II political & social science II americanstudies institute theme 'providential,' official says Generation Y, which consisted of those born in or after 1978, was criticized prior to Sept. 11, 2001, by older generations for not having a cause or war to believe in. Most students would agree that before Sept. 11 they didn't think about homeland security and suicide bombers often. However, the day after Sept. 11, it seemed that was aU college shtdents were talking about. It seemed as if this up and coming generation was given a cause to fight for. With all of the talk still going on two years later, it was not surprising that the American Studies Institute stumbled across a Sept. 11 theme for this year's lecture series. "We'd prefer to say the theme was providential rather than accidental," Dr. Bob Reely, ASI associate executive director, said. "The Sept. 11 event is the most significant event to take place in a lifetime of our students, and we hope that they w ill continue to remember the price we paid that day." Dr. Jim Carr, executive vice president, said ASI does not intentionally look for themes. "We look for speakers who we think will supplement what takes place in the classroom," Carr said. "We don't go by themes." Among some of the people invited to speak who had cormections with Sept. 11 were Asa Hutchinson, djrector of the Deparbnent of Homeland Security; retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks; and Deena Burnett, wife of Flight 93 victim Tom Burnett. "It just happened that way ... we had cormections with all of them," Reely silld. "Hutchinson was a long-time friend of Harding ... Burnett moved to Little Rock after Sept. 11 and used to reside in Searcy ... Franks' brother-in-law attended Harding." Although the topics spoken about varied w idely in terms of issue and circumstance, they all reflected how much the world has changed in two years. Hutchinson spoke about the challenges of heading up a new cabinet-level office and trying to combine departments such as the lmrnigration Naturalization Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Franks spoke about his experiences in Iraq; and Deena Burnett spoke about the loss of her husband. Carr said it was important for the entire Harding communjty to remember the war that surrounded the year. "It's important for us to remember this ongoing war on terror and support the ones out there fighting for us," he said. -CaireyTai 196 /I organizations Asa Hutchinson, former Arkansas congressman, speaks about the challenges of homeland security Sept. 25 in the Benson Auditorium. Hutchinson opened the 2003-2004 American Studies Institute Lecture ship series. (Photo by Melissa Wilson)
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