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Opinion
• Monday, September 12, 2011
The Daily Campus
9/11 shadow still lingers 10 years later A Publication of Student Media Company, Inc. Editorial Staff Executive Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephanie Collins Editor in Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ashley Withers Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Kramer News Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bridget Bennett, Andy Garcia News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meredith Carlton Associate News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Boh Arts & Entertainment Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Natalie Blankenship, Chase Wade Associate Arts & Entertainment Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christine Jonas Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E’Lyn Taylor Associate Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erica Penunuri Style Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shelby Foster Health & Fitness Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bethany Suba Politics Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jessica Huseman Opinion Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brandon Bub Chief Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tashika Varma Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meghan Sikkel, Katie Tufts Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spencer Eggers Associate Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taylor Henry Video Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summer Dashe,, Sydney Giesey, Wesleigh Ogle, Ali Williams
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EDITORIAL
Growing up terror-fied: The 9/11 generation I remember exactly where I was on Sept. 11, 2001. I was sitting on the floor of my sixth-grade science class making a bridge out of toothpicks and marshmallows when my teacher turned the television on. I remember being so confused. My teacher was crying and people were pointing at the screen. What was going on? Ashley Withers My teacher tried to calm down and explain to us that planes had hit some very important buildings in New York City on purpose. I didn’t get it. Why would anyone do that? Within minutes children started to be pulled out of class by their parents. I waited and waited, but mine never came. By the end of the day I was one of 20 students sitting in the cafeteria just waiting for that final bell to ring. When we were finally released I ran home to find my dad sitting on the couch crying. He tried to explain what had happened, but couldn’t. There weren’t and there still are not any words to describe 9/11. How did this happen? Why? Unfortunately, 10 years later, these questions still haven’t been fully explained to me. I was 11-years-old when these terrorist attacks changed America forever. I literally grew up with the war on terror constantly raging in the background. To be honest, I do not remember what the world was like before our country was afraid, before we realized we were, in fact, vulnerable. To me it seems commonplace to go through a million safety measures before getting on a plane, to spend billions of dollars on a foreign war and for people to use 9/11 as reasoning for all types of political action. My parents remember walking onto a plane without throwing out their liquids, without walking through a machine that might cause radiation damage. I don’t know anything other than getting to the airport two hours early for all of the new security measures. Sept. 11 has also provided a significant amount of political fodder. Though the attacks brought America together for a short period of time, the post-9/11 policies have become a dividing line between political parties. This is a small slice of the post-9/11 era. A lot of people have been impacted way more than me, but a friend of mine commented in class this week that we are all a part of history now and I definitely think that holds true. Growing up in the post-9/11 era, we each have a story to tell and it makes up the bigger picture of that day, that moment in time. contributor
Ashley Withers is a senior majoring in journalism and also serves as the Editor in Chief of the Daily Campus. She can be reached for comment at awithers@smu.edu
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contributor
For our grandparents, it was Pearl Harbor. For our parents, it was the assassination of JFK. For us, it is 9/11. We Allison Thompson all remember exactly where we were when we found out about our nation being under attack. On Tuesday morning, Sept. 11, 2001 my mother paged us over our household intercom: “Michael, Arthur, and Allison, it is time to wake up. There is a national crisis; meet me in my bedroom.” In my sleepy state I thought to myself she must be joking. But right after that thought she chimed in again: “I’m not joking.” I figured that it was something serious since my mom, the Queen of Nicknames, used our full names here. So, I rolled out of bed and met my brothers in the hallway, and the three of us walked to my parents’ bedroom. There was my mom, trying to stay calm but noticeably shaken. With the TV on in the background she announced that two planes had been flown into the World Trade Center Towers; then she added, “and we don’t know if Kevin made it out.” Kevin was my father’s best friend and very much of an uncletype figure for my brothers and me. My dad often says, “You can’t choose your family, but you can
choose your friends.” Kevin was a friend, turned into family. He and my father spoke every workday morning—with my family in California and Kevin in New York, they had a routine phone call appointment at 6 a.m. PT (9 a.m. EST), and they would catch up. In fact that morning my dad was trying to call Kevin but couldn’t figure out why all he could get was a “fast busy (i.e., “all circuits are busy”) signal. It was then that one of his co-workers ran by his office and told him that the first tower had been hit. My dad ran to the only room with a TV (along with the rest of his colleagues) just as the second plane flew into the south tower (where Kevin worked). I don’t remember much about that day past hearing the news. I do remember feeling numb and lost. Going to school was completely pointless—nobody learned anything new that day; we just watched the news. It was a constant reminder that Kevin might not have survived. My brother and I called home at lunch (you remember pay phones, don’t you?) to see if Mom had gotten any news —there was none. That night all five of us stayed in my parents’ room; none of us could sleep, so we just watched old TV shows. Kevin worked on the 102nd floor of the second tower that was hit and did not survive. He did manage to call and leave a message for his wife, Lori, after the first tower was hit, just to let her know
