GC&SU reacts to Tuesday’s tragedy

The world held its breath Tuesday, as the unthinkable became reality, when the World Trade Center and the seat of our nation’s military, the Pentagon, were attacked by terrorists.

At 8:48 a.m. American Airlines Flight 11, carrying 92 people, crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Shortly after that, at 9:05 a.m. United Airlines Flight 175, with 65 passengers, slammed into the south tower of the World Trade Center.

At 9:43 a.m. American Airlines Flight 77, carrying 58 passengers and six crew members, crashed into the Army side of the Pentagon, causing part of the building to collapse. Just 16 minutes later, at approximately 9:59 a.m., the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed due to the plane crash. Then at 10:00 a.m. a fourth plane crashed into rural Pennsylvania, causing speculations as to whether it was headed for the White House or Camp David. Finally, at 10:28 a.m. the second of the twin towers fell to the ground, engulfing Manhattan in utter darkness with a cloud of soot, ash and debris.

In reaction to all of these events, the FAA ordered the entire nationwide air traffic system to shut down, the New York City Port Authority closed all bridges and tunnels into and out of New York City, and the White House and all Government building were ordered to evacuate immediately.

Throughout the rest of the day the President of the United States, who was in Florida around the time of the first and second plane crashes, periodically addressed the nation and eventually arrived at the capitol that evening. Also, many major American institutions closed; these included the New York Stock Exchange, Major League Baseball, and Disneyland and Disney World. In addition to all the closings, New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani ordered an immediate evacuation of everyone south of Canal Street on the island of Manhattan, the Navy dispatched aircraft carriers and guided missile destroyers to the New York and Washington D.C. area, and at 5:23 p.m. the seventh tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.

Throughout all of these events, life was put on hold as our nation, as well as the world, observed the horrific news. Here at Georgia College & State University, classes were cancelled and even a forum, originally intended for last week’s suicide, turned into a discussion of the day’s events.

Some students had mixed opinions about whether or not classes should be cancelled, mostly because of their individual experiences.

Holly Atkins, a sophomore, feels that the administration was justified by canceling classes

“I think that it’s appropriate, because in one of my earlier classes today we were talking about it, and the professor said `if you are worried about one of your loved ones, or if they have been in the New York area then you should go and get in contact with them right now,’ and a couple people left the class,” Atkins said. ” One girl came back into the class to get her things, and she came in crying. She just said, `my aunt was in the world trade center,’ and then she just left. So after that the professor just said, `y’all can go now.’ So it’s definitely on everyone’s mind.”

Some disagreed with the canceling of classes, mostly for different reasons. Janna Donahue, an outdoor education major, and Natalie Bailey, a nursing major, both felt that the university overreacted by dismissing the students.

“It seems kind of extreme for something that’s not really going to hit around here,” Donahue said.

“I would almost rather them have class, just so I feel like my day is almost a little bit normal,” Bailey said.

“It would be difficult to get students to concentrate in classes after this kind of thing has happened. As the department chair (English) said, `it is more important for them to watch this sort of thing, than to be in class,” Dr. Eustice Palmer, an English professor, said.

Although most students were not too disappointed about classes being cancelled, the event touched everyone in a different way.

“My boyfriend’s uncle works in the Pentagon. So I got on the phone and called home and made sure that he was okay. It turned out that ten minutes before the plane had crashed into it, he got on his bike and rode home,” Atkins said.

“I come from a country which has been torn by terrible war-one of the most terrible in history. You can hardly find a family that has not been touched by the war. I myself lost a brother in the fight. So when this sort of thing happens you cannot tell who has been touched, one way or the other. I have been exposed, almost at first hand, to terrible suffering and terrible acts of terrorism, because there were terrible acts of terrorism in my country, Sierra Leone,” said Palmer. “I recently went back in May, and my mother, my sister, my brother, and my nephew talked about their experiences. About how they had to take shelter under the beds for days when the bombs were being dropped and that people’s limbs were flying from one end of the place to the other. Yes, so I suppose that I myself have been exposed, indirectly, to some kind of terror.”

The importance of the day’s events were felt differently by everyone, and even the professors at GC&SU were quick to associate this tragedy with ones like Pearl Harbor.

“This is your generation’s defining moment in history, just like J.F.K.’s assassination was for my generation,” said Dr. Robert Viau, a professor of English at GC&SU.

Jared Johnson, a Mass Communications professor, feels that the tragedy will cause the country to bond and to come together.

“I think probably the best example is about how people are comparing this with Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor didn’t affect anybody particularly more than Hawaii and Honolulu,” Johnson said. “But everybody in the country was enraged by what happened. I think the same sort of thing is what will happen with this. The country will be enraged about these attacks being made on U.S. soil by the terrorists, and I think that the country will come together with the determination to find who’s responsible and bring justice to bear on those people.”

“I hope it will galvanize the nation together. It may have the same kind of impact that Pearl Harbor had in 1941. And for quite a number of youngsters who were not there in 1941, this is the nearest, I think, to Pearl Harbor that they might ever experience in their lives,” Palmer said.

Overall, the reaction from students and faculty was one of utter disbelief and shock that such a catastrophe could be perpetrated on American soil.

Max Allen, executive assistant to the President and director of University Relations, feels that the world was shocked by the event.

“I think that the campus and Americans in general are shocked that something this horrible and tragic occurred in the United States,” Allen said.

“It’s out of a fiction novel. They were interviewing Tom Clancy on one of the news stations today, and he wrote novels fairly similar to what has happened in real life right now. His point was, `you just can’t imagine that anything like that would ever happen.’ I mean, people are almost detached from it, because it is so fantastical,” Johnson said.

“No, I could never have imagined this sort of thing happening. The scale of it is just horrifying. In 1993, it was just the basement that they bombed, but this involves thousands of people. I mean, imagine what it must have been like being on the top of one of those twin towers and having to come down a hundred flights of stairs, because the elevators must have been closed. Yes, that is one of the things I think of, is the feelings of those people in those buildings at that time,” said Palmer.

Some professors even commented about the role that these events will possible play in the history of our nation, throughout the next century and beyond.

“I suppose you could say that this is one of the most horrifying things that has ever happened in their lives, so let them watch it,” said Palmer.

“I honestly think this is going to be one of the biggest events of anybody that is living through these kinds of things in their life. People will look back and remember where they were when they heard about this and what they were doing. A lot like what happened with the Gulf War. When the Gulf War started, people can look back and remember what they were doing and how they first heard about it. I hope to be able to say that this will be the worst event people in this generation will have to live through, but I can’t honestly say that will be the case,” Johnson said.

A blood drive was held Wednesday from 12:00 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Milledgeville Fire Station for victims of Tuesday’s tragedy. Also Wednesday night at Cameron’s a portion of the proceeds from the cover charges will be donated to the G.I.V.E. Center to be given later to the Red Cross. If you would like to find out more about how you as a GC&SU student can be involved, go check out “the Info page” at info.gcsu.edu.

Throughout all of these trials, many area churches held prayer vigils Tuesday and Wednesday nights, as well as a campus-wide candlelight vigil.

This event was felt by the whole world, so much so that on Friday the nations of Europe have scheduled a day of mourning, concerning this new scar on our American landscape.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 14 2001. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry