On Friday, Sept. 11, Binghamton University Campus Recreation held a Memorial Stair Climb Challenge at the Visions Federal Credit Union Track and Field Facility bleachers, where participants climbed 110 flights of stairs to honor the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

Thomas St. John, director of campus recreation, said that Branden Kimble, the program coordinator for fitness and wellness, took initiative to plan the event. Kimble, who was hired in February 2026, came to St. John last spring with the idea of commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11 with their own version of the Memorial Stair Climb Challenge.

“It doesn’t matter about you know how quickly you’re doing it, how you know sore you are after it, we’re here honoring it,” Kimble said. “Everyone says you never forget. We’re actually here personally, putting in the effort and saying we will never forget because we’re putting this into action.”

According to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the challenge commemorates the 110-story ascent into the Twin Towers made by the 343 firefighters who passed away while responding to the terrorist attacks and “symbolically completes their heroic journey to save others.”

Kimble said that the men’s and women’s soccer teams, along with the wrestling team, participated in the event.

Luca Dalla Costa, a freshman majoring in biochemistry who participated in the event, spoke with Pipe Dream about the emotions surrounding the event.

“I’m so sad that that happened, and I’m so sad that there’s families who had to live without parents, families that had to live without a sibling, families that had to live without a provider because of what happened,” said Dalla Costa.

Ben Reid, the facility and events coordinator at the East Gym, spoke with Pipe Dream about the significance of the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

“It’s a big milestone because 25 years isn’t just so much of an anniversary anymore as it is like a generation,” said Reid. “A whole generation has come to fruition in the years since that happened, and so many people were born in the post-9/11 world that they know it happened, but they don’t fully know the significance of it. So, I think marking such a significant occasion with events like this is really important.”

In addition to this year’s stair climbing event, the University Police Department held its annual flag-raising ceremony on the morning of Sept. 11 at 8:46 a.m. to honor the lives lost, including 15 BU alumni.

Other students at the event expressed similar gratitude for the event and what it meant for the Binghamton community.

“I think it’s a great way to remember 9/11, and remember everyone that was lost and like the cost that it had on our country,” said Nicky Hayes, a sophomore majoring in biology. “I feel like taking a little bit of time out of your day to just do it is something that if you can, you should. I think it’s great that there’s a lot of people out here doing this, and it means a lot to like who we are as like a good community here at Binghamton.”