Tenth anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks passes

On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked and crashed four airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, PA. Over 3,000 Americans perished, and many more have given up their lives through military efforts in response to the attacks.

As the tenth anniversary of that day passed, the Saint Anselm College community took time to look back on and commemorate the tragedy.

English professor Jennifer Thorn recalled where she was when she first found out: "I was in the classroom teaching at the university I was working at then. The secretary for the department came down the hall and told us there had been a bombing. None of us really fully believed it. I had a break after that class, and an hour later we knew it was true."

German professor Julia Feldhaus was not in the States when the attack occurred. "I was in Germany teaching," she said. "My mother called me up and said something was going on in New York City. I was shocked because my boyfriend back then lived in New Jersey."

Professors found it hard to teach knowing something as life-changing as a terror attack was going on at the same time.

"It was very odd. People were terribly upset," English professor Meg Cronin revealed. She was in a classroom, and some students had not yet found out that the nation was under attack. "They had just come from Humanities. There were people who were in the unfortunate situation of finding out in front of other people. It was a bit chaotic."

Thorn related the events of that day to the lesson she was teaching. "Our subject that day was the Oresteia by Aeschylus, which seemed amazingly appropriate and moving to us." She used themes from the story to tie into what was going on: "Human nature is unpredictable…and sometimes destructive. Our conversation of those issues was very much shaped by what we were going through."

For the student body of Saint Anselm, the attacks occurred during the beginning of an elementary school day. "I found out about it getting off the bus for school," Joseph McNamara '12 recalled.

Colleen Currier '15 was in her third grade classroom when the attacks occurred. "I remember that we were not allowed to go out on the playground because of ‘bees,'" Currier said, citing her school's concern for its students' safety. "I was supposed to go to Girl Scouts after school but it was cancelled. My dad came and picked me up and told me what had happened."

"The only memory I could recall of figuring out [what had happened] was watching the news with my parents while they had dinner," Griffin Roberge '15 added. "My reaction to what happened as I learned more about it was, ‘Why? Why would someone do something so awful like this?'"

"People say it was like a movie," Feldhaus added, "because everybody was glued to the TV. We saw these images, images from shocking, end of the world movies. It was very hard to grasp."

Currier remembers making care packages and thank-you notes for soldiers. McNamara and his family donated blood. Mel Laurion '13 fondly recalled a middle school fundraiser: "People [purchased] pieces of paper and [decorated] them to honor those who were involved in the attacks. We hung up the pieces of paper in the front entrance of our hallway to make a really cool mural."

As the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11 passed, Saint Anselm College invited faculty and students to reflect by writing their memories in a memorial book placed in the Cushing Center. The college also held an Evening of Peace in conjunction with the Saint Raphael Parish, a Mass for peace and justice, and a candlelight service of remembrance.

"That day pretty much changed the outlook of the country forever," McNamara concluded. "My parents…they remember where they were when JFK got assassinated. Our generation, you always remember where you were when 9/11 happened."