Some schools will display one flag for each 9/11 victim to raise awareness about the September 11 attacks.
"The events of 9/11, and the lives lost that day, are still in the minds of students who were in elementary school when it happened. It is something that generation, as our own, will never forget," says Whit Goodwin, director of student life at Houston Baptist University. The university is currently hosting a 9/11-themed art exhibit.
Mason Estep, a sophomore at Ohio University, was in third grade when the Twin Towers were attacked. He says that young people such as himself may have been impacted more than adults by 9/11.
"I'll never forget the intense feelings of disarray, denial, and confusion I felt when I saw the Twin Towers erupting in flames on the television," he says. "I lived in a bubble of a world until then—an invincible ideal world, in which my country was the only inhabitant."
That's why Estep, the founder of the crowd sourcing website StandOffer.com, will add a 9/11 tribute on the homepage of his website on September 11. "Not only do people my age remember September 11, 2001, we recognize its historical importance, and that tens of thousands of people's lives will never be the same," he says.
[Read about scholarships for survivors.]
But even if students intellectually grasp the significance of 9/11, it's not always so easy to remember the day in practice, says Scebbi, the editor of the Toledo student newspaper.
"I don't think most students, unless they were really personally affected, think about 9/11, except the day of, and that's just, 'Oh, it's September 11. I have class at 12:30,'" he says. "It's just one of those things ... [where] you recognize the day on your way to like eight other things you have to do on the day."
Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.
Reader Comments (