to
promoting
the
ideas
of
free
enterprise,
limited
government
and
a
strong
national defense. Stanchina
said his group’s objectives
highlight the importance of
commemorating 9/11.
“The ideas that we like to
bring to campus, the speakers
and the topics we like to
embrace
and
have
spoken
about, those are the reasons
that the attack occurred,” he
said. “We feel a special duty to
commemorate.”
Captain
Chris
Dennis,
professor of Naval Science
and Commanding Officer of
the Navy Officer Education
Program, said the events from
9/11 affected not only the
United States but also the rest
of the world, and the act of
remembering and reflecting
upon it should unite people
across the globe.
“Everybody’s heart broke
and there was an outpouring of
love and support for the United
States, and I think really for
humanity,” he said. “That for
me is what is special about 9/11.
That spirit of togetherness
and
suffering
together
and
reclaiming
humanity
together.”
Dennis
also
said
the
simplicity
of
Sunday’s
commemoration is the most
powerful agent for getting
people to reflect on the tragedy.
“It’s fairly understated,” he
said. “I hope people stop and
remember the vulnerability of
life and redouble their efforts
to work together with one
another.”
receiving
emails
from
concerned
family
members
across the country.
In post-9/11 and a post-
Brussels
Europe,
this
is
a
scenario has played out over and
over — families contacting loved
ones abroad or wondering, “What
if it was my son or daughter?” at
home. Amid mounting terrorist
attacks in Germany, France,
Britain, Turkey, Belgium, Russia
and Spain, reports warning
foreign students to avoid places
like shopping malls, schools,
airports and other forms of
public
transportation
are
increasingly common.
On
May
31,
the
U.S.
Department
of
State
issued
a warning specifically about
traveling in Europe between
that
date
and
August
3,
telling
travelers
to
be
on
alert
for
potential
terrorist
attacks
targeting
major
events, commercial areas and
transportation.
“The large number of tourists
visiting Europe in the summer
months will present greater
targets for terrorists planning
attacks
in
public
locations,
especially at large events,” the
alert read.
The
Department
of
State
wasn’t wrong. Three weeks
before the stabbing in London,
a truck was driven into crowds
celebrating Bastille Day, killing
at least 84 people and leaving 18
others wounded in the French
Riviera city of Nice.
Amid
this
atmosphere,
the
Center
for
Global
and
Intercultural Study, the office
that coordinates most study
abroad
programs
for
LSA
students, sent about 650 to 700
University of Michigan students
abroad this summer.
LSA
junior
Margaret
O’Connor
was
among
13
University
students
studying
abroad in Germany through
the Center of Intercultural and
Global Studies at the time. She
wrote in an email interview that
she was eager to experience the
culture first-hand and exercise
her language skills in a way that
would be impossible to do in the
United States.
“Because both of my sisters
attended (the University) and
studied abroad, I’ve envisioned
myself doing the same for a few
years,” O’Connor wrote. “I’ve
studied German for several
years in high school and later
took intensive German in the
(Residential College), so going
there made a lot of sense for me.”
O’Connor was traveling across
Berlin on the underground with
two of her friends on the night of
a popular soccer game. The train
was fairly crowded and rowdy,
with many passengers from the
game.
While
waiting
for
their
connecting train, O’Connor and
her friends heard three small
explosions that sounded like
they were coming from the train
car. People began to scream,
and
O’Connor
immediately
believed she was in the center of
a terrorist attack.
“It took about a minute for us
to realize it was only fireworks
some excited sports fan had lit
off, but the feeling of pure terror
we
experienced
was
really
rattling,” O’Connor wrote. “It
made me really sad and angry
that we live in a world where
attacks like this are almost
expected, and could happen
anywhere to anyone.”
When
recollecting
the
experience,
O’Connor
wrote
that she wondered whether they
reacted the way they did because
they were abroad, and news of
the dangers abroad has been
anything but understated. She
noted, however, that she did not
believe her family and friends
would have deterred her from
going abroad and that for her,
there was no perceived threat
regarding her visit to Germany.
“Shortly after we came home,
however, Munich was struck
by more gun violence, and I felt
weirdly connected to it because
it happened right in the middle
of the city not far from where
we spent most of our time,”
O’Connor wrote.
For
O’Connor,
potentially
dangerous
situations
alone
wouldn’t
deter
her
from
an
enriching
educational
experience,
but
she
added
that it would certainly be a
consideration if she were to go
on a future trip.
Speaking
to
programs
in
France in particular, Rachel
Reuter, the health and safety
adviser for CGIS, said despite
mounting
terrorist
reports
from the country, the number
of students applying to study
abroad has steadily increased
over the past several years. CGIS
reported the numbers of their
Winter application cycle showed
23 applications in 2014, 33 in
2015, and so far this year more
than 62 students have applied to
study in France.
