Remembering the 10th Anniversary of 9/11
September 11, 2011
Volume 68, Number 1
The Masters School, 49 Clinton Avenue, Dobbs Ferry, NY
Masters Remembers Emma Thomas by Daniel Block Editor-in-Chief
On August 24th, tragedy struck in North Carolina. Emma Thomas, a rising junior, was driving along with her father, Stuart Thomas, when the two got into a terrible car crash. Stuart Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene. Emma died the next day. Emma was just sixteen years old when she passed away. In her death she leaves behind a large extended family in North Carolina. It includes her brother, Scout Thomas, what she would call her three moms, her biological mother Leslie Gill and her life partner Donna Lewis, her father’s wife Andrea, and three other siblings, Jack, Annie, and Bibi.. But
she also leaves behind a family at Masters, who are left both grieving and remembering the wonderful, though tragically short, life she lived. Emma came to Masters in the tenth grade, after her family found the school while visiting friends in Nyack. “On a Saturday, we just drove over to look at the campus, and we just happened upon Mary Schellhorn, and very quickly we were into the enrolment process in Masters,” said Leslie Gill, Emma’s biological mother, and one of what she would call her three moms. And soon thereafter, Emma would come to grow close to Masters. “When she found Masters, it was truly a home for her,” Gill said. Two of Emma’s Ford
dorm parents, Marianne Van Brummelen and Jennifer Carnevale, told Tower they remember Emma as being both engaged and caring from day one. “Emma moved in last year during preseason. So it can be a little intimidating to be in the dorm. It’s not really set up, and can be a little cold,” Carnevale said, “especially for first year students. But Emma jumped in with a smiling face. She reached out to other people.” “She was really outgoing, really friendly from the beginning,” said Van Brummelen, who was also her advisor. She particularly remembers a choice Emma made during one dorm activity. “We have a map up in the dorm, and every student puts a
A TEAMPLAYER, THOMAS participated in Cross Country in the fall and Varsity Girls Basketball in the Winter. She was to be a captain of the Cross Country team this fall.
flag where they are from, or where they feel affiliated with,” she said. “And Emma looked up at me and said, ‘Can I use the gay pride flag?’” To Van Brummelen, it showed openness that she would admire, and
that would extend across all aspects of Emma’s personality. “Often in high school there is a social hierarchy. Emma didn’t buy into that. She jumped in with both feet, right from the beginning.”
Photo by Ken Verral
Everyone who knows Emma remembers her as possessing those characteristics. “She was just extremely friendly right away,” said Helena de Oliveira, a junior, and one of Emma’s friends. “It was continued on page 3
United We Stand: 9/11, Ten Years Later Thomas’s organs benefit 80 lives by Noah Buyon and Nick Fleder
by Alicia Chon Editor-in-Chief
Tower Staff
At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, the first of four hijacked commercial planes crashed into a carefully selected target on American soil-- the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The ensuing hours, which entailed the purposeful destruction of three more planes, and the loss of nearly 3,000 lives, have been seared into the collective memory of all Americans. Although a decade has passed since these harrowing events inspired fear and astonishing courage, they continue to shape American lives in countless ways. First and foremost, the 9/11 attacks prompted the entrance of the U.S. into the global “War on Terror.” The resulting combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed thousands of American, Iraqi, Afghan, and Pakistani lives and were met with much criticism. President George W. Bush, who championed these conflicts, suffered a drop in his approval rating from over 90% a directly following 9/11 to nearly 20% when he left office. War has had painfully obvious effects on American society today, but some
Public Domain Image THE BLUE PILLARS OF LIGHT, ABOVE, are lit for a few nights every 9/11 at Ground Zero. They illuminate the lower Manhattan skyline, serving as reminders of the imposing facades of Twin Towers.
of the horrors and tragedies of these long-standing conflicts remain invisible back home. Nevertheless, the persistent casualty reports issued by the Pentagon are constant reminders of the high cost of retribution. Perhaps the most visible reminders of 9/11’s tragic legacy at home are the extensive security measures implemented in the wake of the attacks. From the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security to strict travel restrictions
at U.S. airports, a renewed focus has been placed on maintaining a high degree of safety within American borders, to the tune of $75 billion a year (according to the L.A. Times in 2011). Post-9/11 safeguards have generated some controversy, as security protocols such as full-body scans have been labeled onerous and intrusive, yet have been credited with foiling a number of potential terrorist attacks. continued on page 6
Emma Thomas, who completed sophomore year at Masters and tragically passed away at the tender age of sixteen, should be nicknamed “The Giver.” She was a regular volunteer as a kindergarten and first grade teacher at Oak Hill Elementary School, had organized a 10k ‘Rockband’ race for a local charity in North Carolina, and mowed the grass at the YMCA in her spare time. As her final act of kindness, she will be saving nearly 80 lives as an organ donor. Emma expressed her intent to become an organ donor from a young age. Leslie Gill, Emma’s biological mother, said, “Even as a little girl, she always wanted to sacrifice and help others. She did not have a moment of hesitation in deciding to become an organ donor.” Organ donation is the bestowal of biological tissue, or any organ of the human body, from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplant. Once someone is registered in their respective state’s Organ Donation Registry, they may be contacted to make a living donation. In the event that the donor is deceased, any of their
organs, such as the heart, intestinal organs, corneas, and tissues, can be transplanted after examination. The Thomas Family was put in contact with Carolina Donor Services (CDS), an organization that coordinates the recovery of organs for transplants and covers the entire state of North Carolina. Dereck Mushayamunda, Family Support Coordinator at CDS and a close family friend to the Thomas Family, has known Emma since she was a child. He and his family had even attended the Boys Scout Award Ceremony for Scout Thomas, Emma’s older brother, two days prior to the accident. Mushayamunda disclosed that eight of Emma’s organs were recovered, including her lungs, pancreas, both kidneys, liver, which was split for a child and an adult patient, corneas, heart, and tissue. Mushayamunda said, “I have heard that all those who received Emma’s organs are doing very well.” Tissue organs, such as skin and bone, is used to help burn patients, cancer patients, and those in need of a skin graft, to name a few. In total, Emma’s recovered organs are estimated to save approximately 80 lives, not counting those
who will survive vicariously through the research any of her organs will provide. Emma’s story is bittersweet. The tragic loss of her and her father, Stuart, is undeserved, yet there is hope for the many patients awaiting to receive her donations. By the policy of CDS, the Thomas Family must wait one year before potentially getting in contact with Emma’s organ recipients. Gill said, “I cannot wait to see her beautiful big brown eyes again.” The Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, where she was treated post-accident, recognized Emma’s courageous actions and raised the Donate Life Flag for 24 hours in her honor. Mushayamunda said, “Our hospital only receives about 30 donors a year, so our flag does not get raised often. The raising of the flag is a small way to commemorate Emma.” Emma’s name will also be engraved on a copper leaf. In an upcoming ceremony, her family will place the leaf on a branch of a copper ‘Donor Tree’ in the lobby of the Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, in honor of Emma and her act of selflessness. Gill and Donna Lewis, Gill’s lifetime-partner, said, “It continued on page 3