By Hannah Lennon
September 11 is a date Americans hold heavy in their hearts. Despite being born after the event or being too young to remember it, Generation Z recognizes the country’s loss and stands in solidarity with its mourning.
Mary Gilmartin, a sophomore at Stonehill College, was born in November of 2000 and doesn’t remember living through the event.
“I was 9 months old, so I don’t remember it. But my dad was at work in Boston, and mom told me she was walking me in a stroller, and she got a call about what was happening and she had to go pick up my two brothers from elementary school,” Gilmartin said.
Justine Long, a junior, was born in 2000 as well, and similarly has only heard tales of the day.
“I was only 1, but I know that my mom was with my sister at home watching the news in the kitchen. My dad was working at the time, and both of my parents called each other,” Long said.
Despite not holding the memory of the day in their minds both Gilmartin and Long participated in remembrance activites throughout their schooling experiences. Both made particular mention of moments of silence at the beginning of the day each year on September 11.
“I can remember my History and Social Studies teachers always took time to talk about it– to educate us on different aspects of it. Especially in my AP U.S. Government and AP U.S. History classes, we would talk about the Patriot Act and Afghanistan,” Gilmartin said.
Similarly, Long’s teachers always made time for the subject during class.
“I remember in elementary school, it was mostly the moments of silence and morning announcements to remember 9/11. But in high school, we dove into deeper discussions about what happened and watched videos or read articles to educate ourselves more,” Long said.
Other than in school, neither Gen Zers encountered much information about the attacks.
“If it pops up, I’ll watch a Netflix documentary on 9/11, that kind of thing interests me,” Gilmartin said.
Long, however, aims to educate herself by seeing the 9/11 memorial one day in New York City.
“It’s on my list of places to go. I heard it is really well done and honors the lost lives,” Long said.
Additionally, Long uses social media in remembrance.
“I’ll watch a couple videos and look on social media to read people’s stories about how it changed their lives. I find this subject really important and want to keep learning about it, so
many innocents were lost in a tragic way. Brave essential workers also sacrificed so much and did whatever they could to help,” Long said.
While Gilmartin wasn’t old enough to remember the day, it has shaped her life in large ways.
“I think as someone interested and involved in politics, it’s part of the reason I wanted to go into politics, and potentially law. Because my family’s always been in criminal justice and also in the US military forces, and so I want to help protect our country against those types of things in the future,” Gilmartin said.
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