New Yorkers' Democratic Symbols
Sept. 12, afternoon — I can't agree with the claim that the towers were symbols of financial might, but not
democracy. Maybe across the ocean or in left-wing critique the World Trade Center meant commerce, capital,
and markets triumphant. In New York we knew about all that, but here The Twins were democratic symbols too,
simply because of where they stood. They were on a ground we know to be fragile, over a delicate social peace
we preserve because we're natural democrats: the subway car kind.
My four year-old daughter Sylvie asked her mother if maybe they could be "fixed." My wife said she didn't
think so. Now our common sky is ripped and smoking from the crash of someone's public demons. The disaster
we knew how to prevent ourselves fell upon us from above. We'd imagined it, a million times. But then everyone
here agrees: we could never imagine this.
by Jay Rosen
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The view from the frozen zone
Amid the ruins of the twin towers, Andrew Ross excavates the lost history of the "Turks, Armenians, Arabs, and Greeks" who once lived there, before their neighborhood was razed to make way for the citadels of high finance. Now, all that remains, says Ross, is a smoldering memorial to "an economic system that tried to impose new rules of global trade at its own peril."
by Andrew Ross
Death haunts the suburbs, too
New Yorks suburbs offered
no protection from this particular urban tragedy. In a situation
playing out in dozens of area neighborhoods, 30 men and women
are missing from a single Long Island town.
by Mary Quigley
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We are not the enemy: being Muslim in America
"I switched on the television as a second plane crashed into the second tower. And then the Pentagon. Please God let this not be Muslims." New Yorker Aisha Khan grew up as a Muslim in India, and feels, in the aftermath of these terrorist attacks, that she and the billion or so practicing Muslims are being lumped together as one, and miscast in an eerily familiar role: the enemy. PLUS: Voices from a Brooklyn Mosque
Journalism student Koji Hayasaki talks to visitors at the United American Muslim Associations Mosque in downtown Brooklyn
by Aisha Khan
A familiar enemy
A Russian immigrant, pointing out that Russians have long fought Islamic fundamentalists, is unmoored by the realization that the United States is no longer a safe haven.
by Anna Arutunyan
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Is this what journalists do?
Rachel Black was shocked when her journalism professors suggested that she and fellow undergraduate students might want to "bluff their way into the city morgue" to get interviews from workers on the scene. Shrinking back from the general despair and danger of Ground Zero, Black was inspired to pen a contemplative piece from behind the scenes. "Is this really what accomplished and respected journalists do?" she asks. "Bluff their way into sensitive areas to see how horrible people feel?"
by Rachel Black
Voices of a New Generation
The events of September 11th marked a turning point for all Americans, but the strongest and most enduring impact may be on todays young adults. New York University students-undergraduates and graduates in the Department of Journalism- write about how the national tragedy will shape the attitudes and actions of their generation.
by the NYU Community
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An Offering in Blood?
Americans are waving flags, raising funds and rallying to show support for our country in its battle against terrorism. But NYUs Professor Michael Norman questions whether we are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice: our children.
by Michael Norman
Eyes on the prize
"Oil, as Daniel Yergin wrote in The Prize, fueled both economic growth and the great geopolitical conflicts of the 20th century," notes NYU Professor of Journalism Merrill Goozner. Now, he argues, weve got to wean ourselves from our crippling dependence on the oil-rich nations that are fertile ground for anti-American terrorism. And that means weaning America from oil itself.
by Merrill Goozner
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Originally broadcast, live, on September 20, "The Terror and How We're
Coping" is archived for viewing here.
A special project by NYU journalism students, overseen by Director of Broadcast
Journalism Marcia Rock, "The Terror" is a probing, powerful look at the
attack on the World Trade Center and the NYU students, parents, and faculty
who felt its shockwaves.
Please note that you will need a recent version of RealPlayer to watch this.
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