Honoring 9/11 Victims Through Our Actions

Today marks 15 years since hijacked airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City; the Pentagon in Washington, DC; and a field in rural Pennsylvania. The United States Capitol building was the intended target of that final plane, but the heroic actions of passengers and crew members aboard the flight prevented its hijackers from accomplishing their goal. For many of us, the memories of that day will never fade and the emotions always will be difficult to manage on this anniversary. So, we continue to honor the lives and memories of the thousands who perished on September 11, 2001, through remembrance, through contemplation or prayer, and, we hope, through our actions.

The sadness, anger, and fear we experienced during that time were raw and overwhelming, especially for the many who lost dear friends and loved ones as a result of such heinous acts. For myself and those who were part of a New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) community at that time which sat just a PATH train ride away from the World Trade Center’s majestic towers, the losses included nine NJIT alumni who died in the collapse of Towers 1 and 2, a former trustee and his wife who were aboard Flight 93 en route to a family reunion in California when it crashed in Pennsylvania, and the wife of our dean of students at the time. She died taking an elevator to a higher floor of Tower 2 in order to make sure her employees were evacuating. Months later, I escorted our dean into New York City to recover some of his wife’s remains.

My recollections of that day and the days that followed remain vivid and are so easy to recall. It’s important to hold onto those memories, but it would serve us well to also revisit the manner in which the people of our nation and nations around the globe united in support of one another and in defiance of intolerance and hate in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks. The support transcended many boundaries and demonstrated the best aspects of our humanity.

Sadly, though, there remains today both the threat and the reality of terrorism, domestically and abroad. The attacks and mass killings that have taken place in Paris; Mumbai; Madrid; the Russian republic of Beslan, North Ossetia; Orlando, Florida; and in many other locations throughout the world, as well as the one 15 years ago in our own backyard, are a series of reminders that can make us feel numb and even defeated, at times. We have an obligation, though, to the victims of all those senseless attacks, which were uniformly fueled by ignorance, intolerance, and hate. Our obligation is to reject such thinking and to respect, care for, and learn from one another.

Those of us who are members of higher education communities, in particular, should consider ourselves fortunate because we have the opportunity to fulfill that obligation every day. NJIT is a beacon of creative, innovative, diverse, and complex thought. I know our campus is a place where ideas and perspectives are appreciated for their uniqueness rather than their similarity, where our mission is to solve problems through discussion and collaboration. By aspiring to and embracing such a mindset, we honor those whose lives have been lost and help, in our own way, to combat ignorance, intolerance, and hate.

Joel S. Bloom
President
New Jersey Institute of Technology