner there, I really appreciated it because a friend of my family perished in September 11,” McHale said. “He was the captain of the aircraft. His name was Victor Saracini, a friend of my father’s.”

When he found out the quilt was vandalized, McHale decided to take action. He went to the Office of Student Leadership and Activities (OSLA) and met with Director Anita Ellis and Assistant Director Kimberly Ryan to discuss the memorial quilt.

“When I saw the banner, I felt like I had to do something,” McHale described. “The first time I met Kim, I walked in and yelled at her at the top of my lungs ‘How dare you allow something like this to happen!’ We got in a pretty heated argument and started our whole relationship off on the wrong foot.”

With the help of the Inter Fraternity Sorority Counsel, McHale negotiated with the student activities to make his dream a reality-rebuilding the quilt.

“The thing that got us to work together was when I calmed down, I maintained my professionalism and said I want this fixed,” McHale said. “[They] said it would cost $20,000. They said I would have to raise the money.”

From there, he set up a memorial fund with the help of OSLA to raise money for September 11 victims.

“I said, if it’s the last thing I do before I graduate, that banner will hang in that hallway,” McHale explained. “That’s what motivated me the most to get that fixed. I felt it was my duty as an American to honor the fallen.”

McHale described that President Rabinowitz personally greeted him and donated $100 out of his wallet for the memorial fund during the fundraising.

“President Rabinowitz came down, opened up his wallet, took out a $100 bill and put it in the bucket,” McHale said. “I talked to him briefly for a little bit, and I was in uniform, and I said, ‘thank you, sir, so much for contributing.’ He said, ‘let me know what your deadline is, because we will have this up by September 11.’ He said, ‘whatever you raise, I’ll match it.'”

True to his word, the September 11 memorial quilt is now on display in the student activities hallway, open to the public. Through the help of his peers and the faculty, the community showed its generosity and funded the reconstruction of the quilt-honoring the lives lost in lower Manhattan. A vigil was held in 2008 to dedicate the new quilt to the University on the seventh anniversary of September 11. McHale still reflects on what happened at Ground Zero every single day.

“The best way to move forward from a tragedy,” he explained, “It matters that we remain respectful, we keep them close to our minds, close to our hearts. The memories won’t fade from our fallen countrymen. Remember it was an event that changed the face of our nation, it changed our policies, our foreign policies and changed the way we communicate around the world. Everyone stopped, put down their differences, put aside race, color and religion and united as one name: Americans.”

McHale gives speech in front of the newly restored 9/11 Memorial Quilt.