Nearly 3,000 flags now cover part of a university campus, creating a powerful visual reminder of the lives lost in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Members of the university’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter are displaying 2,977 American flags outside the Center of Faith and Spirituality — one flag representing each life lost in the attacks.

Students say the goal is simple: to make the scale of the tragedy impossible to overlook.

“The flags provide a visual aid. That’s a lot of flags,” said Matthew Finkel with Young Americans for Freedom. “People see this. They stop and take pictures and recognize that is a tragic loss of life. Any life is tragic, but it’s an unthinkable amount.”

The flag display is part of the campus’s remembrance of the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11.

Students are also painting the campus Spirit Rock to commemorate the anniversary.

An informational table will be set up outside the Mori Hosseini Student Union from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., where students can learn more about the attacks and the people being remembered through the memorial.

Organizers say the display is intended not only to honor those who died, but also to help younger generations understand the magnitude of what happened.

A nationwide remembrance

The campus memorial is part of the nationwide 9/11 Never Forget Project, which brings similar displays to communities across the country.

For students involved, the rows of flags serve as a physical representation of a number that can otherwise be difficult to comprehend — 2,977 individual lives lost on one of the darkest days in American history.

On campus, each flag represents a person — turning that number into something people can see, count and remember.