Students know where they were a year ago

One year ago today, students awoke to a tragedy of a new kind.\nMany in the dorms, greek houses and off campus were still asleep when terrorists flew their first plane into the World Trade Center.\nBut it didn't take long for the news to spread.\nNow, just as older Americans remember where they were the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, IU students vividly remember their personal experiences of Sept. 11.\nSophomore Matt Schwartz, a native New Yorker, remembers trying to reach his parents on Sept. 11. He tried all day but couldn't get through due to increased cell phone usage. \n"I remember standing outside the Union with my friends, trying to call our parents," Schwartz said. "My friends were crying."\nSchwartz was still asleep when the attack happened. \n"I was in my dorm room sleeping when my roommate's friend called and told me the Twin Towers blew up," Schwartz said.\nWhile Schwartz said his life at IU, despite the fact he is from New York, has not changed drastically since the attacks last year, he has become more open-minded and looks at things differently now. He still goes into the city, despite the fear of another attack, and the apprehensions of his mom.\n"You've just got to suck it up, and do it," Schwartz said. "(The terrorists) can't ruin your life."\nSchwartz was not the only one to wake up to news of the Trade Towers' destruction. Freshman Anne Chenoweth could not comprehend what had happened when her mom woke her to tell her the news.\n"At first I didn't get it, then I got it," Chenoweth said. "I was so scared, thinking of all the people and their families." \nAfter playing a game in acting class that morning, sophomore Lauren Wrenn was joking with her friends when she heard the news.\n"I didn't understand what a big deal it was," Wrenn said. "I didn't know it would have so many repercussions. I thought it was weird. We came into the food court laughing, and it all changed so quickly."\nFreshman Lizzie Oldberg said she has become more aware since the attack, and she realized any place is a target. While Oldberg said she feels the pain and sadness the terrorists caused, she realized the attacks have brought Americans together.\n"I'm really proud of how the whole country can put their differences aside and come together with their whole hearts to help each other, even one year later," Oldberg said.