On Wednesday evening, a thousand Notre Dame students and community members each climbed 110 flights of stairs in Notre Dame Stadium to honor the first-responders who sacrificed their lives on 9/11.
ND110 is Duncan Hall’s signature philanthropy event, with proceeds benefitting HEART 9/11.
“HEART 9/11 is a charity run by survivors and first responders from 9/11 who use their platform and their experience to help and respond in cases of tragedy and natural disasters,” Duncan Hall signature event coordinator Patrick Teson said.
Students and community members paid a $15 registration fee to participate and support the charity. This year, the event received 1,050 pre-registrations.
Representatives from HEART 9/11 were able to travel to Notre Dame for the event this year, which was meaningful for the students who planned the event. “For the first time this year, we had representatives from Heart 9/11 here to witness the event in person, so it was amazing to have them here able to appreciate the entire event firsthand,” Duncan Hall signature event coordinator Hank McCourtney wrote in a statement to The Observer.
In the 24 hours leading up to the event, Duncan residents took turns running through campus with the American flag.
“This year, we added a police and fire escort to the last stretch of the run leading into the stadium,” Teson said.
Planning for the event begins several months prior and involves coordinating with the University and HEART 9/11.
“The planning process started towards the end of last year,” Duncan Hall signature event coordinator Andrew Yacoub wrote in a statement to The Observer. “During the summer we started working with Heart 9/11 and their VP John Moran to begin promoting the event.”
“We then started to sort out the details of the event, getting shirts, bandannas, and reaching out to sports teams, NDFD, and other campus and South Bend organizations. Our rector Nic Schoppe helped with the university side but the rest was mostly the student commissioners,” Yacoub wrote.
Yacoub said his favorite part of the event was seeing the excitement students had for it, despite the physical challenge of climbing 110 flights of stairs. “Students came in excited and with a good attitude. This continued throughout the event and I really enjoyed watching students from Duncan and all other dorms cheering each other on during the run.”
Years after 9/11, the ND110 is a tangible way for students to remember the victims and their families. “A lot of us college students weren’t around for the attacks because we were too young. You see a lot of people posting about it and wanting to remember it, but there’s a difference between posting and going out and doing [something] hard. 110 flights of stairs is not easy … but it’s in remembrance,” Teson said.
Duncan Hall signature event commissioner Nico Cavalluzzi echoed Teson’s message. “The fact that so many students, most of whom weren’t alive when the attacks happened, are coming to commemorate all those who died and support a great charity, really makes ND110 my favorite event on campus,” he wrote in a statement to The Observer.
The total amount of money raised for HEART 9/11 at the event will be announced later this week.
