TRAGEDY STRUCK THE UNITED STATES on Sept. 11, 2001, when hijackers took control of four separate passenger planes. Terrorists crashed two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City while another collided into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. The fourth aircraft crashed landed in a Pennsylvania field after the passengers on the plane acted against the hijackers, resulting in the death of all passengers in the plane. These attacks permanently altered the sense of safety in the United States. The year 2021 was the twentieth anniversary of the events on Sept. 11, 2001. Eleven Harding students and five of their faculty traveled to New York in the fall of 2021 to commemorate the tragedy that consumed the nation. This trip brought new experiences coupled with heightened emotions. The flight to New York was junior Gabriel Huff’s first time in an aircraft. The connection between his flight and the details of 9/11 were not lost on him. “If anything, it made the flight even more beautiful to me,” Huff said. “I expected to be scared, but I was not afraid.” One of the locations the students visited was Engine 54/Ladder 4/Battalion 9 in Midtown Manhattan, which lost the most firemen at Ground Zero. The station lost 15 members who responded to the attack. Distinguished professor of communication Jack Shock suggested that someone knock on the door to obtain access to the fire station and talk with the firefighters. Junior Morgan Wrigley volunteered. “I thought the worst they could say would be no,” Wrigley said. “I knocked, and they instantly invited us in.” Junior Emily Stinnett connected to 9/11 through a demonstration led by a firefighter at the fire station. Stinnett put on the gear worn daily by firefighters. “The firefighters in 9/11 wore that to go into the stairs at the World Trade Center to save people’s lives,” Stinnett said. When inside the 9/11 Tribute Museum, students saw imagery, videos and artifacts of the terrorist attacks. Junior multimedia journalism student Madison Meyer said photography played a major role in her association with the events of 9/11. “The imagery was a big deal for me, especially as a photographer,” Meyer said. “Everyone was recording that day. There’s this disconnect when you watch 9/11 through a screen as opposed to actually going there and being at the memorial site.” Faculty planned this event to provide students with access to a personal association with the attacks. Because most students who were on this trip were not old enough to remember 9/11, this trip was meant to be an immersive experience for everyone involved. “We wanted to draw a better, more complete picture of what happened 20 years ago,” Shock said. “It makes me feel good to know that the stories from 9/11 will continue to be told.” WRITTEN BY HANNAH KELLUM LOOK BACK 20 YEARS 9/11 DESIGNED BY OLIVIA DUNN 53 NIGHT LIGHT The 9/11 Memorial Lights shine in the New York City sky. Communications students traveled to New York City for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Photo courtesy of: Noah Darnell Harding students travel to New York City to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
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