Archive
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
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Death haunts the suburbs, too
New York’s 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 Association’s Mosque in downtown Brooklyn
by Aisha Khan
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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
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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 today’s 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 NYU’s Professor Michael Norman questions whether we are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice: our children.
by Michael Norman
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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, we’ve 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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When words aren’t necessary
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, an old Chinese phrase -- bian kong -- takes on new meaning for this NYU student from Singapore. When her relatives phone and engage her in idle chatter, she discovers that the most important sentiments are often left unsaid.
by Samantha Bong
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No turning back now
Has the terrorist attack made NYU’s newest students want to flee? This reporter asked the question and discovered that most are staying put.
by Adam Gagliardo
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The Afghan Kebab House II
As restaurants in Manhattan fill back up, this reporter visited an Afghan restaurant in Yorkville, the Afghan Kabob House II, and found one patron seated amid empty tables, dining alone.
by Rebecca Skaroff
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Dancing again
Every day as she passed the dance studio, she would notice the couples inside, practicing tango and waltz. Then after the attacks, the studio was dark. Somehow, the disappearance of this cheerful tableau upset her most of all.
by Ashley Parrish
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Frozen zone - or Twilight Zone?
On September 11, while NYU students in other downtown dorms were being evacuated, the 96 students living in The Exchange-the NYU dorm closest to the World Trade Center-vanished into a Twilight Zone. There was no mention of evacuation plans for their dorm on NYU’s website, and NYU operators had never heard of The Exchange, it seemed. Many residents had lived in the city less than a month, and had no idea who to contact, other than NYU. Terrified and alone, they looked to their school for answers-and found none.
by Demetria Lucas
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Irrational acts, an irrational response
A graduate student from France worries that the current mood of patriotism in America will give way to nationalism and, ultimately, intolerance. She makes a plea for a thoughtful, reasoned response.
by Yael Bizouati
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London calling
When a deejay from London calls, asking for comments about the World Trade Center, NYU student Laura Young finds herself wondering, "Why did I agree to talk to this guy?"
by Laura Young
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Reaping the whirlwind
Nuno Andrade was born in Angola, "a country with more land mines than people," where America’s covert actions, during the Cold War, are still inflicting collateral damage. His horror at the attack on the World Trade Center "quickly turned to anger," writes the NYU journalism and Africana studies major. "But my anger was not directed at those responsible for these heinous acts of terrorism. I was angry at the United States."
by Nuno Andrade
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Out of the ashes
A surface peace. An undercurrent of violence. The images butt up
against each other as New Yorkers move from shock to...what? The attack on
the World Trade Center was not only a strike against the pinnacle of
capitalism, but also against the bastion of liberalism, the
capital of the "cultural elite." Will nationalism be the response?
by Karen Houppert
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Dispatches Links Library
Jessica O’Brien’s Online Reporting class offers a links library to help readers tap into global
discussion and analysis. Here you’ll find profiles, data and chat about Afghanistan, terrorism, the
World Trade Center and the U.S. response, plus links to worldwide media coverage. Readers are invited to
submit their favorite links to Dispatches from Ground Zero
by Jessica O’Brien’s Online Reporting class
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The problem with big revenge
"It’s difficult to see things through the eyes of the enemy,"
writes NYU journalism student Dana Grayson. Harder still is to ask, Did
America play a role in the terrible acts of September 11?
by Dana Grayson
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Lessons from the street
Can techniques used to fight street crime help combat terrorism?
Can New York City cab drivers teach federal law enforcement officials a
thing or two? David Bornstein, author of a forthcoming book on social
entrepreneurship, thinks so.
by David Bornstein
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World War III: inevitable or inconceivable?
Two days after the attacks, Robert Karl Manoff, the director of NYU’s Center for War, Peace and the News Media, wrote this open letter to his stepdaughter Kate. In it he marvels at how quickly political and media leaders have concluded that we’re on the brink of a third World War.
by Robert Karl Manoff
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The way we were
The pre-September 11th America has come in for a lot of criticism in recent days — from all quarters, not just the extreme Right. Are these critics too quick to cast blame? Journalism Professor Mitch Stephens questions whether anything was seriously wrong.
by Mitchell Stephens
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Dark predictions
The aftermath is setting in and with it comes somber questions. Is there a second punch coming? If so, when and where? Professor Richard Petrow posed these questions to students in his graduate writing and reporting course. Their predictions are indeed dark; their sharp and immediate reactions imply that the country at large is on high alert, not just its military forces. Andrew Pell, an NYU journalism student, confides, "When I hear that this is a struggle of ’Good against Evil,’ I am not certain on which side we will fall."
by Richard Petrow and the Graduate Writing and Reporting Workshop
The war at home
Business and government must be willing to make sacrifices to combat terrorism.
by Jacob Novak
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(Un)Fortunate son
Waking up to a star-spangled nightmare of flag-waving jingoism, Robert Boynton wonders: Does patriotism in the aftermath of disaster inflict a collateral damage of its own?
by Robert Boynton
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The Times of our lives
Engulfed by TV chatter and e-mail about the WTC tragedy, Ellen Willis can’t fight the thought: I won’t be able to make any sense of this until I read The New York Times.
by Ellen Willis
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Exodus
"The Towers are going to fall over," one guy shouted. "We need to run and jump into the harbor to save our lives!" Journalism student Wendy Manwarren, who lives less than two blocks away from the World Trade Center, raced down 17 flights of stairs after her boyfriend phoned to tell her a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. On the street, fear seized the crowd and rumors flew.
by Wendy Manwarren
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