Events shape the nation. Changes have the ability to bring one down, to bring one up … to make one stronger. Sept. 11, 2001, affected the nation on multiple levels and hit home harder for some more than others.
Today, on the day of the second anniversary of the collapse of the twin towers, half of University of Wisconsin undergrads will look back to their respective high schools in remembrance of the tragic day, while the other half may reflect back to their day spent away from home in what for some was just a mere two weeks into their new life in Madison.
And yet all of UW’s students were affected in one way or another.
However, how does this difference in location alter a student’s point of view on the event? Were students still in high school affected in an incredibly different matter? Can the student population come together as one collectively affected group of young people? Can the halves unite as one in our changed atmosphere to give recognition to the event — and better yet, should they?
The world has been altered … The United States of America has been altered … many believe it has been tragically changed for the worst, many believe for the better. Regardless of individual beliefs, students nationwide are affected in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. International students are now questioned before they are allowed to enter the country, let alone a university such as UW. These students go through the same application procedures as domestic students but must also go through extensive interviews before official acceptance on campus grounds.
All students, regardless of homeland, can now have grades and other personal records more or less demanded by the federal government. Universities in turn must divulge this information upon request. These are alterations many would never have thought about prior to the events; now, however, with no second thought, information is given. Some people do complain, but most quietly oblige.
Most also accede to security changes. Shoes are now weapons. Thousands walk through airport security on a daily basis, shoes in hand … ready to place them on the belt. Many are pulled aside for further inspection. And yet as one walks through that security line and is asked to remove belt, jacket, jewelry, wallet, change and shoes, are a myriad of complaints uttered? Occasionally, yes. But typically? No.
Baseball fans patriotically sing “God Bless America” because of Sept. 11 during the seventh-inning stretch of Major League Baseball games on Sundays. These physical changes Americans have chosen to make are shaping the nation in a way no one could have imagined prior to the attacks.
However, besides physical changes, fear, anxiety and suspicion can be rendered from the sound of a low-flying airplane. Suspicion among millions rose recently when New York City and other places experienced an unexplained blackout. Was this a terrorist attack? No. Was that a conclusion many jumped to? Yes. The Columbia shuttle tragically explodes after takeoff. Terrorism? No. Are Americans jumping to this conclusion too often, or are they just being cautious because that is what they have been instructed to do?
Sept. 11 has given individuals new meanings to colors. Yellow, orange and red now signify threat, trouble and terrorism.
These individuals have the Department of Homeland Security with its 170,000 employees and projected budget of $26.7 billion to thank for the color-coded terror alerts — and yet this federal agency did not even exist two years ago.
The world is changing. Whether individuals have acknowledged that or not is a different story.
Regardless of whether it is being acknowledged and apart from the present, on this second anniversary, students give insight into their 9/11 experiences citing fear, shock and tears as common no matter where they resided at the time, no matter who they spent the day with and no matter who they heard the news from.
“You saw kids from my high school running down the street with the dust cloud chasing them,” UW junior Adam Smith said.
Smith, a Queens, N.Y., native was in Madison two years ago today, glued to his television set watching in shock and awe as the city he grew up in was turning to shambles. The towers he could see from the windows of the high school he graduated from just a few months prior were crumbling, his fellow peers were running, and his family was in danger.
He was awoken by a phone call from a frantic friend in Madison telling him of the attack. Smith immediately called everyone he knew in New York, as many did, to make sure they were safe, and continued to sit in awe and in fear for two days in front of the TV, like many also did.
UW junior Andy Sitzberger, from Brookfield, Wis., also remembers the fear he felt two years ago while in Madison as a freshman.
“When the Capitol closed and the airports closed, I got kind of worried,” he said. He said he debated going to class. “It was really quiet around campus.”
Class for many just was not an option. Smith said he stayed put in his dorm room for at least two days, absorbing the information broadcasted on the news.
Likewise, UW sophomore and Pearl River, N.Y., native Mollie Schneider stayed home for two days watching TV because her high school was closed down.
“I went home and watched TV with my mom for the next two days. All TV stations were out except for one that was broadcasted from the Empire State Building,” she said. “We didn’t want to watch, but we couldn’t not.”
Both Smith and Schneider said they felt as if the tragedy hit home much harder for them than the majority of people in Wisconsin. Being in New York at the time, Schneider described an experience that no one could even begin to imagine while residing in another place.
“You could see the smoke while driving on certain main roads … you could see the smoke while driving on the river,” Schneider said. “It’s one of those things that you can’t imagine how it feels unless you were there.”
Similarly, Meg Bradshaw went to high school a mere half hour outside of Washington, D.C., next to a naval base. She mentioned how hard it hit her and all of her fellow peers because of the number of parents that worked in the military.
“I just remember seeing it and really not even knowing what to think,” Bradshaw said. “When it happened at the Pentagon, it was just really frightening. It hit so close to home because people’s parents worked at these places … the Pentagon, D.C., etc.”
She continued by recalling the fear of her Maryland town. They were told to stay inside and not to drive to ensure their safety.
“It was the most traumatic day,” she said. “For us it was more of a thing that we didn’t want to get hit … you didn’t go outside of your house.”
College students turned to roommates, floormates, housemates and classmates for comfort, while high school students looked to their families, friends and teachers for consolation. The issue of comfort and relief is and was the main way, besides location, that our student population was divided two years ago today.
“My family was a great source of comfort for me in the days following Sept. 11. Had I been at Madison at the time, I would have had to rely more on myself and friends to get me through that difficult time, but I would have still been worried about my family,” UW sophomore and Milwaukee native Ryan Galante said. “Seeing how my parents and brother dealt with this time gave me comfort. The world was in shock … it was important for me to be with my family.”
Sitzberger spends his Sept. 11 birthday away from home at college. Two years ago, however, he was forced to not only spend his birthday away from his family but also cope with the tragic event at hand.
“My parents called, but we didn’t talk about my birthday too much,” he said, adding that the one main and only important topic of conversation was the safety of his family.
This day will be forever changed for Sitzberger. This day will be forever changed for everyone. This traumatic day will travel on with this generation of students for the rest of their lives. Many believe this will be the defining moment of this generation.
“Our parents have the Kennedy assassination; we’ll have this,” Sitzberger said. “No one’s going to forget where they were that day.”
However, some students wonder if this will really be the last of these moments.
“I fear that this may not be the defining moment of our lives,” Galante said. “If it is true that there is nothing to fear but fear itself, then our nation has much to fear. It is unlikely that this is the final chapter in the events that will define our generation.”
And although this may or may not be what defines our lives, this will be something that is forever thought about.
“While two years has healed some of the pain, we must not forget those who lost their lives,” Galante said. “Remembering is important for our nation so that we can move forward. The events of Sept. 11 must not be seen as a call for war but rather a cry for peace.”
