This past September marked the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attack. 

In its wake, Americans grappled not only with intense emotions of grief, fear, and rage, but also new questions about privacy, patriotism, and revenge. In the weeks that followed the attack, the U.S. government began a long and tumultuous “War on Terror,” at home and abroad, occupying Iraq and Afghanistan. 

In 2021, no current Riverdale students were alive to witness 9/11 directly. In our October edition, we have decided to republish the following reflections, written in 2001 by students, teachers, administrators, and the Review staff. While considering what passages to republish, our goal was to expose readers to a wide spectrum of reactions to the attacks, ranging from calls for national unity to sharp rebukes of American patriotism. In doing so, we hope our current Riverdale community understands the variety of responses to the events that fundamentally transformed not only the country, but much closer to home, our school. 

Riverdale lost four alumni on 9/11: Douglas Gardner ’79, James Gartenberg ’83, Peter Kellerman ’84, and Andrew Golkin ’89. We continue to honor their legacy.

“We Are Doomed If We Hate” by Phil Kim, Assistant Editorial Editor, 9/29/01 (WC: 205) 

The day after the World Trade Center atrocity, as I was going back home on the subway with a couple of friends, a guy said, “Damn those terrorist Islamic bastards.” People around

him nodded in agreement. 

Although this man targeted terrorists in his remark, he also emphasized that they were Muslims. How would you feel if you were Islamic and heard that? Such a comment dehumanizes all Muslims by making them out to be terrorists.

This kind of ignorance and hate is causing many innocent Arab-Americans and American Muslims to worry about their own safety. Many have been viciously attacked and constantly harassed for something they had no part in.

Some have even been killed. Within three days of the attack, a Sikh and a Muslim were each brutally shot in their places of employment. America is supposed to be the land of freedom, not the land where you get shot for your ethnicity.

… There is a reason why there is a “U” in U.S.A. We should live up to it instead of attempting to tear our diverse country apart. We must not stereotype Arab-Americans or Palestinians in our country as terrorists. We must not destroy the promise of freedom in America.

“The Price Of Patriotism” by Reva P. Minkoff, Editorial Editor, 10/22/01 (WC: 315)

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, a nation that was once cynical about the government suddenly turned into a nation full of red, white and blue, granting President Bush and Mayor Giuliani some of the highest approval ratings ever. We are all eager to stand behind  America and wave our American flags. 

It’s ironic that it took something as tragic as this event to bring out the patriotism in America. Yet it’s even more ironic that as Americans are “moved” with patriotic spirit and begin to fly Old Glory, these practices become standardized.

“America the Beautiful” is now sung at football games in addition to the national anthem. Members of the U.S. Congress sang “God Bless America” on the footsteps of the Capitol Building. And while it is wonderful that suddenly people have so much faith in our country, we should not suddenly break out in Red, White and Blue Fever. 

An incident like this one erases the past from our minds. This amnesia is deadly. How did Democrats feel about George Bush and Rudolph Giuliani before Sept. 11? Would the abolition of term limits ever have been considered? Would New York ever have stood united behind George Bush? If the country ever goes back to normal, then where will America stand on politics? Down go the Red, White and Blue. Up comes the gray. 

After everything we've been through as a city and as a nation, it is still important that we do not become brainwashed by the media and by raw emotion. When everything dies down and old issues like abortion, the death penalty, gun control, the ABM treaty, and the Kyoto Accord rise up again, suddenly America may not be so bipartisan. And therefore, in spite of everything, it is imperative that we not lose sight of our freedoms and our beliefs, pertaining to both our nation and ourselves. 

“Protect Civil Liberties” by the staff of the Review, 11/12/01 (WC: 194)

In the aftermath of Sept. 11, civil liberties we take for granted are coming under attack. This is unacceptable.