LSA senior Mallory Jamett
said she chose the Arts in Paris
program because it was the
best opportunity that worked
within her art history major.
Her parents were nervous about
her decision, but Jamett believes
they would have been hesitant
regardless of where she chose to
study.
“The Paris attacks were fresh
on everyone’s mind, but since U
of M hadn’t canceled any other
study abroad programs to that
area, my parents didn’t see any
large cause for alarm,” Jamett
said.
Jamett
was
watching
fireworks on the lawn by the
Eiffel Tower during the Bastille
Day terrorist attack in Nice.
Upon returning to the home
of the French family she was
living with, Jamett checked
her phone for the first time
that night. It was flooded with
concerned
messages
asking
where she was, asking if she
was OK. After checking Twitter,
Jamett learned that a truck had
intentionally driven into the
celebrating crowd.
Jamett said this attack came
as a nasty shock to French
citizens
and
study
abroad
members alike, but she wasn’t
that surprised.
“The strange thing was, I
didn’t find it terribly shocking,
and I think it was because I had
been desensitized to violent
attacks from the U.S. With so
many mass shootings and violent
crimes, as a culture, America
sees this violence much more
often than France,” Jamett said.
“I recognize that this tragedy
caused lots of people fear and
grief, but at the same time, I
could only recognize the effect
of it. I felt very little of these
emotions myself.”
CGIS Director Mike Jordan
said the swell in applications,
despite the changed atmosphere,
speaks to the strength of the
programs and the mindsets
of the students seeking those
opportunities.
“If you look at something
like what happened in Brussels,
three
students
backed
out
but one was unrelated to the
attacks, so two students out of 21
withdrew,” Jordan said.
In
Jamett’s
22-person
program,
participants
were
University
students
from
a
variety of majors.
“I consider the U.S. to be
dangerous; the entire world is
filled with risks. It’s a matter of if
that area is an active war zone,”
Jamett said. “If the area that I
want to study in is particularly
violent, then I would definitely
reconsider studying there, but
to rule out an area purely due to
fear would be shortsighted.”
Jordan, the junior studying
at Oxford, expressed a similar
sentiment, citing the color-coded
terrorism threat advisory scale
— an alert system for travelers
post- 9/11 through Homeland
Security. The different levels,
beginning with green, which
signifies a low threat, and
ending with red, indicating a
severe threat, trigger specific
actions by federal agencies and
state and local governments, and
impact the security measures at
some airports and other public
facilities.
“It seems like for a year or
more the risk color was orange,”
Jordan recalled. “You cannot
just live in constant fear.”
When a real emergency hits,
Reuter said CGIS has various
measures in place to reach
out to students and reassure
families.
The
department
has 10 emergency responders
available to attend to the 24/7
emergency phone line. It also
requires students, staff and
faculty abroad to put location
and contact data into their
international
travel
registry.
When circumstances become
dangerous in a particular region,
Reuter and her team hop online.
“I start contacting them via
email, cell phone, Facebook,
WhatsApp, however we can get
a response,” Reuter said.
Due to the large numbers of
students within LSA, Reuter
said it is the only college with a
position like hers. Through the
Office of the Provost, another
senior
international
health
adviser is in place.
“We have partners on the
ground throughout the world
that provide logistical support
for our programs,” Jordan said.
“They have policies where once
the students have all checked in
with them, they’ll notify us. And
I think that alleviates a lot of
parents’ fears.”
Reuter
also
stressed
the
importance of registering side
trips — any supplementary travel
during a study abroad — through
MCompass.
“I don’t care if you’re on a side
trip in Amsterdam or drunk on
a beach in Mexico, my goal is to
make sure you’re safe,” she said.
ABROAD
From Page 1A
paint a picture of Americans
rallying around each other,
concerned and even distrustful
of some groups of foreigners,”
the report says.
Communications
Prof.
Michael Traugott and Political
Science
Prof.
Ted
Brader,
researchers of this study, could
not be reached for comment on
the report.
LSA
junior
Grant
Strobl,
chairman of the University’s
chapter of Young Americans
for Freedom, helped stake 2,977
flags on the Diag as part of the
9/11: Never Forget Project to
remember the lives lost during
the attacks. He said he thought
it was important to continue to
recognize the impact 9/11 had.
“The freshmen coming to the
University of Michigan weren’t
even in kindergarten when 9/11
happened, so it’s important
that we remember and remind
students how vulnerable our
country was on that day and the
fact that our way of life is still at
risk,” Strobl said.
Vulnerability
was
another
common facet of public opinion
after 9/11 — the ISR survey also
found that many Americans
suffered a loss of personal safety
and security. The survey report
stated that about half of its
respondents said their personal
sense of safety and security was
reduced “a great deal” or “a good
amount.”
