Attack turns lives upside down
The Collegian Opinion

    An everyday college student is faced with many pressures and worries.

    A typical student will be concerned about high textbook prices, boring classes, conversations with friends on a cellphone and plans for this weekend.

    Probably nowhere on that list of concerns is the idea of a hijacked airplane crashing into a building where the student is.

    That situation has become a reality thanks to the events of Tuesday, Sept. 11.

    While New York is many miles away, it felt like this was happening in our own backyard. In many ways it was.

    No airplanes were to be found in the sky at all. Borders were closed. These and many other factors have affected us even here in Texas, which really isn’t that far from New York at all, anymore.

    For a half hour that day, it seemed as if terror and paranoia ruled. Students looked up at the sky, fearful that any plane might come crashing down upon them. We feared what would happen next.

    For several hours, the world didn’t make sense. Students huddled around televisions and radios on all campuses. Teachers talked about it during class; some even canceled classes.

    Students who normally go about their own business talked about the attack with others whom they usually ignore.

    That would appear to be the strength of this college, this area, this country.

    We may fight and bicker among ourselves, but if someone else attacks us, then we are all good friends, brothers and family members.

    Even with all our petty differences, we all share one goal. That goal is basically freedom for all. And we as a country have never really put up with people that threaten that goal.

    We have a long way to go before we recover as a nation and as a college.

    The news programs are already reporting attacks on mosques and people of Arabian descent. Some people are casting a suspicious eye toward anyone who looks to be from the Middle East.

    These emotions are born out of fear and paranoia. These are the weapons that terrorists use so well.

    Major sporting events have been canceled. while this may seem small, it has affected how we normally go about our day.

    Students on campus have commented on the quite skies, and when they have seen a plane, students are now nervous. It is as if they fear all planes are capable of falling out of the sky.

    This attack and the way we deal with it adds to our education also. There will be some good things to take from all the tragedy.

    The news does report heroic tales, and tales of good fortune. These are things that show how tough we are.

    These small victories, however, will never make up for what we lost that day.