Arranged by Becky Roa and Andrea Genovese Soares (September 11, 2003)

The world, of course, will never forget September 11 and Masonites are no different. Below, students and teachers share both memories and reflections of that fateful day.
 

Josh Shokoor, Junior
I will always remember how my race started to actually mean something to other people.  Before, when people used to come up to me and ask what my race was, I would be able to tell them comfortably that I was half-white and half-Afghani.  I bet that most of the people who I actually told this to, didn’t even know where Afghanistan was. My sister and I used to think we were unique, being half Afghani, because honestly I’ve never met another person like me or her.  I used to think it was cool to have the last name Shokoor, with people giving me the nickname Tupac. I never thought that I would be scared to reveal to people my last name or what my race was, but after September 11th,all of these features made me feel like an enemy.  Then, after we found out it was a terrorist attack and not an accident, we also found out that the terrorists were Arab.  I started getting scared that they could impose Martial Law in the U.S, and, worse, that people might try to hurt me.  I did have a small hate crime done to me though, by the football team that I was then playing for. All my worries went away, though, once I knew that my real friends didn’t care what race I was. 
 

Chad O’Hara, Junior
I was in World Civ, discussing feudalism, when a teacher came into my class and called me into the hall.  I was pretty confused, especially when she told me that my dad was ok.  I had not heard anything about the hijackings so I had no idea what she was talking about.  Then I called my mom and she filled me in.  I had to tell my World Civ class about it too, and they all had been just as clueless.  It was shocking.
 
 
 

Greg Corbino, Senior
I was in TA.  The urgency and tragedy didn’t set in right away.  It wasn’t until I realized how many people were in those towers and on the planes that it hit me.  The immensity of it all.  The hate.  The pain.  I remember thinking, why?  Why those innocent people?  How did someone allow themselves to be consumed with so much hate?  Why did we not see it coming?  I was scared.  I didn’t want to be in school.  Why the hell should I sit and pretend to learn when this tragedy was happening, the future second by second?  But soon enough the televisions switched on and I remember seeing six images, over and over and over.  It was almost like I wasn’t living the moment, like I wasn’t human.  Any human wouldn’t be able to sit and watch the moment when thousands of people died.  But we did.  And now whenever I see the images of that day I break down.  It was too much to bear…that day still seems like such a dream.  I still can’t believe it happened.  I don’t believe that we will ever know why…But we can’t help but ask.  The way I felt that day still haunts me.  I don’t think I’ll ever understand.
 
 

Rabita Aziz, Junior
I didn’t know what had happened at the time it happened.  I got out of class and went all the way to my locker and still didn’t know.  I was walking down the hall toward my 5th block class when I saw a bunch of girls huddled together in the hallway, crying.  I thought that someone maybe had gotten into a car accident or something like that.  As I walked on, I heard words like “bomb” and “explosions”, and I stopped someone in the hall to ask what happened.  She said, “Two planes crashed into the Twin Towers and they collapsed and another crashed into the Pentagon and a car exploded outside of the Capitol.”  I felt like I had suddenly crashed into a brick wall.  I thought, what the hell is she talking about?  She must have made some kind of a mistake.  She’s playing some kind of a cruel joke on me.  But then I went to class and realized that she was telling the truth, and a part of me changed forever.
 
 

  Andrea Genovese Soares, Junior

I was going to lunch, like a normal day, when I saw a huge crowd in the library classroom.  Students were being taken out of my fifth block class, so I knew something strange was happening.  When I saw the news, I kept thinking it was a movie.  Then, I looked around, and some people were crying and hugging each other.  I realized this was serious. I started panicking.  My dad was in some South-American country and I knew he would be returning sometime that week.  He travels a lot and I know most of his return flights go through either NY or Miami, so I was scared.  All kinds of terrible things passed through my mind.  They were so terrible that I don’t dare repeat them here.  Then, during last block, the office called in and told me my mother was there to pick me up.  My mom said:  “I’ve received calls from relatives in three different countries, already, so I had to pick you up.  We are at war, and I want you at home.” 
 

Rachel Reich, Junior
I was in Gourmet Cooking and kept thinking, “This has to be some kind of hoax.”  My heart went out to all the victims and their families.  I knew a person who was in the Pentagon.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dane Perera, Junior
“During second block, when I heard the news I didn’t believe it at first, but after the radio was turned on and we heard the news, I was shocked and scared because my mom works near the Pentagon. When I tried calling I couldn’t get through, but I got in touch with her later.  I was in shock, and never thought anything like this would happen to America.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Claire Smalley, Junior
“I had just been to the Twin Towers the year before, and when I heard about it in class, I didn’t understand what the big deal was. I got picked up early from school, and when I got home and watched it on the news, it still didn’t hit me that it was different from any other tragic event that you see on the news everyday.  I went to New York a little after it happened, and I was really impressed by how the people came together.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ashley Pettit, Junior
“At first I didn’t believe what everyone was saying about the occurences in New York and D.C.  I never imagined that something like this would happen during my lifetime.  After the initial shock though, I was concerned about the welfare of my mom, who works in D.C.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Lili Miller, Junior 
When I first heard the news in art class, I wasn’t thinking much of anything. I thought about the parents of my friends, at work in D.C. What happened didn’t change my perspective on life. What happened shattered security for many people, terrible things happen and all we can do is take it in stride and love. It doesn’t get more complicated than that. 
 
 
 
 
 

  Ashley Lavelle, Senior
I was all confused as to why the school was chaotic. I didn’t even find out until I got to work when I saw the T.V on. My heart sank because I could just imagine what other families were feeling.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  Johnny Garg, Senior
I remember being in ASL and Maeve coming in and telling us that someone had crashed into the World Trade Centers. I think none of us really believed her because, well, I mean who would fly into a building? But it was true… shock, disbelief, so many different emotions- it was horrible.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ms. Eurica Chang, Science Teacher
The world changed that day- I think I always looked at world events as happening to other people, other countries, instead of the U.S. as part of the world and this closed that gap for me. How many people are struggling around the world and now how many new challenges we Americans face in dealing with world issues. But I believe we human beings will prevail and continue to move forward- We are capable of much good.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ms. Lori Jordan, Math Teacher
I was in my first year of teaching in Los Angeles, CA. The first plane actually hit at about 6 am Pacific Time. I didn’t hear about it until I got to school and a coworker asked if I had heard that we were “under attack." I thought he was joking until our principal came over the intercom and told us not to let students out of their classrooms. Parents flooded the parking lot to pick up their children. I felt like Washington, D.C. was so far away at the time, even though my fiancée was there. He was at school at the time, but I was worried that he was driving by the Pentagon at the time of the attack, the same time he went to school. He wasn’t, of course. But, when something so traumatic happens 3,000 miles away, one tends to worry.