For virtually all of us, September 11, 2001, changed our lives and our view of the future in profound ways ? ways we are still learning. It shattered a sense of safety, at least on our shores, that the collapse of the Soviet Union had ushered in only a short time before. And it made it clear that our lives are likely to be less secure, and perhaps less free, than we had imagined on September 10. Particularly for our students here at the University of Rochester, the implications of September 11 have thrust on you new leadership responsibilities in what is perceived to be a more difficult and troubled world. While you did not choose to assume this new mantle, yours is not the first generation faced with confronting large, important and worrisome issues that it had no hand in creating.
What did not change with September 11 is the importance of the kind of education that is provided by the University of Rochester ? although it may have emphasized the importance of some additional subjects within that vast educational spectrum. Education is, I believe, the greatest hope we still know for understanding our world, and finding ways to deal with the issues and uncertainty that, ultimately, September 11 is just a reminder of. This is particularly so because we represent the kind of open community where citizens of the world can learn and teach. While your lives probably changed forever one year ago, the singular importance of an educated mind remains a constant in a world that holds ? as it always has ? both hope and angst.
Thomas JacksonPresident of the University
Take the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan. Hop on the five train at Bowling Green Station to Fulton Street/Broadway. Shop.
I followed the above-mentioned directions rather frequently two summers ago before I came to UR. I remember when I first came to UR last year as a freshman, I missed my routine trips to Manhattan with my friends, but I was comforted by the fact that I knew things would be the same when I went back home to visit.
And that’s where I was wrong.
Things could not have been more different after the horrible events of September 11. Having lived in New York City since I was a year old, it crushed me to know that such a tragic event could happen in my very own hometown, where my family, relatives and friends all live. In addition, the fact that the horrific acts were said to have been done in the name of Islam infuriated me. As a Muslim woman who wears hijab, or head covering, I could not help feeling the eyes of the world filled with anger, resentment and confusion on me, as well as on other Muslims. I wanted to shout out to the world that Islam is not about the twisted ideas that some present, but rather, a religion of peace that originates from Prophet Adam and continues with Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them).
A year later, I have come to understand that people are very easily influenced by what they see and hear. So sure, some people have discriminated against me, while others have tried to learn from me. I can only hope and pray that people take the time to rid this world of ignorance and hate, because what we often don’t realize or acknowledge is that we’re all in this struggle together for security, respect and acceptance.
So, for the most part, I think all of our lives have changed in some way, although I do have to admit that I continue to make my routine trips to Manhattan because, frankly, I love NY.
Zarina AliPresident, Muslim Student Association
Last year on September 11, we were reminded that history has not ended. Each of us now bears witness to the fact that an ordinary day has the potential to turn horrific, that American freedom and power can stir hatred, that a skyline can crash to the ground, that our lives and our world are fragile. But we also bear witness to the resilience, hope and courage that liberty demands.
Freshmen arriving on campus last year had grown up in an age when democracy and capitalism seemed permanently in the ascendancy. The business cycle had been cured. Productivity gains would never stop. The triumph of democracy on the world stage was now inevitable, and politics were boring and trivial. Even the landmark events of American politics in the 1990s ? the impeachment of a president, a Senate whose majority was overturned by a single member, a presidential election whose result rested on a few bad ballots in Florida ? did little to stir the soul. On Labor Day Weekend of 2001, we basked in the ordinary, mundane, wonderful nature of a society we took for granted.
That is what changed on September 11. The world we knew when we woke up that morning, the world where we ran through airline terminals without a thought when we were late for a flight, changed perceptibly. Much, of course, remains unchanged. But for all of us who remember the three days when the skies turned silent ? and remember the fourth day, when we saw our first plane overhead ? we will always know that our lives were made up of a before and an after.
Gerald GammPolitical Science Department Chair
