Tomorrow the people of the United States will be remembering the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of thousands of people one year ago. In less than 90 minutes, more than 3,000 people died in a never-before seen chain of events that amazed and shocked people across the planet.

The country has changed a lot since then. A war has come and gone, at least in the minds of regular people; laws have been changed so the U.S. can keep a better eye on those that may become a threat to the country. People are a little more careful at times, and the government has reminded them to keep doing so every once in a while, with the warning of new possible threats that might have occurred (but never did).

I clearly remember my landlady visiting my place a few days after the attacks. When I talked to her, I got more of the feeling of what Americans were going through and what they could be feeling at that time.

What really impressed me was a comment she made. She told us how in awe she was that so many people in distant places of the world were mourning the lives lost in the attack. She spoke of how she’d seen people grieving in every part of the world, not because of the three or two countrymen they lost, but simply because of the horror of this human tragedy.

I recall her telling me she finally saw a world that showed her a sympathy she never thought existed.

I wish the media would follow my landlord’s new ideals and start devoting more time to foreign news coverage, not only when there’s a human tragedy, but also when there’s something we should care about. I wish newscasts would spend more time covering a flood that left thousands with no place to live in an Asian country than it spends covering the same weather report five times over a period of 30 minutes.

People like Bill O’Reilly and other non-political science scholars have said the U.S. was the last country to imagine something like that to happen to it, based on what the country did for others over the last several decades: the reconstruction of Germany, the post-Cold War Russia, Nicaragua, the pre-Fidel Cuba, and so on.

Yes, the outcome of those might be honorable – democracy, free will, better life standards and such – but to say that the U.S. is the fairy godmother of foreign countries for the good of its hard is, to say the least, naOve. Anyone with a bit of contemporary political history knowledge or just a little spare time to sit down and think will see that the coin in this case has two faces: one, as described right above, of the purely good outcomes; and the other one that explain the reasoning for those, and for the actions that lead to those.

Or has everybody forgotten about the “red scare” that waved around the American rulers’ heads for decades, and still gives them nightmares thinking of a few miles south of Key West? Or that it isn’t easy being the top nation in the world, political and economically, and that – in order to keep such position – some efforts have to be made, even if they don’t seem to bring this country much advantage at first.

Furthermore, although it has sounded more and more like the early 1900’s lately, this is still the new century, and Globalization is still in effect, and strong. And, to be ahead of the game, one needs to not only take but give.

It’d be good for people to try and Factor in all these things before reaching a conclusion.

Daniel Paskin is a gradute student at the School of International Studies.

It was one of those days where you’ll always remember exactly where you were and what you were doing. And I have no doubt that every single person at this school, and in the country for that matter, has their own personal story to tell about the day of September 11, 2001.

I thought I’d share my own story and thoughts, out of remembrance. They’re not any more special than anybody else’s. Rather, they just help me to reflect, and cope.

I remember going to my first class that Tuesday. I was sitting there before it began and heard another student say something about a plane flying into a building in New York. I didn’t make anything of it at first, and not expecting or knowing anything else, we proceeded with class.

The hour and fifteen minutes dragged on even slower than usual, with what I heard in the back of my mind. Surely it can’t be what it seems. It has to be some sort of rumor, or a small accident blown out of proportion, I thought. Any terrorist relations never even crossed my mind.

As soon as I left class, something seemed very wrong. As many of you know, and as unlikely as it sounds, even more people than usual were on their cell phones. I thought I saw some crying. Everyone was abnormally quiet and somber and weird.

I hurried a little more at this point to get back to my apartment to see what was up. As I passed by the UC, I saw a huge crowd standing inside around the televisions. I walked in through a sea of dazed eyes and pale faces and saw my first glimpse of the destruction.

Christ…I watched history unfold with my own eyes as the last tower came down. My jaw dropped. My hand covered my mouth. My mind was utterly blown. I’ve never had such fear for all of our lives than I did at that moment.

I stayed for an hour, unable to move or believe what I was seeing and hearing. Two more hijacked planes? DC had been attacked as well? Thousands thought to be dead? Thoughts of World War III and apocalypse were now racing through my mind. God only knew where we would be hit next.

I started to panic and realized I had to get back to call my mom and other people I know. Although I had no friends or family in those areas at the time, I had to hear from people at home. But the damn line was busy! I’m from Maryland and I’ve never wanted to go home so bad as I did right then.

Everything was shutting down, but classes had yet to be cancelled. I went through the rest of the day in a fog, like everyone else. What in God’s name was happening to our country?

No matter how long I live, the images I witnessed that day will remain the absolute most disturbing and shocking things I have ever seen. Right now, I don’t care about the Taliban or al-Qaeda. I don’t care about our government. I don’t care about Osama or Usama or however-the-hell-the-freaking-psycho-prefers-to-spell-it bin Laden.

Here’s what I do care about. I care about the memories of those screaming and crying people in New York City running down the streets for their lives. I care about the permanent images burned in my conscience of people choosing to throw themselves out of the buildings because suicide was a better option for them at that point than what came next. Pictures that still have the simple power to shake me and bring me to tears more easily than anyone ever could. It was all right out of some special effects-laden Hollywood movie. It had to be because that was the only thing that made sense. Except it wasn’t.

