It has been two years since students were walking around campus in shock from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but it seems like two years is plenty of time for students to put the memories at the back of their minds.
Destinee Thomas, a psychology senior, said people are trying not to remember Sept. 11 because they do not want to deal with it or remember all the bad things associated with the date.
Makisha Dillon, a public relations senior, said it is easier for people to forget about it if people in their family were not affected.
“It’s sad, but it’s easier,” Dillon said. “People forget because they’re in their own self-centered world.”
But Dillon said she will never forget and is planning to wear her “Remember Sept. 11” shirt to ensure that.
Following President George W. Bush, Governor Mike Foster declared Sept. 11 as Patriot Day.
“I ask each citizen of Louisiana to remember the victims of Sept. 11 and observe Patriot Day as a way to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and continue to make that sacrifice in the Global War on Terror,” Foster said in a news release.
A memorial service will be held at the USS Kidd in the memorial plaza at 11 a.m.
Chancellor Mark Emmert and the University are sponsoring a memorial service at the War Memorial on the Parade Grounds at 3:15 p.m.
Student Government Vice President Jason Wesley and Provost Risa Palm will place a wreath at the War Memorial to remember the lives lost on Sept. 11 and to recognize LSU alumnus Scotty Lamana, a Navy lieutenant who was killed at the Pentagon. The ceremony will conclude with the playing of “Taps,” he said.
“Taps” is traditionally played at all military funerals and will be played in honor of the victims of Sept. 11.
Gurie said the ceremony will be short and simple and he thinks the University will continue to do a memorial service every year as long as there is a sentiment to do it.
Dillon said everything was a bigger deal last year, but now, things seem different.
“Now people are like, ‘Oh, Sept. 11, oh well,'” she said.
Benjamin Davis, a political science and history senior, said people were constantly thinking about Sept. 11 for weeks after it happened.
“Now, you have to remind people so they’ll still know it happened,” he said.
Paul Buller, a civil engineering junior, said people will remember Sept. 11 like they remember Pearl Harbor, even if it is not always at the front of their minds.
Emily Bostick, an international studies senior, said it is impossible to forget because it is consistently brought up again and again.
“Sometimes it’s brought up and linked to things not linked to Sept. 11, like Saddam Hussein,” she said.
In August 2002, a Gallup Organization poll said 53 percent of Americans thought “Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11 attacks;” 34 percent did not think he was involved and 13 percent had no opinion.
While many people associate Hussein with Sept. 11, U.S. troops are still fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The Guardian, a Manchester, England newspaper, reported the U.S. military said, 35 American soldiers have been killed in action in Afghanistan, and 162 injured due to hostilities.
Students also have mixed opinions about who is to blame for the terrorist attacks.
Bostick said she has not read anything to link Osama Bin Laden, who was “obviously involved with the Taliban” to Hussein.
She said Bush’s speeches have linked Hussein and Iraq to Sept. 11 to “promote nationalism.”
“People have linked Saddam Hussein and the threat of terrorist attacks,” Bostick said. “The media and government officials’ speeches have created that equation.”
Many people do not think to doubt what is on the news or interpret what is being reported, she said.
But Ashley Hunt, an undecided sophomore, said she does not know Hussein’s connection to Bin Laden, but since she thinks Hussein was housing nuclear weapons, she would not be surprised if he was partly responsible for the attacks.
“Anything that is against what we [the U.S.] believe in and support he’s [Hussein] against,” Hunt said.
While there is only one official Sept. 11 event on campus, there are many different events going on all over New York.
The World Trade Center memorial site is sponsoring a memorial ceremony that will offer four pauses for moments of silence – twice to mark the times each plane hit the towers and twice to mark the times when each tower fell, according to the New York City and Company tourist Web site.
Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey will join New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Governor George E. Pataki at the ceremony.
At sundown, the “Tribute in Light” will return for one night as a tribute to the memory of those lost and as a symbol of the spirit of New York. The “Tribute in Light” will be brought back each year for one night on Sept. 11th.
The “Tribute in Light” will honor the landmark and shine two spotlights into the sky in place of the World Trade Center’s twin towers.