By Brianna Wallen
Editor-in-Chief
Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, members of the university community reflected on the day that changed the country and the memories they have carried with them ever since.
For those who remember the attacks firsthand, the anniversary brings back memories of where they were, who they were with and the moment they realized the country was under attack. For Dave Van Wart, a dispatcher for university police, that scene began at home with his parents in Connecticut.
“It honestly felt like a kick in the gut,” Van Wart said.
Van Wart was 21 years old when he saw the events unfold on television.
He said he initially did not realize the first plane hitting the World Trade Center was part of an attack.
“When the second plane hit the South Tower, I realized it wasn’t an accident,” Van Wart said.
Van Wart, who has lived in Connecticut his entire life and frequently visited New York, said that the attacks felt close to home.
According to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, the attacks killed 2,977 people after four commercial airplanes were hijacked by terrorists.
Two planes struck the World Trade Center in New York City, one hit the Pentagon in Virginia near Washington, D.C and another crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The attacks became a defining moment for Van Wart’s generation. He compared the event to Pearl Harbor, which had a similar impact on an earlier generation.
Van Wart said both of his parents were alive when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred in 1941.
“9/11 was my generation’s Pearl Harbor,” Van Wart said.
Although many undergraduate students did not witness the events of Sept. 11 firsthand, they still recognize the lasting impact the attacks had on the country and the generations that experienced them.
“My heart goes out to all the victims from that day,” business information systems major Jordan Patrick, a senior, said.
The university held a 25th anniversary memorial observance on Friday, Sept. 11, at 8:30 a.m. on the Academic Quad. The American flag was also lowered at Buley Library as part of the remembrance.
For those who lived through the day, the anniversary serves as a reminder of the lives lost. For others, it is an opportunity to learn about the impact the attacks continue to have.
Van Wart said remembering the attacks remains important, particularly as younger generations grow up without personal memories of the day.
“My message is: Don’t forget it,” Van Wart said.
