For the Class of 2005, graduation will be the last memory of
their years at UCLA, but the most powerful one may be from two
weeks before the first day of class four years ago. Most students
remember vividly the feelings, fears and national unity of Sept.
11, 2001, when New York’s Twin Towers were destroyed by the
worst terrorist attack in this nation’s history. But four
years later, according to graduating seniors and professors at UCLA
and a survey of graduating seniors taken from across the nation,
much of the Class of 2005 graduates with the memory of a tragedy
that did not significantly change their attitudes or plans from a
university that adapted but did not radically transform. At UCLA
some graduating students said the events of Sept. 11 colored their
first weeks at university, but overall it did not greatly alter
their paths. Instead, the attacks galvanized them to become more
aware of world issues and strengthened already-held convictions
about the importance of activism in others. A powerful memory On
the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Maricela Meza was on campus. She was
participating in a freshman summer program run by the Academic
Advancement Program designed to ease the transition into university
life. Meza, who is graduating this year with degrees in comparative
literature and Chicana/o studies, remembers watching live coverage
of the Twin Towers falling and being afraid that the Wilshire
Federal Building would be attacked next. She described the attacks
as a shock that increased her interest in world events and her
desire to be active in her community, especially when she observed
that fear of terrorism led to general suspicion of immigrants.
“It strengthened my passion to learn about the different
methods to help communities that have been oppressed for so many
years,” she said. The attack was also an unnerving moment for
Donovan Daughtry, a graduating political science student, who was
in New York on Sept. 11. Daughtry’s father died on Sept. 7,
and the cremation took longer than expected. Because of this
Daughtry did not go to breakfast at the World Trade Center as he
had planned, and his mother missed her flight ““ one of the
United Airlines flights that crashed later that day. Then, because
all flights were grounded, they drove back to Los Angeles,
listening to the calls for vengeance on talk radio. Daughtry said
his experience on Sept. 11 opened his eyes to the way Americans are
viewed abroad and made him aware of intolerance against Muslims in
the aftermath of the tragedy, but he said it had little effect on
his university education. He had considered working for the foreign
service before Sept. 11 but has changed his mind because of the
current administration’s “us against them”
mentality, he said. Many more students, like Nancy Fong, a
graduating biology student, said the attacks made her more aware of
the world’s problems. She describes herself as patriotic, but
said Sept. 11 did not change her desire to get involved or her
career and educational plans.
Study says students disinterested Sentiments expressed by UCLA
students coincided with the findings of a May 2005 study by the
Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit
organization that works to recruit highly qualified Americans to
federal service jobs. The study, called “The Class of 9/11:
Bringing a new generation of practical patriots into public
service,” compiled interviews from over 800 graduating
seniors around the country. It found that while more that three
quarters of the Class of 2005 described themselves as patriots and
half said they felt more patriotic after Sept. 11, less than 20
percent said they are more likely to take a government job. The
report suggests that the government relied too much on patriotism
and not enough on pay and prestige in attempts to recruit college
graduates. Bethany Hardy, spokeswoman for the partnership, said the
government’s opportunity to recruit this generation of
students is rapidly closing because they did not include enough
information about “how they can make a better life for
themselves” in its sales pitch. Some UCLA students defined
themselves as patriotic, but said their definitions of patriotism
are personal. Daughtry said he felt equally patriotic before and
after Sept. 11, but that other people’s patriotism has
surpassed his own. “I would say that I am more skeptical of
the government now than before Sept. 11, and less patriotic
comparatively,” he said. Bret Saalwaechter said that while he
did not feel more patriotic after Sept. 11, he is more inclined to
go into a government job. Saalwaechter, a graduating history and
political science student, said things like the Abu Ghraib prison
abuse scandal make him want to take a government job to fix
problems from the inside. Hardy said the implied connection between
the current presidential administration’s policies and
federal civil service is a problem. The study showed that the
connection is widespread ““ students who called themselves
“very conservative” were more likely to be interested
in government jobs than those who called themselves “very
liberal” ““ but Hardy said the majority of federal
service jobs are focused on maintaining the country’s
infrastructure, rather than taking orders from the administration.
“It is very important that the government have the best and
the brightest people, regardless of their leanings,” she
said, adding that federal service works with things like highways,
airways and national parks.
The university adapts Though the events of Sept. 11 were not
enough to catapult a generation of students into public service,
they did catalyze changes at UCLA. Immediately after the attacks,
49 one-unit courses were created to facilitate dialogue on the
diverse issues surrounding the attacks. Originally called
“Perspectives on Sept. 11″ and taught by faculty
members who volunteered their time, the courses evolved into the
Fiat Lux seminars that are still offered. Growing student interest
in world issues following Sept. 11 also led to a change in the way
some UCLA professors approach education. Geoff Garrett, the vice
provost of the UCLA International Institute, said Sept. 11 was the
second of two events that changed the world in a 15-year period.
The first was the end of the Cold War, with the collapse of the
Soviet Union. Garrett said both events led to global phenomena: The
end of the Cold War led to a focus on the international economy
rather than national security during the 1990s, and after Sept. 11
terrorism emerged as a threat that was different from wars between
nations. To deal with these emerging issues, Garrett helped create
a new interdisciplinary major, global studies. “It’s
pretty clear that to understand this world you need to understand
culture, markets, politics,” he said. “It’s as
important to understand identity as markets. … To understand the
world and contribute to it you need this breadth.” There were
more direct consequences as well, such as the institution of the
Student Exchange Visitor Information Service, which the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security uses to monitor people who enter
the United States on student visas. Tighter restrictions on student
visas caused the number of foreign students enrolled in U.S.
universities to drop by 2.4 percent in 2003-2004, according to a
May 2005 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. This was the
first decline in 30 years. The United States also saw a five
percent decline in applications from international graduate
students in 2004-2005 in addition to a 28 percent drop from
2003-2004 according to a March article in the Chronicle of Higher
Education. International students, especially graduate students,
provide desirable skills in areas like math and science and gain
nuanced understandings of the United States, which they can explain
in their home countries, Garrett added. Since Sept. 11 and the
beginning of the war in Iraq, many international students have
chosen to study in countries like Australia, Canada, England and
New Zealand instead of the United States, Garrett said, adding that
the loss of these graduate students is having a profound effect on
the economy, diplomacy and universities of the United States.