Officers have always been permitted to search cars or frisk civilians given probable cause. But recently it seems the causes have been getting less probable and friskings more frequent. The pressure on free speech has increased. Speech or actions that would once be seen as harmless and that certainly celebrated the freedoms of the Constitution are suddenly matters for which one can be challenged, even arrested. Anything but the party line is unpatriotic.  

...Congress recently passed the Antiterrorism Bill….We can accept surveillance cameras in public places, but wiretaps feel like eavesdropping, a violation of personal privacy. Phone conversations should not be subject to public knowledge. [The bill] is being positively un-American. 

Our civil liberties should not be sacrificed as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks. Most Americans are not terrorists. Life should go back to normal, and innocent civilians should not be subject to violations of privacy in the forms of searches, censorship, and monitoring. All of these actions are unconstitutional. They violate our rights as citizens of the United States of America.

“Security First, Civil Liberties After” by Gabrielle Knable, Staff Writer, 11/12/01 (WC: 274) 

Indeed, our civil liberties should not be infringed upon—and in a perfect world they wouldn’t be. But we are at war. Under these circumstances, they have to be. On Sept. 11 the terrorists not only attacked the World Trade Center but also attacked our freedom… Now in order to defeat them and remain alive in the process, we must tighten national security. That means taking precautions that might seem to violate our rights. 

Yes, our country is based on freedom. But how much freedom will we have if Osama and his henchmen defeat us and implement their regime in America? In order to preserve our freedom in the long run, we need to sacrifice a little privacy and endure small inconveniences in the short run.

...If you are worried about your ‘privacy,’ which by the way is a privilege and not a right, then allow me to dissuade your concerns. If your phone should be tapped, the government will without a doubt disregard your idle chit chat. I know you think your social life is of central

importance, but the FBI really doesn’t care who you have a crush on this week. I promise.

I'd rather be searched, stopped, eavesdropped on, and inconvenienced than blown up. These transgressions of civil rights will end when we defeat our elusive enemies. Hopefully that will be soon, but until then I'll sleep better at night knowing that my government is trying its hardest to protect me. 

If you aren't willing to forgo these small, temporary invasions of your privacy for the sake of the safety of our nation as a whole, then what are your priorities?

“Argument On Behalf Of Flag Burning” by Nick McDonnell, 11/12/01

The political blusterings and machinations in the weeks following the attack of Sept. 11 made me want to burn the flag to reaffirm my freedoms. I fear for them. 

Burn that mother, burn it to dust. Burn it for any Muslim woman who ever wanted to take off her veil. Burn it for anyone who was ever shot for not praising Allah above all other gods. Burn it for the people who lost their lives as the World Trade Center fell. Burn it for the firemen who died seeking to save lives under a concrete-and-steel inferno. Burn it to prove that America is free. 

The editors of this newspaper told me that the sentiment above will make me extremely unpopular. But I ask you who are appalled at what I write: why are you appalled? 

The country should unite, the politicians say. I agree. We should unite to try and prevent any loss of American — and for that matter Afghani — life. But we should not unite politically. We should not unite in thought, unless we all do indeed agree. We must fear falling into step behind some idea engineered by the political elite and billed as “the greater good.” I want to hear radical right wingers shouting that we should “nuke ’em.” I want to hear people say what a fool the President is, and I want to hear the isolationists. 

I want to hear every opinion that I can, no matter how wild. And so should all Americans, for it is only through understanding the world around us that we can make educated decisions. So if the world around me wants to burn flags, I want them to. I want them to, just to make sure that they can. 

Knowledge, the saying goes, is power. The country is strong because there exists at its core the notion that all of us have the right to speak our minds. Free speech will strengthen the country, bring new ideas into the air. American government, ideally, is merely a vehicle for the changing attitudes of the people. 

True American government would never attempt to censor expressions of political thought, like flag burning. It is our job to make sure that the government stays true to the constitutional ideals upon which it was founded. We must push and push and hope that we will not be censored . . . and make a mess of the place when we are. Because if we can’t speak our minds, what are all those buzz cut boys fighting for, way over there?