Frost
recalled
having
to
complete extensive safety drills
in her New York school following
the attacks, such as practicing
getting underneath the desk or
rushing to the school gym.
Arab and Muslim Americans
have also been at a higher risk
of hate crimes since the attacks,
according to the FBI Hate
Crimes Statistics reports, which
note anti-Islamic hate crimes
have increased from less than 2
percent in 2000 to more than 16
percent in 2014.
Evelyn
Alsultany,
director
of Arab and Muslim American
Studies,
who
teaches
the
course “Why Do They Hate Us:
Perspectives on 9/11,” wrote in
an email interview that political
responses to the attacks — such
as U.S. involvement in the Iraq
War — led to an increase in
anti-Arab
and
anti-Muslim
sentiments
following
the
attacks, which continue to exist
to this day.
“Saying that the cause of
terror is Islam is simplistic and
inaccurate,” Alsultany wrote.
“That is not to say that Islam has
nothing to do with it when these
are self proclaimed Muslims in
the case of ISIS and al-Qaeda,
but that it is not the origin or
cause of terrorism. If it were,
then 1.6 billion Muslims could
be involved in terrorism, instead
of a small fraction.”
In the past year, Muslim-
and Arab-American students
at the University have gathered
to
participate
in
a
speak-
out
regarding
Islamophobic
remarks, and feeling targeted
on campus. One recent example
includes chalkings on the Diag
last
March
stating
remarks
such as “Stop Islam,” prompting
a statement from University
President Mark Schlissel calling
for a campus-wide need to
respect all students.
“What Islamophobia reveals
is an inability to understand
that the 1.6 billion Muslims
of the world are people like
any other people — consisting
of a range of experiences and
characteristics,”
Alsultany
wrote.
History Lecturer Jonathan
Marwil said.the attacks have
a wide array of consequences,
from health impacts for those
who could have breathed in the
debris or dust from the site, to
changes in political and military
relationships
with
different
nations, to broader cultural
implications in American music
and literature.
“The
consequences
internationally have so far been
huge,
considerable,”
Marwil
said. “And there’s no evidence to
suggest that those consequences
are going to diminish in the
foreseeable future.”
Despite having experienced
the attacks firsthand, Frost said
said she finds herself forgetting
more
and
more
of
what
happened on Sept. 11 as the years
go by, though she hopes for more
remembrance events to keep the
significance prominent.
“Our national security was
completely robbed from us, and
I think that affects all citizens
still,” Frost said.
SEPTEMBER
From Page 1A
me when I entered adulthood,
to experience this tragedy,”
she said. “From the top of the
carillon tower at Yale, you could
see the smoke from the Twin
Towers. I think it deserves
commemorating and living on in
our memories every year.”
Collins said he appreciated
the
overall
effect
of
the
memorial, and was surprised by
the number of people who came
to listen.
“I
was
really
impressed
with
the
overall
program,
standing down in the plaza and
listening to that,” he said. “I was
impressed with the number of
folks that showed up. They came
and went, but there were a fair
number of folks who just stayed
out there on the plaza. I think
that showed a lot of respect. I’m
thankful for Tiffany and the
University doing that.”
Ng also said part of the event’s
success was owed to the quality
of the instrument, adding that
she hopes to continue this
memorial on Sept. 11 in years to
come.
“These English bells, cast in
1935 in Loughborough, England
have a very deep, resonant and
mournful sound that’s perfect
for
memorial
repertoire,
I
think,” she said. “It works just
so well here.”
CONCERT
From Page 2A
get to perform during our
semesterly concerts in Hill
Auditorium,” he said. “We
really enjoy them, they’re all
beautiful, moving pieces and
very personal, obviously, for us
as a group at the University of
Michigan.”
Kiessling said he is hoping
for lyrics that highlight the
best parts of the University.
“We are looking for lyrics
that
help
celebrate
the
University, the fact that it has
remained such an incredible
location
and
avenue
of
opportunity for so many for
the past 200 years,” he said.
He said another important
requirement for the lyrics is
the inclusion of the three main
ideals of the Glee Club, which
are tradition, camaraderie and
musical excellence. However,
he added that beyond these
requirements, there’s a large
range of possibilities for the
song.
“These
lyrics
are
fairly
open-ended as well, so we look
forward to seeing all of the
different
submissions
we’ll
receive, and all the creativity
that the University of Michigan
tends to foster,” Kiessling said.
Kuster
echoed
his
sentiments.
“Because our lyrics will
come
from
U-M-affiliated
writers, we also expect we’ll
be
moved
by
something
beautifully
and
brilliantly
unexpected,” she said.
GLEE
From Page 3A
FLAGS
From Page 3A
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
LSA junior Sivanthy Vasanthan speaks with passerbys about the student organization South Asian
Awareness Network during Festifall on the Diag on Friday.
FESTIFALL
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Monday, September 12, 2016 — 7A