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Growing up in the shadow of 9/11

Valley Stream high school students share their views of a world shaped by terrorism and the fight against it

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Smoke from the World Trade Center could be seen from the third floor of Central High School on Sept. 11, 2001. It was Joseph Pompilio’s first year as principal, and as chaos enveloped Lower Manhattan 15 miles away, Pompilio answered a disturbing phone call at the school.

“We had a bomb threat,” he recounted. “They said something like ‘we will win’ or ‘we will destroy you.’”

Students were evacuated to Memorial Junior High School. Neither a bomb nor the call’s origin were discovered, but security concerns and confusion about what was happening and why — in Valley Stream, Manhattan and across the country — reigned that day.

Thirteen years after the tragedy, Central High School’s juniors and seniors are too young to remember much about that day, or what life was like before it. Eight of them sat down with the Herald this week to discuss their perspectives on the attacks, and what it has been like to grow up in a nation that has been at war for as long as they can remember.

“It’s just kind of what we’re used to,” said Amanda Johnson, 17. “In history, we learn about other wars and I think, Oh my gosh, that’s so awful, but [our own wars are] a different perspective because we don’t think it’s weird — like it’s not as awful because we’re not fighting it here. Awful things happen, but we’re not feeling the repercussions.”

Charles Luca, 17, said that while anti-terrorist efforts, domestic and abroad, have been controversial, he believes security has improved since the attacks, though he recognized a need for a healthy balance between personal privacy and national security. “Even the increased surveillance on people in general, a lot of it is misguided, but it’s done with the purpose to bring more peace to the world,” Luca said.

Airport security was the issue the students seemed most aware of, with all agreeing that some unpleasant measures are necessary to ensure safety, but some said they were concerned about how the system works.

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