Uniondale students have learned about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks mostly through history books, since they were born several years after the planes hit the Twin Towers.
But as the nation marked the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the students gathered to remember those lives lost, continuing to ask questions and gain a deeper understanding of the day’s lasting impact on New Yorkers.
Charlotte James and Monroe-Day Fordham, both 12, and Turtle Hook Middle School seventh graders, stood at their school’s podium during a Sept. 11 assembly, introducing guest speakers and explaining to their peers why remembering the day remains important.
“Many of us were not born when these events took place,” Charlotte said. “We have a responsibility to learn about them, honor those that were lost and remember the courage shown to us.”
That responsibility to remember became a theme throughout the assembly.
The middle school students also took part in the remembrance by using original poetry to reflect on the courage, fear and unity associated with Sept. 11.
“I see danger and I run into it,” Anderson Alfaro, eighth grade Turtle Hook Middle School student said, using the poetry to speak from the perspective of bravery. “I arrive at the city. I hear a deafening bang. I see debris fly everywhere. I look around to see hundreds running. I feel fear. I want to run away.
The Turtle Hook Middle School band also performed a musical selection during the program, which brought together reflections from educators and community leaders, as well as a moment of silence for those killed in the attacks.
For the adults who attended the 9/11 remembrance ceremonies, the anniversary carried memories of a day they experienced firsthand.
David Hollander, director of social studies at the Uniondale district, recalled being in college when the attacks occurred, describing Sept. 11 as the kind of event that becomes part of a collective memory.
“Everybody remembers the entire thing, where it’s like it’s seared into your memory, like as a collective thing,” Hollander said.
Anissa Moore, Nassau County deputy county executive, shared her own memory of Sept. 11. Moore said she was on her way to Nassau Community College, where she served as a faculty member for 30 years, when she learned that the first tower had fallen.
“I did not know at that time that my entire life and the lives of many members of my family, members of my community, would change forever,” Moore said.
Speaking directly to students, Moore acknowledged that their understanding of the attacks would necessarily be different from that of the adults who experienced them.
“I don’t know if you will fully ever understand that because you were not there, you were not living in that time,” she said as she explained the reasoning for “moments of silence.”
Moore said some teens and young adults whose families were affected by Sept. 11 were her students at Nassau Community College. Each year after the attacks, she said, members of the college community gathered to remember those who were lost and help students dealing with grief.
Her message also focused on what has happened in the years since, pointing to the students gathered before her as part of a diverse Long Island community.
Christopher Fusco, Nasau County’s commissioner of labor, said he was once president of the Carpenters Union, and he and other labor unions built the Eisenhower Park Memorial, which took three and a half years to construct.
He encouraged the students to stop by the monument when they are riding their bikes or visiting the park.
“Because America changed on that dreadful day,” Fusco said. “And like deputy county executive said, you guys are the future, you’re the future leaders.”
“And I leave you with this: never forget,” he added.
The assembly concluded with a moment of silence and another reminder that remembering history carries lessons for the future.
JROTC Uniondale High School remembrance
Uniondale High School also commemorated the lives lost and those who suffered as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks with an assembly presented by the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, led by JROTC Maj. Anthony Telesca.
During the ceremony, the high school’s JROTC program showed a five-minute video featuring a collection of clips related to the Sept. 11 attacks and their aftermath.
Students presented the colors and reflected on the shocking events of that day and the difficulty of understanding how something like the attacks could happen.
“For me, it’s interesting because I just don’t understand why they did it,” high school senior Dayana Guevar said of the hijackers. “It doesn’t really make sense to me.”
Telesca said Guevar, who was born about a decade after the attacks, has been asking her teachers questions about Sept. 11, including where they were that day and what their experiences were like.
Other students reflected on how the United States has changed since Sept. 11 and the measures put in place to improve security. Safety protocols changed significantly after the attacks, particularly at airports, and those who were born after Sept. 11, 2001, have only known those heightened security measures.
“It just shows the history of the United States and how it came to this right now,” senior Kyle Bennett, who plans on joining the Navy after graduation, said. “Seeing and learning about why there’s security checks in the airport and just more security than usual, it’s eye-opening to know that that happened.”
“Together, we shall remember,” Telesca said as he concluded the assembly.
