(U-WIRE) KENT, Ohio — Today, five years after the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, students reflect back on that day, how they felt and the impact it left on their lives.

Like many Kent State University students, Tim Adkins, sophomore Spanish language major, was sitting in a high school classroom when the first of the attacks happened.

“I was in Spanish class, and they made an announcement over the loudspeaker so we turned on the news,” he said. “My teacher tried to keep going with class, but everybody just kept watching the TV.”
Junior psychology major Brittany Kunda said when she first heard about the attacks she didn’t believe it, because none of her teachers put the news on or talked about it at all.

“It didn’t even really hit me until the next day,” she said. “My mom was crying, and then I knew it was a big deal. I was so shocked. I wanted to learn exactly what was happening.”

Adkins remembered feeling fear and anxiousness, and because of the conservative nature of his school and town, he felt somewhat sheltered about what caused the attacks in the first place.

“How do you describe that feeling?” he said. “I felt ignorant for not knowing how this could have happened.

” I just kept thinking, ‘Is that it, or is there more coming?'”
Michael Lampert, senior psychology major, said he was getting ready for school that morning when his mother came into his room and said, “We’re under attack.”

“When I heard the news I freaked out and kept thinking planes were flying around attacking the power plant near my house (in Madison, Ohio),” he said.

Lampert’s reaction differed somewhat from some of his fellow Kent State classmates. He said he was shocked, as was everyone else, but mostly felt angry that a group of people would attack our country this way.

Although none of these students were directly affected by the events of Sept. 11, Adkins had a close call.

“My uncle, who is retired from the military, works in the Pentagon,” he said. “He was supposed to be there that day, but his flight from Germany was canceled the night before.”

Junior integrative studies major David Krill’s sister was in New York at the time of the attack.

“She lived in New York, and I didn’t know much about what happened at the time, so for a while I didn’t know whether or not she’d been affected,” he said. “She was in Queens, N.Y., though, so she was far enough away to be safe.”