SDSU students and faculty recall the tragic day when the United States fell victim to deadly attack.

For some, a decade may seem like an eternity. For others, a decade may seem like yesterday.

Ten years ago the United States witnessed a tragedy that changed who citizens would become. On Sept. 11, 2001 people watched as the nation came under attack.

A million new fears sprung up overnight.

Was this going to happen again? If so, when? Where? SDSU students, campus-wide, remember it vividly.

“I was at my house walking downstairs to get breakfast – probably Lucky Charms. I remember looking at the clock and it read 7:01. My mom was standing in front of the TV, hand over her mouth,” said senior Lucas Shama, a Rapid City native.

Shama is a member of the ROTC program and knew he wanted to serve in the military since he was 6 years old. At the time of the attack, he was in middle school.

“Terrorism was a new concept for me — something that had to be explained by my mom,” he said.  “After the initial shock clears and the reality of the events sink in, all I could think was, ‘How can people harness that kind of hatred to kill that many people?’”

Aviation changed forever

Kaitlyn Thomsen, a senior from Vancouver, British Columbia, majoring in aviation education, remembers the day and its impact on America’s airline system.

Thomsen and her family were in the process of getting their green cards at the time of the attacks. She said it should have only taken a couple of months, but because of the attacks it was not until three years later that Thomsen and her family were able to declare themselves residents.

“I was in middle school when the attacks happened,” Thomsen said. “Having moved from Vancouver only a year earlier, it wasn’t as shocking for me having been from Canada and having not been taught about the Twin Towers.”

Thomsen’s decision to become a pilot came with knowing the full details of the measures now taken when flying in and out of the United States. She said that after the attacks she had to fly back to Canada to receive a new passport, and one of the regulations for these new passports was she was not allowed to smile or show any emotion in her new photo.

With any job — with any decision that people make — there is a risk factor. Thomsen knows the risks highlighted by the Sept. 11 attack.

“I don’t know if pilots had even thought about the type of situation that happened on Sept. 11 being possible, but now that we know that it could there are measures taken to prevent it from happening again,” she said. “I think that we know the risk going into being a pilot and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t feel safe going into this field.”

Prejudice

SDSU faculty members remember the day, meeting it with questions.

Paul Baggett has worked on campus for the past 11 years teaching English and literature. He was not on campus the day of the attacks, but he was at SDSU the weeks that followed.

He said the prejudice that followed the next couple of months hit close to home. The majority of his job is working with international students, and also, his wife is from France.

That personal connection with a different country caused him to think more globally.

“What people didn’t understand was that the second largest religion in France is [Islam],” Baggett siad. “Geographically,  [France was] in dangerous proximity to the turmoil. … That xenophobia, or paranoia toward other groups or outsiders, I felt at home as well as in my social life.”

Public pulls together

people make — there is a risk factor. Thomsen knows the risks highlighted by the Sept. 11 attack.

“I don’t know if pilots had even thought about the type of situation that happened on Sept. 11 being possible, but now that we know that it could there are measures taken to prevent it from happening again,” she said. “I think that we know the risk going into being a pilot and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t feel safe going into this field.”

Prejudice

SDSU faculty members remember the day, meeting it with questions.

Paul Baggett has worked on campus for the past 11 years teaching English and literature. He was not on campus the day of the attacks, but he was at SDSU the weeks that followed.

He said the prejudice that followed the next couple of months hit close to home. The majority of his job is working with international students, and also, his wife is from France.

That personal connection with a different country caused him to think more globally.

“What people didn’t understand was that the second largest religion in France is [Islam],” Baggett siad. “Geographically,  [France was] in dangerous proximity to the turmoil. … That xenophobia, or paranoia toward other groups or outsiders, I felt at home as well as in my social life.”

Public pulls together

SDSU alumnus Alan Baskerville was 16 years old when the attacks took place. He was sitting in Spanish class and his teacher came in, hand on her forehead, and told them about the attack.

Baskerville was old enough to remember how the event affected his community.

“The people in my life were upset and vengeful,” he said. “They really wanted justice for a month afterwards. It seemed to pull people together. When you are from a small town of 600, there is always talk of Democrats and Republicans, but after the events of 9-11 we were all just Americans.”