On the eve of the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, campus and local groups are preparing events to commemorate the victims of the attacks.

The Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life, the Binghamton University Alumni Association and the BU administration will host a walkathon titled “Walk to Remember” on Sunday, Sept. 11. The walkathon will begin at 1 p.m. with a ceremony to honor the 15 BU alumni who died on Sept. 11.

Deena Buechler, a junior majoring in sociology, said she planned to participate in the walkathon.

“When 9/11 happened, there was a spirit of everyone in New York coming together to support each other,” Buechler said. “I’m excited to be part of the walk and evoke that feeling again.”

Chabad, along with Hillel and Jewish Heritage Program, will also hold an event titled “Mitzvah Marathon” on Monday, Sept. 12. The Mitzvah Marathon is a yearly tradition that began in 2002.

The Mitzvah Marathon invites students to come to the New University Union between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to assist with any of a number of “good deed” activities.

“Chabad has been spearheading the Mitzvah Marathon … through encouraging members of the campus community — mostly students, but also faculty and staff — to engage in acts of goodness and kindness in their memory,” said Rabbi Levi Slonim, director of programming and development at Chabad. “We do this by making opportunities readily available to people as they are passing by, i.e. making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that are delivered to area shelters, selling canned foods that students can buy and then donate on the spot to the local food pantry, running a huge blood drive and other such opportunities.”

Those who wish to participate in the Mitzvah Marathon do not need to register in advance. Chabad will allow anyone who shows up to the New Union on Sept. 12 to participate.

Slonim encouraged all students to take part in this event.

“There is an old saying, ‘A little light dispels much darkness,'” Slonim said. “Ten years ago on this day, terrorists brought so much darkness, death and grief into this world. We are trying to counter that with bringing more light and kindness into the world. This is indeed the best possible response to the terrible events of that day.”

The 9/11 Memorial Committee, run by the city of Binghamton, will dedicate a new memorial to the victims near the State Street entrance of City Hall during a public ceremony at 8:45 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11, exactly one decade to the minute after the first plane hit the World Trade Center’s north tower.

According to Jerry Marinich, a member of the 9/11 Memorial Committee, the memorial will consist of two black granite blocks, each with 110 indents, to represent the 110 floors of the World Trade Center’s towers. A steel beam taken from Ground Zero will be suspended between these two granite pillars.

In addition to the victims of Sept. 11, the memorial is intended to honor the many Broome County volunteers from the Red Cross, local police and fire departments, and many other organizations who helped out at Ground Zero during and after the attacks.

Other events will take place throughout Binghamton and the whole of the Southern Tier to mark the anniversary of Sept. 11. According to Marinich, Blues on the Bridge, a city-wide event, will take place on the Washington Street Bridge at noon Sunday, during which there will be a moment of silence for the victims of the attacks.