I remember everything as if it happened yesterday: I was 10 years old and in fifth grade. By lunchtime, almost half of the kids in my class had been taken out of school. None of the teachers would tell me what was going on, but I could tell something was wrong.

When I finally got home, I asked my mom what happened and why she didn’t pick me up. Because she was crying, she couldn’t respond. Instead, she just grabbed my hand and led me to our family room. The television was already on, and she pointed to the screen. I looked, only to see a recurring video of a plane flying into a tall building.

I glanced back at her, because my adolescent mind couldn’t understand what I was seeing. She took a deep breath before responding: “Honey, some people don’t like the United States…”

Even though she continued to talk, I had already stopped listening and started to cry. I may have been too young to grasp the severity of the situation, but I was old enough to know that something awful had occurred.

It wasn’t until months later that I fully understood the crisis that later became known as the September 11 attacks.
For the first anniversary, every student in my middle school decorated the halls with red, white and blue stars, showing their pride in being American citizens. For the second, we had a moment of silence to honor those that had died and those that were fighting to defend our country.

With each passing year, recognition of some sort was made to the events that took place on that fateful day, whether it was by way of discussion or a moment of silence. On this past Friday, however, nothing happened. In fact, had I not looked at the date on my cell phone, I would never have known that that day marked the eighth anniversary of the incident.

I was thoroughly surprised that our college, with its advocacy of military science and the ROTC program, made no mention of what happened eight years ago. I’m aware that an announcement through a loudspeaker might not have reached all students, but something could’ve been done.
How about a bulletin through our school e-mail addresses? Or a posted tribute for all fans on Facebook to see? If I can think of ways for us to recognize September 11, why can’t Mercyhurst do the same?

Maybe next year the college will put more effort into reminding us to commemorate the men and women who passed away, as well as those who have gone to war to protect America.

Hopefully, this article is the wake-up call that they need.