9/11 community events
Bloomington commemorates one year later
Bloomington commemorates one year later
INDIANAPOLIS -- It's 6:02 in the morning and already the gentle hum of commerce slowly eases its way through the early hour at the Indianapolis airport. Some travelers partake in freshly brewed coffee, pushing themselves over the cusp of wakefulness and killing time before their flight. Many have extra time to work with because airlines recommend passengers to show up at least two hours in advance to ensure they make their flight.
Today is the one-year anniversary of a terrible tragedy that happened to America. Friday is the one-year anniversary of my first-ever date, a not-so terrible tragedy except if you happen to be said date.
Obesity is a big problem in America. Okay, that was a horrible pun and I'm sorry, but it is really a big, fat problem. In a country where popular food is unhealthy and plentiful, being overweight is understandable. But the problem does not lie solely in the food we eat, but rather the ease in which it is obtained.
The pain and horror still exist one year after Sept. 11. After being caught off guard so badly, the growing process has been difficult. Today is a national day of reflection and introspection. We have several new responsibilities because of our experience.
I can see it now. Michael McNeely is sitting around a round table in Assembly Hall with the rest of his athletics department staff trying to figure out a way to increase revenue taken in at football games for a team that has not been to a bowl game for nearly a decade. All of a sudden, one person asks, "Which group has been more supportive of a sub par team and would still come to the games even if we stick them in the worst part of the stadium?" At once the obvious answer arises -- "the students!"
NEW YORK -- Primitive pounding pulsates through Central Park, vibrating through the ground and up through the chest until it feels like your lungs have become drums. People from around the park drift to the source of the infectious beat, which turns out to be the weekly Djembe -- a jam session with African instruments. As the music troupe plays at an exhausting pace, New Yorkers are stripping off extraneous clothing to dance to the music, taking time out to focus on sensations other than honking horns and neon lights.
Following the tragic events of Sept. 11, safety in America transformed into a feeling of uneasiness and just plain fear. IU students studying abroad last year immediately found themselves engulfed in an experience they never expected. Now a year has passed, and the overseas study program in Franklin Hall remains busy with prospective students, despite the fact that the possibility and fear of terrorism is now something to consider when studying abroad.
Freshman enrollment in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps at IU has more than doubled since last year's terrorist attacks, but officials said the reasons go beyond a heightened sense of patriotism. Mike Saulkenberg, Cadet Battalion commander, said he recently surveyed all ROTC freshmen for their reasons for joining the Army. None of the students specifically cited a reflection on Sept. 11 as their main purpose for enrolling.
Steps to Freedom, a local community activist, said "the spirit told him to change his name and campaign for peace." Starting last October, part of that campaign was camping out in Dunn Meadow for almost eight months to protest the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. Steps said the idea for the camp came from the Bloomington Peace Action Coalition as a way to respond to President Bush's call to action against terrorism. "It was a protest against the concept of a never-ending war," Steps said. Although the idea was the brainchild of the Peace Action Coalition, he quickly became the leader of the camp. "It wasn't my idea in the first place," he said. "I was just the determined one."
America stopped one year ago, and phones rang. Uncertainty gripped the nation and everyone wanted to hear a reassuring voice on the other side of the line telling them everything was OK. Family relationships changed as Americans reevaluated their lives and the world. Before the attacks, typical American families had relaxed and informal relationships, said Robert Billingham, an expert on family relationships and IU associate professor in applied health science. Although Americans valued their relatives, they "took each other for granted and 'assumed' that they would always be there," he said. In the weeks following the tragedy, families realized how uncertain life can be.
The aftermath of Sept. 11 left the country reeling and looking toward an uncertain future. As information filtered its way across America, terrorists were quickly identified as members of the Islamic faith. Religious studies professor Kevin Jaques said this caused many Muslims to take a serious overall look at their faith. "Muslims across the U.S. and across the world have been going through a process of self analysis and self criticism over what Muslim communities are doing," Jaques said. "Because the radical groups tend toward violence, mainstream Muslims have ignored or tried to stay out of their way."
Though Sept. 11 fund-raising totals eclipsed any previous U.S. campaign, the funds amount to only a fraction of the total charitable donations for last year. Since Sept. 11, Americans contributed a hefty $1.88 billion to relief funds, according to Giving USA, an annual report for 2001.
The television inside Katie Flege's home will remain quiet today. She won't watch the hours of special programming and footage dedicated to the Day Our Nation Saw Terror. She says she can't. Her own memories are vivid enough. "It's important to honor the victims, but I don't want to watch the whole thing on TV," Flege says. "It would depress me too much. I just feel lucky to be here and alive."
At 10 a.m. Sept. 11, 2001, then-sophomore Jessie Moskal woke up to begin another day in Bloomington, unaware she would soon learn two airplanes had been hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center where her father had been working on a business trip. Earlier that week, Bill Moskal had been excited to travel to New York, telling his wife and daughter how happy he was to work in the World Trade Center. Bill last talked to his wife about an hour before the first plane hit, the last time any of his family would speak to him.
Students spent countless hours glued to television sets watching the events of Sept. 11, 2001, unfold. Many were trying to account for family and friends, others were just in shock. No one could believe what was happening. This story relives that day and those tense hours.
Soon after Sept. 11 many Americans were possessed by a spirit of giving. Students at IU and people around the nation rushed to donate time, clothing, money and, for a while, blood. "That entire week was amazing," charge nurse Nancy Ranstead said. "We were completely full. We had people sitting on the floor; we had people lined up out the door. We even had people coming out to volunteer."
One year ago today, students awoke to a tragedy of a new kind. Many in the dorms, greek houses and off campus were still asleep when terrorists flew their first plane into the World Trade Center. But it didn't take long for the news to spread.
Two local limestone companies provided a helping hand this summer by putting their other work aside to help rebuild the damaged wall of the Pentagon. Dubbed the "Phoenix Project," the $700 million restoration makes use of over 2.7 million pounds of Variegated Clear limestone. Over 18,000 square feet of stone was cut into 700 pieces and then transported in 48 flatbed trucks. Since the original 1940 construction of the Pentagon used Indiana limestone, officials sought a company that could provide the same services.
Three days ago, as the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks loomed before a jaded nation, the men and women of the Bloomington Township Fire Department took a moment of silence to honor two of their own. They assembled quietly, standing around a limestone marker flanked by an undulating American flag, lost in their own thoughts and memories. In an era of innocence lost, as a country turns its attention to the machines and mechanisms of a war against terror, these quiet heroes took a moment to remember their fallen brothers -- and reflect upon the level of courage their service commands. "People ask me all the time, 'Faron, with your years of experience, would you have gone inside that tower?'" Chief Faron Livingston said. "And I say yes -- of course -- absolutely. When you make a commitment to this life, you have to know you're going to see death and destruction. You just have to go in and do it."