Rememberence through differing perspectives

eptember 11, 2001 is a day permanently stamped in our memories. The tragedy that struck the New York  World Trade Center changed America forever as 2,977 lives were taken. Though we will always remember those who suffered, the tragedy affects us all in different ways.

At CSC, we all come from different age groups, so we have different perspectives on the tragedy. For many freshmen here, 9/11 happened the same year they were born. Many sophomores and juniors were also too young to remember what happened. Most of the seniors were just entering school, be it pre-K or kindergarten, and may have faint memories of the tragedy, if any. 

Regardless, most of the CSC student body experienced 9/11 through parents or teachers providing a history lesson. Therefore, these students have a different emotional and social response to the tragedy than non-traditional students, faculty and professors.

Many older, non-traditional students were in high school during 9/11, and watched their friends decide if life after graduation would be spent fighting in war rather than attending college. 

The day touched everyone differently and the landscape of our society changed forever. Most of our student body grew up in an environment wracked by the seemingly never-ending war on terror. These students aren’t familiar with life before the war. While this demographic has possibly grown accustomed to seeing destruction and terrorism invade the news, non-traditional students and professors may watch this and wonder: When will the fighting end?

However, the changes to our society are complex and have different affects on us all. We can’t assume all students of a certain age-group feel the same way about the tragedy, nor that they have felt the same ramifications. But on this day of grieving, it is our duty to remember the repercussions of 9/11. We lost the World Trade Center in New York,  but, more importantly, we lost 2,977 American brothers and sisters.

We should also never forget that, after the calamity, we as a country were united for a brief time. We are all different, with different perspectives. As we remember, we must share these views with one another, and allow them to bring us even closer.