Students expected more patriotism on five-year anniversary
of 9/11 Theodore Rolfvondenbaumen
/ Reporter
The weekend building up to Sept. 11 was lackluster in
comparison to the previous four years. Last year, candles
lined the fences surrounding Ground Zero. However, on Monday
the site was just a metal grate with a few sparse flags and
flowers.
Andrea Paz, an NYU student and lifelong New York City
resident, was surprised at what she saw.
“I expected a lot more people to be here. I expected
to see a lot more posters and people remembering,” she
said. “It seems there are a lot more people just
walking around and doing nothing.”
However, the crowds were hardly “doing nothing.”
Business men chatted on phones while walking to work.
Shoppers filled the streets with bags from designer shops.
Men and women jogged or biked past the site.
Five years later, the freedom towers are beginning to cover
the scars of the past. The construction project is scheduled
for completion in 2010. This project is the first step in the
healing process.
Healing does not mean forgetting.
“We need to tell our children about this because it is
part of America’s history now, but we also need to move
on,” said Lisa Hess, a visiting high school student
from Penn.
People still need to err on the side of caution because 9/11
is still it a sensitive subject.
“There is a way to remember and move on that is
appropriate and not appropriate,” said NYU student
Catherine Langner.
What is appropriate to know is something that the mass media
forgot during the 9/11 anniversary.
Network news broadcasts began running old video footage of
the twin towers being hit, collapsing and people running in
the streets on Sunday.
Once was enough. Seeing the attacks in 2001 undoubtedly left
enough of an impact on America and the world that the same
video footage does not need to be shown again.
“I was able to watch a documentary on the Sept. 11
attacks and all the feelings and emotions came back to
me” said Elon junior Ben Saunders. “September 11
is one of those events that everyone will always remember
where they were when it happened. I know that I will
definitely never forget.”
Contact Theodore Rolfvondenbaumen at pendulum@elon.edu
or 278-7247. | 
