Remember people, not pain

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on Sep. 11, 2001, there was an outpouring of support from all quarters, who tried to find ways to memorialize the event’s victims. “Never forget,” we said, and we were right. Sept. 11 became an event burned into our brains for eternity. Sadly, lives at IU were touched by the tragedy, and family members were lost. Then money began pouring in for scholarship funds. \nThe IU Student Foundation raised more than $100,000, eventually deciding to spend the money raised on three annual $1,500 scholarships started by three IU students and alumni who lost fathers on 9/11. In this case, though, by naming the scholarships “9/11 Scholarships,” the IU Student Foundation dredges up pain and sorrow, rather than celebration of the lives that were lost.\nTragedies often spawn memorial scholarships: Virginia Tech has endowed scholarships memorializing victims of the killings from last spring, while here at IU, the Jill Behrman Emerging Leader Scholarship remembers a murder victim. It remains a fitting way for universities and their support networks to aid in the aftermath of a tragedy, when helplessness manifests itself the most. After all, what better way to ensure that a person is not forgotten than by helping other people along the way? A scholarship brings more lasting positive effects than an engraved chunk of granite.\nIU isn’t alone in its designation of 9/11 Scholarships. The Sept. 11 attacks affected schools across the country, and many have endowed similar scholarships. Still, naming scholarships after tragic events themselves can’t help but unnerve us. By using the name “9/11 Scholarships,” the IU Student Foundation memorializes not the victims and families, but the actual events of a terrible day: the murder of thousands of people. \nWe don’t decry the idea of scholarships as memorials; in fact, we applaud it. Yet, the 9/11 Scholarships do not differ from other scholarships in ways that commemorate this specific event. To receive the award, the applicant need not demonstrate any disproportionate patriotism or particular memory of Sept. 11. While each of the three scholarships has different quirks, as far as GPA requirements and preferences go – decided upon by the three families for whom the scholarships were created – they remain essentially similar to any number of other scholarships. \nWe understand that some may not have wanted the scholarships named after just one family so that all affected families could be honored. Still, reminding scholarship recipients that their boon only exists because of the senseless murder of innocent people makes the money seem exploitative, even though the scholarships’ goals remain positive. \nQuibbling over the naming of the scholarships may seem trivial in the face of the good they do, but we think the scholarships’ name, as its most important public feature, should heal and educate rather than simply hold up tragedy. We wouldn’t have a “JFK Assassination Memorial Scholarship” or a “Pearl Harbor Bombing Memorial Scholarship,” would we? Let’s try to remember life instead of enshrining death.