TIGed

Switch headers Switch to TIGweb.org

Are you an TIG Member?
Click here to switch to TIGweb.org

HomeHomeExpress YourselfPanoramaStudents seem Outwardly Calm
Panorama
a TakingITGlobal online publication
Search



(Advanced Search)

Panorama Home
Issue Archive
Current Issue
Next Issue
Featured Writer
TIG Magazine
Writings
Opinion
Interview
Short Story
Poetry
Experiences
My Content
Edit
Submit
Guidelines
Students seem Outwardly Calm Printable Version PRINTABLE VERSION
by Abbie Zamcheckm with Patrick Mangan, Sep 27, 2001
Peace & Conflict   Opinions

  

Several white flakes of paint fell on junior David Pagano as he sat in the stuffy Brooklyn Tech auditorium. He quickly assured his classmates that this debris did not remind him of the towers’ collapse.

The planes hit, the tower smoked, our city changed, our world changed; and it all happened in front of our eyes. As students returned to school at Brooklyn Tech Thursday, September 20, these images were still fresh in our minds.

Some students said the emotions of their classmates were affected by how much of the disaster they viewed. And fewer students than expected availed themselves of the counseling provided by the school.

Assistant Principal Gene Blaufarb said the staff of 12 professionals received only a “trickle” of students on the first Monday after the attack, a day students were informed via the Internet that they could receive counseling at Brooklyn Tech. After Friday’s full cycle of classes, guidance counselor Eleanor Archie had not seen the number of students that she expected. “We’ve been reaching out to kids,” she said.

However, some sought relief from other sources.
According to senior Gary He, the World Trade Center Disaster discussion board on his website received over 3,000 ‘hits.’

Senior Ruby Jong said that discussing the event with her friends helped to get it out of her system. On September 11, Jong and most of her friends felt safe the entire day. She said only when she got home did she realize the magnitude of the event, though it never seemed to “directly affect her.”

But junior Matt Zeidel said there was a marked difference between those who witnessed the flailing limbs of workers falling from the World Trade Center and those who did not. “A lot of people saw more than I did,” he said. “These people have been a lot more hesitant to talk about things.”

Although Zeidel didn’t see the jumpers, another image dominated his mind. “I saw the bridge being completely covered in a cloud of dust,” said Zeidel. “At that point I thought this is going to affect us big time, this isn’t something we can just get past.”

But Pagano wishes he could just forget. He said, “Safe is still a place in my home, in my bed, where I can pretend none of this ever happened.”

“Everyone’s in denial,” said Archie.





 1     


Tags

You must be logged in to add tags.

Comments
You must be a TakingITGlobal member to post a comment. Sign up for free or login.