Five years ago, Jennifer Propper was in the car on her way to
high school, listening to a local radio station, when she heard the
DJ announce that two planes had hit the World Trade Center. Like
many others across the nation, Propper was confused when she first
heard the news. She didn’t fully realize what had happened until
she got to school and started talking to her friends. The
second-year history student, who was then a freshman in high
school, remembers that the attack was the topic of almost every
class. Most Americans have some memories of the events of Sept. 11
and the following days, and many of those memories include images
of a country united, of flags draped over porches and
“America: Open for Business” signs displayed in store
windows. The UCLA community experienced similar feelings of
patriotism and unity. Red and blue balloons arched over Weyburn
Avenue in the week after the Sept. 11 attacks and the street was
lined with flags flown in front of Westwood businesses, from
Enzo’s Pizzeria to Oakley’s Barber Shop, according to
the Daily Bruin archives. The Daily Bruin reported that on Sept.
13, 2001, 8,000 students, faculty, alumni and other members of the
UCLA community, gathered in front of Royce Hall, standing shoulder
to shoulder, many of them weeping as they held onto friends and met
eyes with strangers. On the following day, Sept. 14, a smaller,
impromptu group of students gathered in the same area for a silent
memorial, according to the Daily Bruin. Just as UCLA’s mood
in September of 2001 reflected that of the rest of the country, the
atmosphere on campus is a microcosm of the current political
atmosphere of the country. Though people have come together for
services and other memorials in the days leading up to the fifth
anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the unity both the nation and
the campus experienced in the latter half of 2001 has been replaced
by division. People both at UCLA and nationwide say these divisions
are deeper than they were before Sept. 11. Nationally, Democrats
and Republicans argue over the effectiveness of national security
measures and passionately debate topics including the war in Iraq
and domestic policy, and polls show the American public is split in
their support. History Professor Jim Gelvin, who has taught at UCLA
since well before 2001, said he has noticed a similar situation at
UCLA. “I think that in terms of my field there is a tendency
among students and faculty to be more polarized than ever
before,” Gelvin said. Kyle Kleckner, a third-year political
science student, said he has also witnessed student polarization
within the political science major because students feel that more
is at stake post Sept. 11 in both the personal and political
realms. Sept. 11 and the ensuing events – namely the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq – have incited campus dialogue and protest;
caused a shift in the focus of some classes dealing with modern
politics; and even lead to the creation of entirely new classes.
Additional Fiat Lux seminars grew out of the original
“Perspectives on Sept. 11″ seminar, which started two
weeks after the fall of the Twin Towers. The Sept. 11 seminars
focused on subjects such as “Understanding the Taliban and
“National Security in the 21st Century. Student demand has
encouraged the university to keep offering the one-unit seminars,
which no longer focus exclusively on Sept. 11. In winter 2006, UCLA
offered for the first time a class titled “World Politics and
U.S. Foreign Policy after Sept. 11, which dealt with current
affairs and the ways in which the Sept. 11 attacks affected the
world balance and American foreign policy. After teaching a Fiat
Lux seminar in 2003 on the government intelligence community and
receiving positive feedback from students, Amy Zegart, a professor
of public policy at UCLA, decided to develop an undergraduate
course on the intelligence community, which will be offered in fall
2007. Zegart said it is important to continue to address these
topics because students will need to be able to understand the
influence of Sept. 11 and the war on terror in the political sphere
after they graduate. “Conspiracy theories abound and it is
important to give students the ability to read articles and be
available to evaluate them, Zegart said, adding that she also
modified other classes to incorporate topics relating to Sept. 11.
And professors have said students demonstrate an interest in the
new courses. Since Sept. 11, Zegart has seen student enrollment in
courses pertaining to the Middle East, terrorism, Islam and the
government intelligence community increase. “Demand for these
courses far outstrips supply,” said Zegart. Students said the
proximity of the Sept. 11 attacks – an attack on American soil with
civilian targets – is what has made them interested in studying the
event and its implications. “We’ve been aware (that)
the dangers and the actions of the rest of the world can and will
affect us,” said Mark Guenzi, a second-year political-science
student.