Reflecting on September 11, 25 Years Later

Today marks 25 years since the attacks of September 11, 2001, claimed nearly 3,000 lives and forever changed countless others. We can never forget those who perished at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93; the families and loved ones who endured immeasurable loss; and the first responders and ordinary citizens who demonstrated extraordinary courage amid unimaginable tragedy.

For those who lived through that day, the images and emotions remain vivid. Many of us can still recall where we were when we first learned that a plane had struck the World Trade Center—and the shock and fear we experienced as the scale of the attacks became clear.

Most students now studying at Saint Mary’s, however, had not yet been born. September 11 is not a personal memory, but a significant part of the history you have inherited. That distinction has led me to reflect on other events whose significance many of us came to understand only later in life. 

Many of us, for example, were not yet born when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 or when the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated in 1968. Others were infants or children, too young to comprehend what had occurred. Yet as we grew older, we learned how deeply those events affected the people who experienced them and how profoundly they changed our country and the course of history.

We do not need to have witnessed a historic event ourselves to appreciate its significance. We do, however, need to make the effort to learn about it. For today’s students, September 11 carries that same responsibility—and that same opportunity to understand an event that helped shape their world.

On this 25th anniversary, I especially encourage our students to seek out some of the resources that preserve the history and human stories of September 11. Watch a documentary or archival news coverage. Read or listen to the accounts of survivors, family members, first responders, and others whose lives were forever altered. Learn not only about the devastation of that day, but also about the courage, compassion, service, and sacrifice demonstrated in its aftermath.

“We do not need to have witnessed a historic event ourselves to appreciate its significance. We do, however, need to make the effort to learn about it.” 

— SMC President Roger J. Thompson

Some of that learning may take place in your classes today. I encourage you to listen closely and take advantage of the knowledge and reflections your professors may share. Their perspectives can help connect an event from before your lifetime to the world in which you now live.

Our annual 9/11 Stair Climb also offers an opportunity to remember as a community. The climb represents the approximately 2,200 steps first responders ascended in the Twin Towers. I invite students, faculty, and staff to participate today as an act of remembrance and respect for those who risked—and, in many cases, gave—their lives to help others.

Finally, if your travels ever take you to New York City, I encourage you to make time for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center. Standing where the Twin Towers once stood and encountering the names, artifacts, and individual stories preserved there offers an understanding that cannot be gained in quite the same way from a distance.

A quarter-century has now passed, and September 11 is gradually moving from lived experience into history. Our responsibility is to ensure that it does not pass from our memory. May we honor all those who were lost or forever affected by remembering them, learning their stories, and carrying forward the courage and humanity displayed on that day and in its aftermath. 

Sincerely,

Roger J. Thompson, EdD
President