Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in the 2002 Knight. We are reprinting it here to observe the 15th anniversary of Sept. 11. To read more of MacJournalism’s archival coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks and their aftermath, please visit the links at the end of this story or visit the Mac Archive section under News.

September terrorist attacks brings nation together

Sophomore Emily Panzer went to New York for a family wedding. She woke up in her hotel room Sept. 11 to find the world had changed. “I woke up around 9 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 11 and turned on the the TV,” Panzer said. “The first thing I saw, though it didn’t know it at the time, was the second plane hit the south tower of the World Trade Center. I thought it was a movie, so I changed the channel, but it was on the next channel, as well. I started watching as soon as I found out what had happened.”

While Panzer was stuck in New York City, students watched from their classrooms at McCallum.

“When I heard about the World Trade Center being hit by a plane, I thought it was a sick joke until I for to school and I saw it on the television,” senior Vangie Martinez said. “I was speechless, wondering who could do such a thing.”

When students found out that the towers at the World Trade Center were hit, they were in shock. In classrooms, teachers had either a TV or radio turned on to find out what was going on. Students watched in horror as the towers fell, and the news anchors showed footage time and time again of people running and clouds of smoke billowing from the towers.

“It’s sad that a bunch of warped individuals have enough power to commit such a cowardly act,” junior Tony Borne said. “I think it’s like fighting an invisible enemy.”

On Sept. 11, it seemed as if the world had stopped in time. Many emotions were in the air, but the students came together to show they care. The cheerleaders sold candles to raise money for the Red Cross.

“The cheerleaders felt that if we were going to play football at all that we should at least do something to acknowledge that there was more important things going on. We thought that it would be disrespectful to act as if nothing happened at all,” senior Marisa Schall said.

The cheerleaders were not the only group that sent something to New York.

“I think the ‘Thank You’ cards and banner that PALs has people sign for the firefighters and workers in New York, D.C., and Pennsylvania was a great idea,” senior Tiasha Colton said. “The banner could have been more successful if some people took it more seriously, but overall it was positive.”

For more 9/11 stories from the MacJournalism archive, please click the links below:

Becca Eden, “The day America stood still,” The Shield (Sept. 14, 2001).

Justin Mitchell, “When the chickens come home to roost …” The Shield (Oct. 12, 2001).

Mitchell Nolen, “Give peace a chance,” The Shield (Oct. 12, 2001).

Emily Panzer, “Student caught in New York during terrorist attack,” The Shield, (Oct. 12. 2001).