EDITORNOTE This will be The Battalion’s final issue for the fall semester. Publication will resume for the spring semester Jan. 19.
thebattalion ● monday,
december 14, 2009
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As the decade comes to a close Numerous tragedies, a few miracles and two presidents, these past years shape our future Ann Littmann | The Battalion
President-elect Barack Obama and his family wave at the election night rally in Chicago.
T
he first decade of the 21st century will be remembered as a decade riddled with tragedy and uncertainty; yet out of the dismay, a new group of seniors is prepared to graduate and begin a new chapter in their lives. The decade began tragically with a day forever etched into the hearts and minds of Americans. On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four U.S. airplanes and crashed three planes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. The heroic passengers aboard the fourth plane prevented another devastating act of terrorism by crashing the plane into a Shanksville, Pa., cornfield.
Brooklyn firefighters raise a flag at the World Trade Center in New York Sept. 11, 2001 after hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center.
Residents are rescued from the flood waters of Hurricane Katrina Sept. 1, 2005.
Osama bin Laden is seen at an undisclosed location in this television image broadcast Oct. 7, 2001 praising God for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange floor Oct. 6, 2008.
Airline passengers wait to be rescued on the wings of a U.S. Airways Airbus that safely ditched into the waters of the Hudson River in New York.
Michael Jackson died June 25, 2009 before going on his tour.
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“I will always remember where I was when the World Trade Center was hit. It was my freshman year of high school, and it was my 14th birthday,” said senior English major Claire Flores. “I was sitting in Latin watching the news when the second plane hit. I was in geometry when the towers fell. I spent most of the afternoon in my mom’s classroom, she taught at my high school. I couldn’t believe that something so terrible was happening, especially since it was on my birthday.” The attacks also struck senior mechanical engineering major Kyle Richter into silence. “I was in eighth grade art when they announced over the intercom that the World Trade Centers had been hit,” Richter said. “I was scared for the future of the country, and those lost in the attack. This really has been a different world in the last decade because of the attack.” Soon after the attacks, former President George W. Bush declared war on terrorism and deployed troops, a decision later criticized by some. “When Bush announced we were sending troops to Iraq, at the time I thought it was a good idea,” Flores said. “I mean there was a sense of fear throughout the nation, and that needed to be controlled. The American people needed to know that we were safe, but things got a little out of control.” Flores remembered hearing on the news about the panic of Americans in the year following Sept. 11. “I remember hearing about all these American citizens that were from Iraq or Afghanistan that were being taken from their homes and questioned just because of their cultural background,” Flores said. “The only other time is has happened was after Pearl Harbor was attacked and the Japanese-Americans were put into camps on U.S. soil. It was devastating to watch a country fall apart because of fear.” The nation was united in sorrow again in 2003 when NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia exploded upon reentry over Texas. The years continued on, plagued by three major hurricanes: Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008. Hurricane Katrina was one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the U.S., resulting in more than 1,800 known deaths. Hurricane Rita was the fourth “most intense” Atlantic hurricane recorded and cost $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Ike made landfall over Galveston on Sept. 13, 2008, as a Category 2 hurricane with Category 5 equivalent storm surges. Ike’s tremendous force devastated hundreds of students’ families, especially those of Texas A&M Galveston students. Flores remembered Reed Arena being transformed into an emergency evacuation site and the alarm of Aggies as they tried to contact their families to discover the extent of the damage. Yet with all of the heartbreak this decade experienced, it also saw progress. The first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, was sworn into office in 2007. History was made again in 2008 when Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the U.S. as the first African-American president in the country’s history. Obama’s administration was met with a troubled economy, with which America is still struggling. With the economy in a troubled state, Aggies are hard-pressed finding jobs. “I was always told that Aggies never have trouble finding jobs, but this year my graduating friends found it extremely difficult to find full time offers,” Richter said. “I consider myself lucky to be on the five-year track.” Yet, despite the uncertainty of the future, many Aggie seniors are viewing graduation not as the end of an era, but as the beginning of a remarkable journey. “I am very ready for graduation. I have never been more ready for anything in my whole life. Everyone keeps talking about how scary it is, and yes that is true, but it is so exciting at the same time,” Flores said. “I am about to embark on a new adventure, the next chapter in my life and that makes me excited.” As graduating Aggies prepare to face the new decade, they will forever treasure their days at Texas A&M, Richter said. “My entire experience has been made wonderful by the people that I have come into contact with,” Richter said. “Texas Aggies as a whole are caring, humble and fun people. I will miss them all.” Senior industrial engineering major Laura Waygood said she will never forget the spirit that embodies Aggieland. She said it is engraved in every student and will continue to live on even when Aggies depart from College Station. “I have so many memories from my four and a half years at A&M. I have been blessed to have an amazing group of friends that I have acquired through numerous organizations. I will remember the things we did as Aggies. We went to practically every football game together and experienced all the exciting aspects of ring day, ring dunks, midnight yell, bonfire and Elephant Walk,” Flores said. “I will never forget the friendships that I have formed at this University, and I think that is the thing I will most remember about this school.” “I will never forget how much I have changed and matured in these four and a half years, or the people that have been by my side through it all. I am sad to be walking the stage and graduating from this great University, but I will continue to take the Aggie Spirit with me wherever I go and remember all the wonderful times that I have had as a student at Texas A&M University,” Flores said. Richter said he will never forget the emotion when he first stepped onto the campus. “I remember walking onto campus for the first time somewhere in 2005 and getting the feeling that I whole-heartedly belonged here,” Richter said. “Something about starting a new chapter in my life with a place that I knew would completely fall in love with. God made me to be a Fightin’ Texas Aggie, and the day I realized that is a day I will never forget.” Waygood’s said her most memorable moment of the decade was the untimely death of Michael Jackson. “My favorite memory is the whole college experience of Texas A&M. It is here that I became self-sufficient and independent. Also, I could never forget all the amazing people I’ve met and the opportunities I’ve had,” Waygood said. “My favorite moments encompass the time from when I got my acceptance letter from Texas A&M to the day I finally received my Aggie Ring.”
President-elect Bush meets with Vice President Al Gore at Gore’s official residence in Washington.
Pope John Paul II’s body begins its journey from the Apostolic Palace to St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing April 4, 2005.
Iraqi civilians and U.S. soldiers pull down a statue of Saddam Hussein in down Baghdad April 9, 2003.
Fire destroys homes along the beach on Galveston Island, Texas as Hurricane Ike approaches Sept. 12, 2008.
A student is carried out of a Virginia Tech dorm after a shooting incident April 16, 2007.
Debris from the space shuttle Columbia streaks across the sky over Tyler, Texas Feb. 1, 2003.
North Korean leader Kim Jong II poses with the soldiers of Korean People’s Army 821 unit early April 2006. AP PHOTOS
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