that he was all right. Kevin had three young children (ages 2, 5, and 7) who were suddenly fatherless and confused. Sept. 11 cast a dark shadow on my family. While my parents mourned the loss of a brother-like friend, my brothers and I mourned the loss of a close uncle. My eldest brother was plagued with nightmares around the attack and was greeted at college with students protesting, holding signs saying, “We deserved 9/11!” Nobody understood. My parents attended the memorial service for Kevin; my father gave a eulogy. My father, who had worked and traveled to the New York area for decades, said he had never “heard it so quiet;” they came back to California even more heartbroken. Kevin and Lori’s children were young and couldn’t comprehend why their dad didn’t have a grave. About nine months after the attack, Lori was informed that they had found some of Kevin (a femur and a thigh bone, I believe). My parents made one more trip to Summit, N.J., to help bury him. My family and Kevin’s family have grown even closer after his death. My mom began going back to New Jersey four or five times a year to provide Lori with some relief from being a single mother. My father helped with their investments and would fly the family out to California for vacations. When I got to high school, I spent a couple of spring
breaks in New Jersey helping with the kids and babysitting so that Lori could go out with friends. Over the past ten years, Lori has managed as a single parent, but she has raised three wonderful children. Her children battled issues such as the oldest child not having a father-like figure, the middle child suffering from ADD, and the youngest having temper issues because he couldn’t remember his father. The kids (ages 17, 15, and 12) are thriving. My dad was back East a couple of months ago and got to stop by and visit with them. He called me on his way back to the hotel and told me, while choking up, “Kevin … would be so proud.” My dad recently sent me a book, “With Love and Prayers,” by F. Washington Jarvis, the headmaster of Roxbury Latin in Boston. When queried by parents about how the school prepares students for college, he often states that “We prepare them for death.”, i.e., one of the few certitudes of life. It’s good training —unfortunately, sometimes it’s needed to be applied too early … and too often. So remember to hug your family and friends and tell them you love them. You never know what will happen. Allison Thompson is a senior majoring in business management and French. She can be reached for comment at avthompson@smu.edu
Tragedy brings hope through volunteering contributor
On Sept. 11, 2001, 2,977 lives were lost. My memory of 9/11 is very clear, because on that day my father was killed in the World Christina Rancke Trade Center. My cousin, in her early 20s at the time, survived the attacks on the World Trade Center, escaping Tower two. Imagine for a minute losing a loved one in the World Trade Center or imagine someone you loved was on one of the planes that struck the towers. Individuals in New York City were not the only ones affected by the tragedy. Sept. 11, 2001 changed the lives of many throughout America. I remember volunteering Sept.
11, 2009 in Florida State University’s project. That day college democrats and republicans volunteered together, despite different political affiliations. One former SMU student, was influenced by the Young America’s Foundation and decided to bring the project to our very own campus. Now because of that one individual, SMU is one out of over 180 campuses across America to adopt the project, according to Young America’s Foundation. Last year, SMU brought in volunteers from various campus groups and organizations to start our own Never Forget Project. Sept. 10, 2010 volunteers for SMU’s 9/11: Never Forget Project set up 2,977 flags for victims, and displayed them around the lawn in front of Dallas Hall. Myself and the other volunteers raised over $300 for
the Dallas Police and Fire Relief Fund by selling 9/11 bracelets and pins throughout the day at various tables also located around the area in front of Dallas Hall. Local news and radio stations interviewed volunteers throughout the day, covering the event. One display in the front of Dallas Hall allowed students to highlight the names of 9/11 victims that they knew. In total, five names were highlighted. When a former SMU student emailed the undergraduate class of Southern Methodist University students that year, I responded right away to her email. Now after my involvement, I have had the opportunity to share my experiences within the classroom and expand the memorial throughout SMU. Being part of this nationwide memorial project for 9/11 victims
impacts many across America, and as someone who has suffered a personal loss, participation is appreciated and recognized across the country. A series of 9/11 remembrance events took place this year. I was selected as the student event chair and have been working with the Maguire Center for Ethics to help with these events. All that I’m doing here at SMU is to honor my dad and all the other 9/11 victims. My goal is to make him proud and do all I can here on campus to bring the SMU and Dallas community together to reflect on and remember the tragic events of the attack. Christina Rancke is a junior majoring in advertising and communcations. She can be reached for comment at crancke@ smu.edu
Where were you when...
Students remember where they were on that fateful day “I was in Canterbury Episcopal School...I didn’t understand the situation at the time, and I only got it after my mom picked me up and explained someone flew planes into a skyscraper. I wasn’t emotionally affected by it because I was a child in Texas and it happened in New York.”
“My classmates and I were outside ready to go to recess when a teacher came and told us, ‘Something really bad happened in New York.’ We were more surprised than scared...I cringed when I saw that plane smash into the Twin Towers. It still gives me chills just imagining it.”
“I was a fourth grader in Prattville, Ala., walking to school and blissfully unaware of what was happening. When I got to school, I heard talk of “them” and that “they” were coming. I was so confused and remained so until I went home and heard the full story from my mom.”
“...What I really remember is that I wasn’t ever really told what happened. At school they just said ‘something bad happened,’ and my parents, who thought the school had told me, were too upset to really talk about it. It wasn’t until I was watching TV with my parents at night that I saw the video.”
“Living next to Barksdale Air Force Base where President Bush visited, our school became subject to heightened scrutiny. After getting home, I sat with my mom to watch the news, not fully understanding what was happening...I still don’t understand, and I hope I never do, because then I would have to fully grasp the concept of hatred.”
“I recall being in fourth Grade and hearing over the intercom that ‘something very bad happened today.’ There was early dismissal, and I heard about the Pentagon bombings on the drive home. I saw my mom standing outside the front lawn and watched the plane fly into the building on repeat... That’s all I can remember.”
-Matthew Schklair
-Hayley Wagner
-Michael Graves
-Goke Akinniranye
-Michelle Raimond
-Andrew Pinkowitz