REMEMBERING 9/11/01
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 11, 2002 - 3
Campus reacts to America's 'War on
Terrorism'
By Rob Goodspeed
Daily StaffReporter
One question asked after the attacks of
Sept. 11 remains to be fully answered: How
will the United States respond? As the
nation's reactions to the attacks continue
,ranging from military actions abroad to
policy changes at home, many have paid
close attention to the opinions of the Uni-
versity community.
President Bush's announced War on Ter-
ror has been the subject of only muted criti-
cism on campus, while activists who
support and oppose Bush's policies agree
the student body remains divided.
"I was shocked and horrified of the
events of Sept. 11," said Helen Fox, chair
of the Ann Arbor human rights commission
and an RC professor.
"I was even more shocked and horrified
to see our president's and our government's
response," Fox said. "The inflamed rheto-
ric: The evil vs. good, the us vs. them ...
the whole axis of evil idea that if we only
just crushed certain individuals and organi-
zations. ... This depressed and frightened
me." Fox added that she joined a communi-
ty peace organization and plans to teach a
course on nonviolence during winter term.
Music sophomore Amy Ridenou had a
very different reaction to Sept. 11 - she
enlisted in the Army.
"I felt so drawn to serve my country and
to back up my opinions on military action,"
Ridenou said. She joined the Army on Oct.
Both peace activists and those who support
the Bush administration 's policies said they
expected U.S. involvement in Iraq.
20 and skipped classes winter term to
attend basic training. Ridenou said some of
her friends had lost loved ones in the
attacks, and she believed in pursuing those
responsible with military force.
"A lot of people are blown away that I
would do that," said Ridenou, who added
that her friends have been supportive. "I
don't want to make myself seem noble, but
everyone takes our country for granted. ...
Sept. 11 changed my life."
Both peace activists and those who sup-
port the Bush administration's policies said
they expected U.S. involvement in Iraq.
"I think we are going to war in Iraq," Fox
said. "The facts that thousands of innocent
civilians are going to be hurt when we go in
with ill-defined goals ... troubles me."
However, Ridenou saw the matter differ-
ently.
"My unit is one of the first to-go on mis-
sion, and it's very possible that I could be
leaving the (University)," Ridenou said.
She added that it "scares me but I embrace
it completely, it's such an opportunity to go
into a country - Iraq or Afghanistan -
and serve. ... I love it and I'm so happy that
my love for it hasn't dwindled."
Some students were troubled by the Bush
administration's policies.
"My reaction is that calling it a 'War on
Terror' was Bush's first mistake," said
Kirsten Schwind, a graduate student in the
School of Natural Resources and the Envi-
ronment and a member of the Ann Arbor
Committee for Peace and Justice. "The
word "war" ... pretty much foretold a lot of
bloody killing of innocent people."
Schwind added that she thought the Bush
administration should have pursued non-
military options through the United Nations
or the International Criminal Court.
"This War on Terror, it is our War on Ter-
ror, based on our country and our constitu-
tion," said Adam Haba, president of College
Republicans. "We are held accountable to
the (United Nations) and those rules second
to our Constitution. We look out for number
one first, we look out for our democracy
and our way of life first."
Early responses to both Sept. 11 and mil-
itary actions in Afghanistan stirred mixed
reactions on campus.
On Sept. 20, 2001, about 300 people par-
ticipated in a peace rally on the Diag. The
group was counter-protested by 30 vocal
demonstrators organized by the campus
Young Americans for Freedom.
Fox said that she received an enthusiastic
response to a lecture she gave on nonvio-
lent alternatives to the War on Terror.
"There are many students that share the
opinion that violence and oppression is not
the way to form a safer society."
After the commencement of U.S. military
actions in Afghanistan last October, the
Michigan Student Assembly passed a reso-
lution affirming their support of the U.S.
government's policies.
"It seems that people are divided into dif-
ferent groups. ... There are a few people
who are anti-American altogether, and there
are a few people who are very pro-Ameri-
ca," said Dean Wang, leader of the campus
chapter of Young Americans for Freedom.
"The campus is still pretty patriotic."
Students on both side of the issue noted
that there is no student group on campus
that advocates strictly for peace.