I hope people take time to remember their stories on this year’s anniversary. And I pray that we’ll always remember and that we all take a moment of silence and never forget about what happened. Because I have a feeling that as soon as it starts to fade from our memories, something even worse will happen to snap us right back out of that false little sense we call security.

Derek Bramble is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and theater.

On September 11th, 2001, as Americans watched in disbelief as the Twin Towers collapsed, we felt sadness for the loss of life and anger towards those that perpetrated the crimes. Once it became known that Al-Qaeda was responsible for the acts, many people wrongly assumed that all, or even most Muslims sympathized with or found joy in the actions of these terrorists.

Although President Bush, much of the media (such as MTV, which showed stories on basic Islamic beliefs), and many professors and scholars stepped forward to acknowledge that the views of those linked to the hijackings were not the views of all Muslims, there was still a general backlash against American Muslims. Not only did American Muslims have to deal with the loss of loved ones and fellow Muslims (hundreds of Muslims congregated for Friday prayer in the World Trade Center every week and many Muslim policemen and firemen died during the rescue), but we also had to defend and justify our views and beliefs.

Being born and raised in Fort Myers, FL, I have always been proud to be an American and have always taken an active role in everything I was involved in, school and community. Seeing the towers fall that day was indescribably shocking. When I learned that Muslim terrorists were behind the plot, I was angry and sad – angry that they would be malicious enough to commit these deeds – sad that so many people had died and that my religion would be under scrutiny.

Never before had my faith and citizenship come into “conflict.” I had always taken pride in being a part of the great melting pot of races, religions, ethnicities, and beliefs that we call America. I felt extreme patriotism and the confusion of my misrepresented religion all at the same time. As a Muslim, I do not believe that someone who murders innocents is a martyr, but rather a murderer. I do not revere those people, but am infuriated by their actions that caused an incorrect portrayal of the religion they supposedly died for.

All Muslims are guided by the words of Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an, which is believed to be the word of God, and explains how Muslims should lead their lives. It says fighting should only be in self-defense, a fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, not an aggressive fight.

The Qur’an also forbids suicide. None of these supposed martyrs can provide any textual evidence from the Qur’an or from the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad to prove anything that justifies what they’ve done. The Qur’an also says that there will be people that think they are doing right, but they are doing wrong.

Although we may learn quite a bit from the tragedies of September 11th, one lesson we must take away is that America is built upon tolerance and respect of our differences. The only way to make a better future for others and ourselves is to learn from mistakes of the past and also from one another and come together to make our world a place in which we can celebrate our differences.

The events on September 11th paralyzed all of us with fear last year. We grappled with anguish and searched for ways to safeguard our society from future attacks. When Congress enacted the U.S. Patriot Act, nobody dared to question it. And when the Department of Justice announced new guidelines that give FBI agents the freedom to monitor Internet sites and libraries, few people dared to question it.

Many Americans are not aware of the freedoms they have surrendered in the name of “homeland security.” But as members of the press, we know all to well. We know that our beloved First Amendment that we’ve fought so hard to preserve is increasingly being sacrificed as the war on terrorism continues.

We do not wish to jeopardize society by disclosing our nation’s top-secret information. But we also do not believe that the actions of our government should be shrouded in secrecy. Fear should not undermine freedom. A free press is the soul of a democratic society. An ignorant society is not safer from attack than an informed society. When the government oversteps its right to shield information from the public it is up to us to speak up.

Changes in freedom of information laws are threatening the basic bloodline of our country’s free press. As students we need to rigorously defend the First Amendment and fight for our rights to information. The freedoms afforded to us by the First Amendment are fundamental rights that should never be sacrificed, especially not in time of war.

Call it The Swamp Stomp.

We went to Gainesville. Did battle in The Swamp. Kicked Gator butt.

And left with a big victory.

It doesn’t get any sweeter than that.

But we would be remiss by not pointing out that UM’s class act on the field against the Florida Gators was equaled by the Hurricane fans’ class act in the stands.

Hurricane fans in droves made the trip up to Gator Land to support the team and help renew one of the best football rivalries around. No trouble the night before the game, during the game or after the game. Just good, old fashioned support for the nation’s best football team.

We do not blindly support the football team or even the actions of the fans. In fact, the antics of both in years past have not always served to enhance the reputation of this university.

But today, everyone deserves a slap on the butt or a pat on the back.

While the players were proving once again why their No.1 ranking is certainly well-deserved, ‘Canes fans were proving they were No. 1, as well.

Playing in The Swamp is no easy task for any opposing team. And wearing an orange and green jersey in the stands is also an act of bravery. But everyone proved up to the task.

Just as we took control on the field, fans took control in the seats and took a big bite out of the Gator Chomp.

When the final gun sounded, the scoreboard showed a 41-16 Hurricane victory.

Our only regret is that the funny-looking guy in the visor wasn’t there to whine about it.