9/11 Response
This page is home to a variety of articles and pages about September 11th. The articles come from Ursinus' newspaper "The Grizzly", the college's alumni magazines, and "The Ruby" yearbooks. Each one talks about how the campus and its inhabitants were affected by the crisis and how they responded to it. Everything on this page is from the years 2001-2003. Some documents just briefly mention September 11th while others are completely about it.
Articles from 2001
These articles are mostly about people's responses to September 11th the days following the event and the remaining months of the year afterwards. Overall, there is definetly a sense of patriotism strung throughout and people uniting together to support one another. There are articles about blood drives and other events to help those affected by the tradgedy. The last thing of note is a sense of wondering what will happen next and how September 11th will affect the nation as a whole as well as people's everyday lives. There are talks about the War in Afghanistan asking if that should be the nation's next course of action as well as debates about bioterrorism and biological warfare.
Articles from 2002
These articles mostly talk about people's thoughts six months after Spetember 11th and a year after as well. There is a sense of people trying to move on with their lives and figuring out how to deal with the tragedy. In general, there is a lot of reflecting back on the moment and seeing how far the nation has come since then. Also, there is discussion about the changes brought about due to the tragedy, like an increase in security at the 2002 Olympics. Around the one-year anniversaryof September 11th, Ursinus College holds a number of events throughout the month of September. People could submit their stories to The Grizzly (the college's newspaper), watch a documentary about September 11th, etc. This was also the year that the Four Doors Memorial was temporarily set up so people could display poems and other objects relating to the event.
Articles from 2003
These articles mostly focus on the Iraq War and looking back on September 11th. There is a lot of debate about the Iraq War and how it will effect the nation. Also, there is talk about the Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster that happened in February and drawing parallels between it and September 11th. However, there seems to be less articles about September 11th overall, though it should be taken into account that these articles only go up to the end of the Spring 2003 semester at Ursinus College. Even still, compared to the Spring Semester in 2002, there are less articles to be found.
Eyewitness Accounts
An astonishing personal account can be found in the Alumni Magzine for Fall/Winter of 2001. It details the experiences of alumnus Matthew Wiatrak as he escaped his office on the 60th floor of the second tower. Matthew’s story was relatable to students at the time, partly due to him having graduated from Ursinus a year and four months prior to the attack on the World Trade Center. In the article, Matthew recalled his terrifying experience as the first plane struck the other tower, and the evacuation of the second tower. With the plane having struck the tower Matthew worked in while he was on the 44th floor, his situation was looking more and more bleak. However, Matthew's most powerful takeaway from that fateful day was the assistance provided by those attempting to save lives. As he mentioned in the article, "Many firefighters and rescue workers rushed into the smoldering buildings knowning what awaited them. And for that, I have for the first time in my adult life experienced an overwhelming sense of patriotism."