"We had heard that there were student
groups organizing," said Mary Beijan, a
leader in the Ann Arbor Committee for
Peace. "My understanding is that some of
that campus energy dwindled somehow."
Schwind said that early tension between
Campus Greens, Students Organizing for
Labor and Economic Equality, and the
Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and
Integration and Fight For Equality by Any
Means Necessary complicated the creation
of a peace organization.
"I think there were a lot of people who
didn't know quite what do think," Schwind
added.
"I think this campus is really crying out
for a good (peace) organization," she
added.
Fox noted that the patriotism surrounding
Sept. 11 might have muted campus debate.
"I fear that there is fear among students
to say some of these things because it can
be interpreted as unpatriotic," Fox said.
"The history of wars is that the peace
movement might be active until we actually
go to war, and people turn on those that
advocate peace as un-American. I know
that it makes the Muslim and Middle East-
ern community think before speaking up."
Some students thought campus was
divided on the issue.
"I think this campus is split on foreign
policy," said Wang, who added he thought
only a small group of students were strong-
ly opposed to the War on Terror.
"I guess it's pretty evenly divided between
people who are behind Bush and people
who are not ready to do what the Bush
administration wants to do," Haba said.
All agreed that some sort of response to
the attacks was needed.
"I agree we can't just lie down," Fox said.
"The challenge is to learn how we can act in
nonviolent ways to really understand why
these kinds of groups are now springing up."
"To be the most powerful country in the
world, we need a strong military," Ridenou
said. "My friend's father was at the Pentagon
that day. ... For those things to happen and
people to say 'Don't strike back,' then it will
just happen again. It will show we are weak."
Gartenberg missed as
father, alum president
By Shannon Pettypiece
Daily News Editor
NEW YORK - Home videos, photo albums
and Michigan football have taken on a new mean-
ing for Jill Gartenberg after losing her husband,
Jim Gartenberg, in the Sept. 11 attack on the
World Trade Center.
With two young daughters, 3-year-old Nicole
and 6-month-old Jamie, Jill is doing all she can
to make sure her girls have the chance to learn
about the father.
"We talk about Daddy every day and that is
important to Nicole to do that because she likes
to hear about him more and more," Jill said.
Nicole loves to hear stories about her father
and regularly watches old home videos of the
two of them.
Since Jamie never got to meet her father, and
Nicole was only two years old, Jill makes sure to
talk to her children about their father daily.
She has put together a colorful photo book
with pictures and stories of Jim through which
she tells the girls what their father used to enjoy
doing with them, happy moments they shared,
and silly things they did together..
Jill also keeps a scrapbook of all the stories
written about their father so the girls have a writ-
ten record of who he was.
Since Sept. 11, her children have taken on an
even more significant role in the working mom's
life since they are now two of the only living
links to her husband.
"I think I just cherish my children more than
ever because they're special gifts my husband
and I created together," Jill said.
Her ability to take on the role of both parents
while dealing with her own personal loss has
taken courage and determination along with the
support of her friends and family.
"I'm making it though day-by-day with the
help of this one," Gartenberg said as she affec-
tionately played with daughter Nicole's braids.
"People ask me how I do it and I do it because
there's no alternative, and when I have kids I
have a responsibility to me and my husband and
do the best I can under this situation."
While both Jill and Jim were devoted Michi-
gan fans and University alums, Jill has had to
take over the task once filled by Jim of teaching
her daughters about the University and Michi-
gan sports so they can carry on the family tradi-
tion of Maize and Blue. Jim served as president
of the NYC chapter of the University's alumni
association.
Jill, Nicole and Jamie each have a complete
ensemble of University wear from blue and yel-
low ponytail holders to a bib for Jamie that
reads, "I'm a little Wolverine."
Jill will not be going to Ground Zero today
during the commemorative events. Instead she
will be spending time with her family and
friends, who have been her pillar of strength
over the past year, she said.
"I'll spend time with family and friends
because that is what has gotten me thought
the past year and will help keep me strong,"
Jill said.
EMMA FOSDICK/Daily
Jill Gartenberg plays with her children, 3-year-old Nicole and 6-month-old Jamie. Her husband, Jim, a
University alum and president of the NYC chapter of the University's alumni association, died Sept.
