Tuesday September 11, 2001 started out normally as an early
semester day. The temperature
was seasonable as there were no clouds in the sky. After I completed a freshman seminar tour
that morning, a colleague told me that a plane had hit the World Trade
Center. At that point everyone thought
it was just a terrible accident. As time
passed I heard about the second plane hitting the WTC and the third at the
Pentagon and the fourth crashing in Western Pennsylvania. Everyone knew that this was a terrorist
attack. NJIT stayed open until 12
noon. Since public transportation had
stopped, I had no way of getting home.
My boss, Rich Sweeney, invited me to stay at his home that night. His son Tommy worked nearby at the World
Financial Center, so Rich did not know his status. Tommy came home about 4 PM. Classes resumed the next day as we found out
that the wife of the new Dean of Students perished in the South Tower.
All of our lives have changed since that dreadful day. There is a memorial on campus (see above) to remember
several alumni and a former trustee who were lost.
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