Eleven years have passed since September 11, 2001, the largest attack in recent history on American soil. Students described their memories of the attack in a single word: tragedy.
Most students currently enrolled at UT were in elementary school that early September morning but still remember the day well.
John Sikes, sophomore in mechanical engineering, was in third grade at a school on a military base in South Korea.
“To me at the time, it was just a day off of school,” said Sikes. “Then I saw the video of the towers collapsing and continued on to realize the magnitude years later.”
On the morning of September 11, 2001, a series of four suicide attacks were launched and targeted on New York City and Washington, D.C.
Locally, students were impacted as well. Rebecca Henry, freshman in child and family studies, went to elementary school in Powell. “My teacher turned on the television, and we all watched it,” said Henry.
Henry realized how much age limited her memories, but she knew the importance of the event. “My father works at Y-12 in Oak Ridge so my family was worried about his safety,” said Henry.
Since that memorable warning, America and the way the nation functions have been permanently altered. Many students commented on the large change in airport security.
“Going to the airport shows a major adjustment in terms of security,” said Henry. “I’m happy they have increased safety searches.”
In our current society, Henry notes, “We just don’t trust people quite as much as we used to.”
Shannon Mullane, senior in global studies, can see a difference in how Americans treat thsoe of other cultures.
“I think initially it affected America by pulling everyone together, but over the long-term it’s instigated a lot of prejudice against people from the Middle East, and also reinforced negative stereotypes against those people,” said Mullane. “I think that it’s something that has shown America that we can pull together when something like that happens.”
Mullane sees the friction between nations escalating due to cultural differences.
“We need to realize that the people who attacked us do not represent everyone in the Middle East or everything that is a Muslim,” said Mullane.
Lisa King, a professor in the English department, recalls pre- and post-9/11 America. King experienced September 11 while in graduate school at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
“I remember going to campus and all of the GTAs were huddled in our office trying to find more information on the computer and then having to face down the fact we had to go to class to talk to our students about it,” said King.
King realizes the students in this generation are too young to fully comprehend a life before the September 11 attacks. Since the attacks, King sees an increased prejudice against the Middle East.
“I think that an anti-Muslim sentiment has developed in this country,” said King. “Racism has resurfaced through cultural discrimination in a way we haven’t seen before.”
September 11 has created unity to citizens across generations, proving America can unite in a time of need.
“If I could give anything to my students, I would want to give them a historical memory beyond their own time to look back to know what the march of history has been and that it hasn’t always been like that,” said King.
