2011 Common Reader: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Image provided by actx.edu

By Tashana Hughes

Thousands of lives were lost on Sept. 11, 2001. To remember the victims of 9/11, the Amarillo College institutional theme this year is “Reconstructing 9/11,” marking the 10th anniversary.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, a novel written by Jonathan Safran Foer, is the Common Reader for the 2011-2012 school year.

It tells the story of 9-year-old Oskar Schell, who travels around New York City in search of a lock that fits a mysterious key he found in his father’s belongings.

AC will host various activities in remembrance of 9/11. On Nov. 2, Foer will speak to AC students, faculty and staff.

The Student Government Association hosted a remembrance ceremony Monday on the Washington Street Campus to honor the 10th anniversary.

More than 3,000 flags were displayed around the clock tower for each of the victims who lost their life that day.

The Caprock High School Junior ROTC presented the colors, and the AC choir performed the national anthem and an original arrangement of “America” by Dr. Steven Weber, choral activities director.

Roaster’s Coffee was on campus giving out free lattes, cappuccinos, hot cocoa and coffee. Red, white and blue donuts were available during a presentation concerning the U.S. Constitution.

Late in the fall semester, the AC theater department will present, “Recent Tragic Events,” which takes place on Sept. 12, 2001, in Minneapolis.

The play shows that not every planned activity is completely serious.

The Common Reader, as well as the events taking place on campus, place emphasis on the tragic events.

The Common Reader is fiction, but it provides enlightenment into how some people have dealt with 9/11.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is in the process of being made into a movie starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. It is expected to open in Amarillo in January.

For more information about the Common Reader and the year-long institutional theme, visit http://www.actx.edu/institutionaltheme.

 

Originally published: Thursday, September 15, 2011

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