This Saturday marks the 20-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.
Early in the morning on September 11, 2001, the terrorist group al-Qaida carried out a coordinated attack against the United States by hijacking four passenger planes. Two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City while a third plane was flown into the Pentagon. The fourth plane that was likely heading for the White House was briefly taken back by the passengers and crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
With this historical event taking place two decades ago, the Stampede conducted a small survey to gauge whether younger Americans may have different experiences and perceptions of the impact 9/11 has had on our society in comparison to those of older generations.
Nine students and seven faculty and staff were asked about their knowledge of the attack, how often they think about or remember it, how much it affects them and the United States, and whether they experienced it first-hand or were told about it by others.
The results showed that both the students and faculty/staff had similar views and understandings of the overall impact of 9/11. All participants knew the basic information about the attack itself, mainly the Twin Towers and the Pentagon being attacked.
Both groups remembered the event an average of about once every six months to once a year. All participants agreed to being somewhat affected by the event still and the majority believed that it somewhat changed ordinary life in the United States. The only real difference came in how the information was obtained and/or experienced, with more of the older generation having experienced it first-hand as compared to the students.
The results of this limited survey concluded that even though the younger generations may not be old enough to remember the event occurring as clearly as those old enough to do so, they still feel the overall effects of 9/11 in the United States.
Headline Photo: The Twin Towers in 1990. Photo by Steve Harvey of Unsplash.com