With all of the Facebook status updates and tweets on Twitter, we couldn’t help but notice the lack of campus-wide events in memory of 9/11 this year. Last year’s event, held on a Sunday, was well attended and allowed students a place to gather as a group in memory of those lost in 2001.
While the eleventh anniversary may not seem like as much of a landmark occasion as the tenth anniversary celebrated last year, many students are hesitant to let go of a memorial that greatly affected them. The campus’s lack of acknowledgement of the day was disappointing for students whose family members and loved ones were impacted by or perished in the attacks over a decade ago.
The generation of students currently on campus can still vividly remember where they were when they learned about the attacks and that memory will stay with them forever. In ten years, this may not be the case. Students a decade from now will not remember what happened, where they learned of the event or even how it affected them.
As always, a display of American flags was organized on the uphill side of the Langone Center, but those students who don’t visit the LC on a regular basis didn’t know they were there. For fraternity men and students who live in the Gateways or downtown Lewisburg, trips to the LC are few and far between, leaving them unaware of the flag decorations.
Because a large number of students at the University are from the east coast, particularly the state of New York, it is disappointing to see that we could so easily forget the effects from that fateful day 11 years ago. In addition to geographic proximity to the event, we have cultural proximity on this campus as well. There is a thriving ROTC program and many students who come from military backgrounds.
Beyond the lack of recognition here on campus, the United States nationwide has dropped the ball. The New York Times has come under fire for choosing not to print any 9/11 related content of their front page. However, other news organizations chose to print articles pointing out the loss of reverence associated with events around the country. More of the events are centered around the upcoming election season and those who speak loudly, rather than on the sacrifices the military makes on the country’s behalf.
Perhaps the Times has it right. Maybe it is time for the country to move past an event over a decade old and look to the future. After all, if we were still commemorating every tragic event in history, we’d still be having days of silence for the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the assassination of JFK.