Junior sculpture majors Sasha Shrem and Elana Mann recently won approval from University City's Municipal Commission on Arts & Letters for their work, "A Community Memorial." The project, which comes as part of the School of Art's 17th annual University City Sculpture Series, will unfold in two steps:

· On March 9-10, the public is invited to Mooney Park between 11 a.m.-4 p.m. to contribute their thoughts and memories about the attack. Questionnaires for adults and children will be provided, along with paper, pens and other art-making materials. Also, barring emergency, the University City Fire Department will have one fire truck and one ambulance on site.

Mooney Park is located off Jackson Avenue, just north of Delmar Boulevard. Rain dates are March 16-17.

· On March 24, a kiosk-like memorial constructed using those artworks will be unveiled, remaining on view in the park though April 19. An opening reception for all works in the sculpture series will be held from 2:30-5 p.m. March 24, beginning in the rotunda of City Hall, 6801 Delmar Blvd.

For Shrem, a native of Long Island, Sept. 11 struck close to home in two ways: Several of her high school classmates lost parents in the World Trade Center's collapse, while her current roommate's father managed to escape the building.

"In New York, people think about Sept. 11 all the time," Shrem said, but pointed out that other -- seemingly less directly affected -- parts of the country are struggling through a more haphazard grieving process. "We wanted to sit everyone down at the table together."

Mann, who came to St. Louis from Boston, added that "it's helpful to go through this as a community -- all these emotions come out that you didn't realize were there."