September 11 is one of those events where almost everyone can remember where they were and what they were doing the exact moment tragedy struck. For many people they were in school or eating breakfast when the attacks occurred. Others were not so fortunate.

Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Innocent office workers, airline passengers, bystanders, and even heroes in the form of firefighters and rescue workers all had their world cut short by acts of terror. When the term 9/11 is mentioned, people conjure up gruesome images of airplanes crashing into buildings, dust and debris filling the air, and a mass panic in one of the busiest cities in the world.

If those responsible for the attacks thought they would tear the country apart, they must have been sadly mistaken. A hole might have literally been torn in the nation, but tragedy is an odd phenomenon in that it brings people together as one, rather than driving them apart.

The tragedy affected an anonymous junior deeply. “Still to this day, the 9/11 attacks make me very emotional. Those people didn’t deserve to die, and it’s sad to think about that for me.”

Senior Dylan Shelton, who said he was at home watching the news when tragedy struck, suggests that we inscribe each victims’ name on a wall so each and every person will be remembered for who they were and not simply as a victim.

“Put their names on a wall. There’s really nothing else you can do without dishonoring that person. In other words, if I died in one of the towers, I wouldn’t want to be remembered for dying on 9/11, I would want to be remembered for who I was.”

Senior Noah Heiss feels the same way, claiming it is important to remember those who passed away because “innocent people don’t deserve to have to die like that.”

September is a sensitive time of year for Americans ever since the horrifying attacks eleven years ago, and although it’s painful to remember, some consider it their duty to keep the victims in their memory. It will forever be a time in this nation’s history to remember instead of forget, and perhaps even honor rather than mourn.