A defining moment for US students
By Robert R. Basow

　　Every generation has its defining moment, an event so extraordinary that people will forever remember exactly what they were doing at the moment it happened. For American college students, the morning of September 11, 2001 was such a moment. 

　　It was a bright, clear Tuesday morning in Lawrence, early in the fall semester at the school where I teach, the University of Kansas. My journalism¹ students came to their 8:30 classes clutching radios for news about the airliner² that had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. Some at first thought it might be a hoax³ played by a morning radio personality - like Orson Welles’ notorious 1938 broadcast describing the invasion of New Jersey⁴ by Martians. But hearing the same news independently reported on each station convinced everyone that it was real. 

　　When the second airliner struck the second tower, concern turned to terror. Next came the Pentagon crash in Washington, DC, then another plane crash in Pennsylvania. Even though Kansas is in the central United States, many university students have family members and friends in New York and Washington. "Are they safe?" was the first question: as the towers crumbled⁵, it became clear that thousands had died. Suddenly no one felt safe. 

　　Kansas students immediately thought of the Oklahoma City bombing, when a terrorist attack toppled a federal building in our neighboring state, killing⁶ almost 200 people. Students remembered that the terrorists were first presumed to be foreigners. This assumption proved false when police captured one of the extremists involved in the attack, an American. But the possibility that foreign students (especially Middle Easterners and South Asians) might be endangered caused concern, especially in light of certain events that followed. 

　　Our daughter Lucy, a student at Florida State University in Tallahassee, called to say that some people in Florida were celebrating the attack! "Why would anyone do that?" she asked. "How could anyone be that crazy, stupid or insensitive?" No one had answers on September 11, only questions, shock and grief. 

　　American universities quickly organized a support network for their foreign students. At the University of Kansas any student who felt unsafe or threatened could stay in the home of a Lawrence resident. Our commu-nity, like thousands of towns across America, held a multidenominational service, conducted by local reli-gious leaders of several faiths, including Christians⁷, Jews and Muslims. Terrorists could topple American buildings, the implication was, but they could not shake the American spirit of tolerance⁸, mutual⁹ respect and neighborliness. 

　　In the days that followed, college students did not wait to ask "What can we do?" -- they just did it. Many helped organize fund drives. Some gave blood, in fact so much that the blood banks were temporarily oversupplied¹⁰. Several drove to New York City to help where they could. Everyone pulled together to help our nation get through the ordeal¹¹. 

　　The morning of September 11 will live in students’ memories as "9-11" (incidentally, this is not the usual way of formulating¹² such dates in English; no one refers to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as "12-7", for instance.). The reality had dawned that life can end suddenly on a beautiful day. But Americans live in hope, not in fear. The lesson students drew from these events was not how dangerous the world is, but how peaceful nations of the world join together to help each other in times of need. 

　　As a Fulbright lecturer planning to teach in China starting in February, I wondered whether these plans would have to change. The other Fulbright professors already in China said that their students were deeply concerned about 9-11 and shared their sadness. The Fulbrighters I visited with said that this is a very important time for Americans to move ahead, especially with our friends in China. 

　　The 9-11 tragedy will forever be this generation’s defining moment. American students now understand that terrorist attacks can take place anytime, anywhere. But just as tragedy can happen, so can peace, hope and kindness, whether shared by good people or by great nations. #p#


9·11与美国大学生
　　Robert R. Basow(美) 　

　　（本文作者是美国堪萨斯州大学的新闻学教授，年初曾做为中美富布赖特交流项目的教授在兰州大学任教）

　　每一代人都有其历史性的时刻。一桩事件是那样的不同寻常，以至于人们将永远清晰地记得在它发生的时候自己正在做什么。对于美国大学生来说，2001年9月11日的早晨就是这样一个时刻。 

　　那是一个阳光灿烂、天气晴朗的星期二的早晨，在洛伦斯市，我任教的堪萨斯大学所在地，秋季学期刚刚开始。我的新闻学学生来上8：30开始的课程，紧接着收音机收听到那架飞机撞入纽约世贸中心的消息。一开始有人以为这是一个早间电台主持人的恶作剧——就像奥尔森·威尔斯在1938年所做的臭名昭著的广播，他描述了火星人入侵新泽西州。但是，听到不同的电台都报道了同样的消息，每个人都相信这是真的了。

　　当第二架飞机撞了第二座塔楼，关注转为了惊恐。接下来是华盛顿五角大楼的被撞，继而是另一架飞机在宾西法尼亚州坠毁。虽说堪萨斯州在美国中部，但很多学生都有家人和朋友在纽约和华盛顿。“他们安全吗？”是首先想到的问题：当双子楼坍塌后，数千人死于其中已是显而易见的事了。突然间无人觉得安全了。

　　堪萨斯的学生立刻想到了俄克拉荷马城爆炸事件，当时一名恐怖分子的袭击使得我们邻州的联邦大楼倒塌，有近200人遇难。学生们记得一开始人们以为恐怖分子是外国人，当警方抓住了肇事的这伙儿极端主义分子中的一个是美国人时，这一猜测才被证明是错误的。但是外国学生（特别是中东和南亚的学生）可能会有危险引起了关注，特别是考虑到随后发生的某些事情。

　　我的女儿露茜在塔拉哈西市的佛罗里达州立大学上学，她给我打电话告诉我佛罗里达州的某些人在庆贺这次袭击！“为什么有人会那样做？”她问，“怎么会有人如此疯狂，如此愚昧，如此冷漠？”在9月11日，没有人做出回答，只有问题，震惊与悲痛。

　　美国各大学很快为他们的外国学生组织起了一个支持网。在堪萨斯大学，任何一个学生，只要是感到了不安全或受到了威胁，就可以住在洛伦斯市一个居民的家里。我们所在的社区，就像全美国数千个城镇一样，提供多方位的服务，由当地好几种宗教包括基督教、犹太教和穆斯林教的宗教领导人进行管理。这就意味着，恐怖主义分子能推倒美国人的高楼，但却动摇不了美国人的宽容、相互尊重与友善助人的精神。

　　在以后的日子里，大学生们没有等着问：“我们能做什么？”而是付诸于行动。很多人帮着组织募集资金，有的人献血，结果由于献血人太多以至于血库临时都装不下了，有些人驱车到纽约去做力所能及的事。每一个人都通力合作，帮助自己的国家度过这一难关。

　　9月11号的早晨将以9·11这几个数字永远存留在学生们的记忆中（附带说一句，这并不是英语中用以表述这类日期的常用方式，例如，无人用12·7来代表日本袭击珍珠港）。现实已经表明，生命可以在美好的一天突然结束。但是美国人生活在希望中，而不是惧怕中。大学生们从这些事件中学到的不是世界是多么危险，而是全世界和平国家团结在一起，在需要的时候互相帮助。

　　作为一个计划在二月份开始在中国讲课的富布赖特交流项目教授，我曾想过这计划是否会有所变化。那些已经在中国的富布赖特教授告诉我，他们的学生对9·11深表关切，分担着他们的悲哀。我与之交谈过的富布赖特教授们说，这是美国人向前进——特别是和我们的中国朋友一起——的重要时刻。

　　9·11的悲剧将永远是这一代的历史性时刻，美国大学生如今理解了恐怖分子的袭击可以在任何时刻、任何地点发生，但正如悲剧会发生一样，和平、希望和友善也同样会发生，无论是在善良的人民当中还是在伟大的国家中都会如此。

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