On the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, some UP students remember the day, but many were too young
(Jackie Jeffers | The Beacon)
By Harry Blakeman, Staff Writer blakeman15@up.edu
When current freshman Gavin Flynn woke up on Sept. 11, 2001, it seemed like any other day of the second grade, full of fun activities and games. Even after his teacher left the room to talk with all the other teachers in the hall, there was nothing special about the day. It wasn't until Flynn's mom called him at school did the severity of the day begin to sink in.
This year seems to mark the divide between students who remember the changes brought on by 9/11, and those who were too young to recall anything. The Department of Homeland Security, hour-long airport security checks, long-term wars, and unbridled debt are constants many have always lived with.
Members of the class of 2016- and everyone younger - have grown up in an America characterized by the changes due to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Unlike older students who can remember the changes in attitude and mentality sweeping across America, these changes are all the freshman have ever known.
Junior Charley Newman remembers the attacks in the same way Flynn does, with the same rush of intense early morning news to process.
"It was a lot for a kid to handle," Newman says.
However, as someone with family serving in the armed forces, Newman was well aware of the changes that the country went through. especially the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to history professor Mark Eifler, big events such as the Sept. 11 attacks often bring major changes in American culture and government.
Eifler points to the creation of FBI after World War I and the CIA after World War II as examples of institutions that have become staples of society since the traumatic events that preceded them. In the same way, Eifler believes that the creation of the Department of Homeland Security will be the lasting institution of the attacks on Sept. 11.
Freshman Sandra Velasquez, recalls people being more cautious around people of Middle Eastern ethnicity, and Flynn remembers a heightened sense of xenophobia and distrust of people.
Both said they were aware that society was changing, but mostly from their parents. However, both of them clearly recall a significantly less pleasant airport experience, which they both see as something everyone has to live with.
While some freshman were too young to remember much about 9/11, Eifler also pointed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and large-scale debt expansion as effects that everyone will likely be dealing with for years to come.
Flynn says he remembers controversy surrounding the creation of Homeland Security and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, but is unsure if anyone younger than he would.
Velasquez thinks it's hard to picture a world without Homeland Security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"They've always kinda been there, I just don't remember a time when they weren't there," Velasquez said.
(Jackie Jeffers | The Beacon)
Members of the Air Force ROTC performed a traditional flag retirement ceremony on Tuesday. During the ceremony, the flag was raised and then retired by a color guard to symbolize how many times the flag has flown to represent its nation. At the end of the ceremony the flag was carefully folded, and will be respectfully disposed of at a later date. (Jackie Jeffers | The Beacon)
