Students’ 9/11 remembrance demonstrates generational divide on campus

OPINION EDITOR – AARON COURTS; COPY EDITOR – ESTEBAN SERRANO

Earlier this month, a day that seemed like any other, came and went, but it wasn’t a day like any other. Did our university do enough to honor the memory of that day? Some students believe it did not.
21 years ago, the nation was shaken by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The moment is seared in the minds of anyone old enough to remember. They can tell you their exact location, whom they were talking to, and what they were doing. Those not old enough to remember that day or its events learned about that day through many other sources, including the stories, passed down to them, terrible images, archived news coverage, or amateur video captured while it happened. So, how do members of Generation Z, whose knowledge of the events isn’t seared but rather sowed, contemplate the attack?
Guadalupe Flores Saldana is a freshman education major. She was not alive on Sept. 11 but does recall learning about it in the first grade. She explains, “I was taught it was a day of great loss and to always remember those who we lost as well as always letting our loved ones know that we love them.”
Taking that into account, she continues, “I think that it should definitely be taught because we do not want to repeat history but some scenes should not be shown to younger kids…” Saldana expressed concerns that Generation Z has become desensitized to the occasion because of the age gruesome images and audio recordings that were introduced to them. Saldana explained, “It is difficult to see and understand as kids…” She admits that as her peers got older, she witnessed them ignoring the remembrance presentations, many times.
Another account on the subject comes from Luke Moody, junior international business major, and U.S. Army Veteran. Moody was in the fifth grade and does recall the day. He remembered one of the coaches interrupting math class and whispering something to the teacher. Moody says, his teacher turned on the TV, “…Everyone watched in [silence] immediately following the second plane hitting the tower.” Moody says that there was no doubt in his mind, or the others, that something was terribly wrong. “I remember having the Commandant of our JROTC program telling us that day… America’s response would be judged on a global scale, and would symbolically be our ‘day of reckoning'” Moody continued, “It wasn’t until several days later that… I began to realize the true scope of what had happened.”
He went on to say, “I think it’s important to remember the memory of the ones we lost, but at the same time, [consider] the goal and objective of the terrorists that day. I don’t think we should dwell on it in a negative light.” He continued by saying, “We can’t allow a tragedy on that scale to ‘terrorize’ us emotionally and be a point of sorrow because that gives power and accomplishes the mission of the individuals who committed the atrocious acts that day.”
The two were asked what, if anything, would they like to see St. Mary’s Community do regarding the remembrance of Sept. 11, Saldana says, “I would like St. Mary’s to hold safe spaces for anyone affected directly or indirectly by this because some people my age lost family members and they have had to hear about it once a year, every year which can be difficult [to] acknowledge… but maybe not with the scenes of [that] day.”
Moody would like to see St. Mary’s University take Patriot’s Day remembrance a step further. ” I perhaps would like to see a mass or service offered the day of or the day afterward… I think also having some sort of nod or acknowledgment to those who served [as] either military, police, or first responders.”
Both accounts are striking and represent different ways the 9/11 attacks have impacted people today. Individuals who were alive and remember the events of that day, and those who learned about the tragedy from family, friends, and educators.
Although Sept. 11 is not the date that we live on in infamy, it is a that should remain present in our conscious minds through remembrance. Whether you think of the date as a federal holiday, simply called Patriot’s Day, or as many who were alive will always remember it, 9/11, it is a date that changed the world, and America, forever. It is a day that St. Mary’s should prioritize in the years to come, and one we should never forget.