For the 18-year-olds beginning their studies at UConn this fall, the events of September 11, 2001, remain an impactful part of history, though they experience it only through the stories of others rather than from personal memory. It is difficult for those who vividly remember that Tuesday morning and continue to feel the shock and sorrow of the day.
At UConn, as in many places, students gathered around televisions in public spaces to watch the unfolding news from New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. In the Student Union at UConn Storrs, the screens became so crowded that additional monitors were set up in the ballroom and Dodd Center. Similar scenes were reported at campuses nationwide.
UConn Stamford, located just 40 miles from Ground Zero and closely connected to New York City, felt the impact deeply. Then-campus director Jackie Joseph Silverstein noted, “On campus, there is not one person who doesn’t know someone who worked in the World Trade Center. It has been horrendous waiting to know what happened to individuals.”
It was a time before the prevalence of social media and WiFi, when mobile phones were limited to making calls, and news outlets were the sole sources of real-time updates from the disaster sites. Communication lines were overwhelmed as people attempted to reach loved ones in New York. While some parents requested that their children return home, others believed the campus offered more safety in an altered sense of security.
Many recollections from that morning emphasize feelings of being “stunned,” and it wasn’t until Wednesday night that a candlelight vigil was organized, as the community struggled to contemplate actions beyond passive news consumption. Yet, the community also sprang into action; an emergency medical services team departed from UConn Health shortly after the attacks and arrived at Ground Zero by that evening. Mental health counselors worked tirelessly throughout that day, and ROTC students and reservists prepared for potential deployment.
Undergraduate Student Government President Chris Hattayer addressed a crowd of 3,000 at the vigil, stating, “We will remember September 11, 2001, for the rest of our lives. And it may turn out to be the defining moment of our lives.”
In the aftermath, the UConn community demonstrated its resilience and commitment in various ways: faculty offered their knowledge on a wide range of issues; the School of Fine Arts held performances of Mozart’s Requiem for over 5,000 individuals, raising about $31,000 for relief efforts; staff coordinated the collection of bottled water for responders; and students engaged in discussions to grapple with the tragedy.
Today, the physical remnants of that day have been cleared, but the implications of “what comes next” have been shaped by the events of 9/11, and those who were undergraduates in 2001 are now middle-aged. A memorial service at UConn Health continues to honor the memory of those lost, a tradition maintained annually since that tragic Tuesday. Lessons from the attacks are integrated into numerous courses, while students born long after may ponder the experiences of that fateful September morning.
For many, this day brings a renewed focus on their enduring grief, not limited to historical reflections or global politics, but towards the memory of loved ones who perished. It is a time to mourn and commemorate the UConn community members who lost their lives that day:
Richard “Rick” Blood Jr. ’97
Evan Gillette ’83
Robert Higley ’94
Joseph A. Lenihan ’82, ’84 MBA
Scott J. O’Brien ’83
Margaret Q. Orloske ’73
Cheryl Monyak ’79, ’81 MBA
Sean Schielke ’96