La Salle community reflects on 9/11

September 13, 2006

Some won’t ride on airplanes again, others avoid tall buildings. Some have become suspicious of people from the Middle East, others more aware of discrimination against them. Some say they are more patriotic, others are more questioning of their government.

In ways large and small, members of the La Salle University community said last week that 9/11 had changed the way they look at the world and, in some cases, the way they behave and how others behave toward them.

And while views differed sharply, there was one common thread: almost all of the 32 students, faculty members and other university employees who were interviewed said that 9/11 had punctured their sense of security and made them feel more vulnerable.

“I live each day knowing another terrorist attack could happen,” said Lauren Farrell, a junior majoring in education and biology. That knowledge, she said, had made her realize the importance of family and friends and of living each day to the fullest. “At any moment,” she said, “something could happen, and there may not be a tomorrow.”

Many La Salle students recalled learning about the attacks on the World Trade Center over their high school loudspeakers, then being ushered into school auditoriums to watch the unfolding tragedy on television.

“I was in shock for the rest of the day, because I couldn’t imagine that America was vulnerable to this type of attack,” recalled Bill Capece, a sophomore from Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote. “And that, in turn, made me lose some confidence in the intelligence of our government officials. I suddenly felt less safe.” A number of students interviewed had parents or other relatives who narrowly escaped harm during the tragic day.

Colleen Kerins, a junior accounting major, nearly lost her uncle in the crash of United flight 93. A United pilot, he was scheduled to command that flight on Sept. 11, 2001, but got a phone call the night before asking if he would mind switching to another flight.

“I was scared and angry,” Kerins recalled. “I’d never been on a plane before and I vowed there was no way I would ever fly now.”

By contrast, a student who wishes to remain unidentified said he didn’t hesitate to get on a plane for a recent family trip, although he was frustrated by the additional time it took to get through security in the wake of 9/11.

“That’s exactly what they [the terrorists] wanted,” he said.

He said the terrorist attacks raised his awareness about terrorism, which he had never thought about before.

“I hadn’t even heard of al-Qaeda,” he said. “I had heard the name Osama bin Laden, but did not realize his hatred of Western democracy.

“Now, I am not necessarily racist toward those of Middle Eastern decent, but honestly, I do think twice now when I come into contact with them.”

Nadia Salim John, a native of Pakistan and now a student in integrated science, business and technology, is painfully aware of changing sentiments about people of Middle Eastern decent since 9/11.

“Every time someone asks me what my nationality is, I have to think twice before I say that I am Pakistani,” she said. Although she is Christian, John said she learned a lot about Islam while growing up in Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim country.

She criticized the media’s portrayal of Islam, saying that only a small minority of Islamic extremists use their religion to justify terrorism.

Student Fatima Mehmedagic, a Muslim whose family comes from Bosnia, said her family had encountered discrimination since 9/11. Her brother, she said, was unable to get a job following the attacks.

“He never had a problem before, but because of his last name, they [employers] felt that he was some sort of terrorist and agreed with their same beliefs,” she said.

Dean of Students Joseph J. Cicala said he still grieved the loss of two La Salle alumni in the terrorist attacks. Both Mark F. Hemschoot, class of 1978, and John M. Rodak, class of 1983, were killed at the World Trade Center.

But Cicala said he was proud of the response of student leaders at the time. Within minutes after the second plane struck the World Trade Center, he said, a group of student leaders arrived in his office, offering help.

Brooks Aylor, an assistant professor of communication, learned of the attacks when he was working out at the gym.

“It was a surreal experience,” he recalled, “because they had workout music playing and everyone in there was glued to the TV watching what was happening.”

Aylor is not afraid to travel and believes the chances of another terrorist attack are small. He said 9/11 has brought out both the best and the worst in people, and he questioned why so much was made of the fifth anniversary of the attacks.

“I don’t understand why we make such a big deal about anniversaries,” Aylor said. “Did it hurt any less last year for the families of the people who were killed?”