ILLINOIS STATE JOINED NATION IN THE SHOCK OF SEPTEMBER 11

 

Rally on ISU Quad Two Days Later is Seminal Moment in University History

 

By Tom Emery

 

Thursday marks the 24th anniversary of the 9/11, a massive terror attack that galvanized our nation and changed our lives forever.

A total of 2,977 individuals lost their lives on that morning, including 2,606 at the World Trade Center, 265 on the four planes involved in the attacks, and 125 at the Pentagon. The death total excludes the nineteen terrorist hijackers.

It is believed that nine of the civilian deaths were residents of Illinois. Over 6,000 were injured in the incidents.

Like other Americans, members of the Illinois State University community on that day still remember where they were, and how they reacted, when they first heard the news of the attack. They also remember their fears and feelings on watching the towers of the World Trade Center fall.

Richard Jones, a faculty member and the Editorial Advisor of the student newspaper, the Vidette, said “it remains the single most brutal and horrifying moment of my lifetime. You realized that hundreds, perhaps thousands of people had died.”

The student journalists of the Vidette and WZND and TV-10 quickly went to work, collecting as much information as possible on the attack, as well as to learn if any students had family in New York or any alumni were affected.

Across campus, emotions varied by student. Jones used one of his class periods to address those emotions, which he recalled “were tears, fear, frustration, and anger.”  Like other campuses, many classes at ISU were cancelled, as were the football home game on Saturday and countless other activities.

At the time, student government Vice-President Ziggy Kowalski said that “when I walked through campus [that day], there seemed to be an emptiness. Everyone wanted to do something to help.”

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For one alum, the attacks hit close to home – literally. Vicki Kelley, a 1978 ISU graduate who worked in New York as a radio reporter for the Wall Street Journal, lived only a block away from the World Trade Center.

Kelley evacuated her building and sat on a park bench, filming the spectacle while watching with a friend. Later, a police officer told Kelley “you have to run” as the south tower collapsed to the ground.

On September 13, two days after the attacks, university President Vic Boschini spoke at a student-organized rally on the ISU Quad in front of 10,000 students, faculty, and staff, many of them waving American flags.

The event was titled “Looking to Tomorrow: United in Peace” and became, for many, the signature moment in the reaction to the tragedy at Illinois State.

Classes were cancelled from noon to 1 p.m. to allow students to attend. The list of speakers included John Grussing, a Normal fire lieutenant who was shipped to New York three months later to serve in the recovery.

Along with Provost Alvin Goldfarb – who was from New York himself — Boschini urged the crowd not to let anger turn into intolerance.

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Buckets were passed among the crowd, and $25,000 was collected for the United Way of New York September 11 Fund within an hour. Jamal Nassar, the chair of the ISU political science department, said he was “thrilled and amazed” by the rally, which Boschini called his favorite event in his time at Illinois State.

Megan Thome, a freshman in 2001, was among those who were moved by the rally. Her uncle was supposed to be at the World Trade Center on that fateful morning, but was running late – and was not present for the disaster.

“It’s not like anyone is ever going to forget,” she said. “But it’s a really good thing to have a memory going so we’ll never forget the people who care.”

 

 

Tom Emery may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.