Sept. 17 2014

Royal Purple Editorial Staff Opinion

It’s been 13 years since the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States. Thirteen years spent remembering that devastating day and honoring the people we lost and the people who fought for those lives.
Sept. 11 occurred in all of our lives. While it may be difficult for college kids to genuinely honor an attack like that on Pearl Harbor, 9/11 is far more relatable. Even if we were too young to remember it in detail, it’s still there—lodged somewhere deep in our heads.

It’s more significant to some than it is to others. Whether it be because the way they came to learn of the attack was earth-shattering, or that someone they love was involved in it, 9/11 has different levels of meaning to different people.

Regardless, this doesn’t mean it should only be considered for just one lowly minute.

This year, a display of flags with a sign honoring the day was set out near UW-Whitewater’s fountain in front of the University Center. Students could walk by, get a glimpse of their country’s colors, read the words on the sign, and remember for that moment what had happened 13 years prior.

Students might forget as quickly as they walked by. A glance. A tug at the heart. Then just continuing through the day as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

It is simple to recollect the devastation at some time during the day of Sept. 11, but that might be just it.

Perhaps UW-W should provide more opportunities for their students. There could be a presentation. A moment of silence within the day to give every student the chance to ponder what their country went through and its impact on our lives.

As of right now, the day comes and goes as any other day would.

Problems arise with the desire to do more to honor 9/11, however.

What if there was a presentation? How many people would go? What college student has the time during the day to attend a presentation that wouldn’t be mandatory?

A minute of silence may have been effective in a high school setting where the students are all crammed into one place, but college is different. Not everyone has class at the same time, and therefore not everyone would be present during that moment of quiet remembrance.

So, what should UW-W do?

Not many colleges are doing more than what UW-Whitewater is already doing. The factors usually depend on just how personal the event is to the college community. Meaning, if a student who went to that college was lost in the 9/11 attack, the college will do more to honor it.

Honoring this day should be personal to everyone.

The country lost a lot of great people in that disaster—people who were brave, people who were terrified, people who could be considered heroic. Every single person in this country was a victim of 9/11. We didn’t all lose a loved one or were present to witness it ourselves, but it still affects us all. It’s still something that has a way of uniting the country together as a whole. 9/11 helps us remember how capable we are of standing strong even through the worst of times.

When barely anything is done in remembrance of the devastation, it becomes  difficult to properly grieve and respect those Americans who lost their lives.

Everyone knows this day is important. Everyone knows why this day is important. Unfortunately, there’s a limited number of things UW-W did to try to show off the significance of it. There should be more. A day like 9/11 shouldn’t be something we think about for a single moment while walking to class.

Those lost lives deserve recognition.