11, 2001.
Students
at NYU
reflect on
tragedies
By Elizabeth Kassab
Daily News Editor
NEW YORK - New York Uni-
versity junior Elizabeth Loomis
isn't sure what she will be doing to
commemorate the one-year
anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
"Right after, (the attacks) it
changed a lot," she said. Some of
her friends were evacuated from
their residence hall, and her classes
held discussions about the attacks.
This year there will be numerous
vigils and ceremonies at NYU and
several designated spots on campus
have been chosen as plapes for stu-
dents to gather and reflect.
But yesterday, students went
about their lives, sunning them-
selves, chatting over lunch and qui-
etly reading homework- in
Washington Square Park, the site
where a year ago today many of
them stood and looked south watch-
ing as smoke billowed from the
Twin Towers.
In the days after the World Trade
Center collapsed, visitors and students
alike covered canvases in the park with
messages of support and strength.
But there was little sign of any of
that yesterday during the day.
Yesterday evening, several cam-
pus' groups held a candlelight vigil
and protest in the park. The theme
- peace - was something present
in last year's canvases, which in
many places juxtaposed pictures of
doves with threats against Osama
bin Laden.
The event was meant to remem-
ber the loss of last year and "to
take a stance and stop killing in the
names of those who died at the
World Trade Center," said NYU
alum Osage Bell.
Protest signs among the crowd
decried President Bush's policy on
Iraq, and one protester carried a
large cut-out of a dove. Candles
were handed out to the crowd, and
lanterns were also lit.
"I feel like it's about showing
publicly that as Americans and peo-
ple who care very much abot our
country we are not in support of
what our country is doing in our
names," said Anna Lappe, a 28-
year-old author.
"It's easy to feel alone in my
frustration about how the U.S.
responded to Sept. 11, and to be
around all these other people who
share my belief that we will not
find peace through waging war the
way we have" brings a sense of
comfort, she added.
Locals: City's atmosphere changed since Sept. 11
r.By Shannon Pettypiece
Daily News Editor "Some still
NEW YORK - Although most New Yorkers and vis-
itors said they went on with their regular business yes-
terday, employees in the area said they have noticed a
change in the atmosphere of the city in the past several
days.
Some said they felt New Yorkers were being nicer
yesterday and more understanding than usual because
of the solemn mood for the one-year anniversary.
"People are starting to soften up. Last week it was
just another week, but now you can tell they are feeling
differently," said Pete Petropoulos, who has been living
in New York for the past month.
Many employees in New York City said they still har-
bor strong emotions about the attacks and for some the
one-year anniversary has dredged up old feelings as
well.
"My friends, we still talk about it and it still hurts a
lot," said Josiah Silverstein, a University alum and
employee at the T.G.I. Friday's at Times Square. "Some
people still have post-traumatic stress and it has gotten
worse these past few weeks."
Theaters and resteraunts have experienced a decline
in business during the past several weeks as the one-
year anniversary approached and as the summer tourist
season came to a close, workers say.
"It's really dead in here," Silverstein said. Silverstein
added that September is usually a slow month, but that
he has seen New York City's popularity with tourists
shaken since the Sept. 11 attacks.
traumatic stress and it has
gotten worse these past few
weeks."
- Josiah Silverstein
'U' alum and T.G.I. Friday's employee in New York
All but three Broadway musicals will be dark tomor-
row in honor of the one-year anniversary of the Sept.
11 attacks and some ticket sales have dropped over the
past month as a result of the attacks and the one-year
anniversary approaching, Douglas Garner, an employee
at the TKTS booth in Times Square said.
"Lately, the line just hasn't been long," he said.
Box office attendance for the musical Les Miserables
said they are below the typically September slowdown
for ticket sales, having sold less than half of the tickets
available for yesterday's show.
Although almost all Broadway productions have
called off their performances today, off-Broadway
shows are still running.
Some bars and restaurants in the city will also close
for the day, like Mache's Dance Hall on Broadway, so
that employees can attend memorial services for the
victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, said Anna Kreman, a
bartender at Mache's.
EMMA FOSDICK/Daily
Columbia student Charles Choe embraces New York City resident Nary Choi in front
of Ground Zero yesterday evening.
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