![Alexander Oki ‘28 picks up trash in the lower parking lot Feb. 20. According to Keep America Beautiful, the majority of the trash found on both roads and waterways consists of fast food wrappers and packaging, receipts and plastic beverage bottles. Clubs like the National Honor Society (NHS) offer students the opportunity to earn service hours by cleaning up the trash in the parking lots. “[The trash] makes us look very unhygienic and unmotivated to be a proper school,” Emberlyse Vidal ‘28 said. “It makes us look like we just don't care about our students' environments.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220_1355020-2-1200x904.jpg)
![Isabelle Piche '24 and Collin Naibauer '24 smile at the top of Red Rocks Amphitheatre after completing the Red Rocks 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Sept. 11. The two students and their Fire Science peers joined hundreds of citizens in doing nine laps around the amphitheatre to complete a distance similar to the 110 floors first responders climbed up the World Trade Center on the day of the attacks. "Others should definitely consider doing the climb because it’s a very eye-opening experience with the amount of adults, children, firefighters, paramedics, police and other people [who] come together to honor something so tragic," Piche said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMG_9374-e1694495989417.jpg)
22 years after Sept. 11, 2001, the events of that day have not been forgotten.
According to 9/11 Memorial and Museum, the 9/11 terrorist attack occurred Sept. 9, 2001, performed by the terrorist group “Al-Qaeda.” Four commercial airline planes flew into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, a field in Pennsylvania and both of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, New York.
In total, the attacks killed 2,977 people. According to CBS News, 343 of those were New York firefighters–with hundreds more dying over the years due to health complications, such as cancer, caused by the toxins and dangerous conditions first responders were exposed to on 9/11.
Every year since the terrorist attacks took place, many U.S. citizens have found ways to honor and recognize the victims, survivors, first responders and others involved in the incident.
Fire Science students took part in the annual Red Rocks 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. Dressed in their firefighting gear, the hike was equivalent to the 110-story climb of the World Trade Center, meant to honor victims of the tragedy, specifically the first responders who made the climb. According to CBS News, over 1,400 individuals participated in the Red Rocks climb.
“This stair climb hits home for me because I not only walk for the souls we lost on 9/11, but for the men and women we lose every day to the job [of firefighting],” Fire Science student Isabelle Piche ’24 said. “ I grew up in a law enforcement family with a father who is also a firefighter, so I walk for all the men and women I have personally known who have been laid to rest. The climb is about coming together as a community to honor and remember the ones who served us.”
After completing the climb, participants received pizza and a chance to socialize.
“Everyone gets pizza and hangouts for music and just a celebration,” Piche said. “The morning and start of the climb is always quite and sad, so it’s nice to celebrate afterwards.”