By Brad Atzinger

The word “anniversary” is most often used to celebrate a positive milestone. But today that word compels the United States to reflect upon one of its darkest days: Sept. 11, 2001.

Six years after the terrorist attacks on New York, the nation’s attitude toward terror has changed along with the times. Airports still bare the system of colors to indicate the possibility of terroristic activity, coupled with rules outlawing liquids of amounts more than a few ounces, and sealing those that are passable in a zip-lock baggie for the duration of the flight.

The outlook within the University of Louisville community, however, remains one of strained optimism.

“I don’t personally feel vulnerable because I live in Louisville, Ky.,” said Dion Johnson, junior humanities major, “But do I feel like the country is safer? Absolutely not.”

Another recent American tragedy, the killings at Virginia Tech, has shed a light on the question of campus security. “The U.S. is a target-rich environment,” said Dr. Rodger Payne. “With schools, stadiums, shopping centers, it’s easy to imagine terrorist attacks.”

But Payne, a political science professor, said the odds of actually falling victim to terror are less than being struck by lightning. “The risk is real, but relatively small,” he said.

The risk was real enough for U of L Housing and Residence Life to install in every dorm room a telephone connected to an emergency broadcast system to alert students to on-campus dangers.

The Governor’s Task Force on Campus Safety, a statewide panel to assess fire codes and security among the state’s public universities, released a report Saturday detailing areas of concern.

The group, organized by Gov. Ernie Fletcher after the 1998 dorm fire that killed Murray State University student Michael Minger, recommended Kentucky’s colleges increase communication via text message, as well as conduct emergency response drills regularly.

Around the university, students and professors still debate the cause of 9-11 and the animosity toward the U.S.

“I think we are less safe from terrorists than we could be because of our botched foreign policy and the war in Iraq,” said English professor Dr. Dennis Hall. “I think we have not approached the problem with even minimal competence,” he continued.

U of L’s Institute for Democracy and Development hosted a lecture called “Reclaiming Control of U.S. Security in the Middle East” delivered by Lawrence Korb, former assistant Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan.

Korb, senior advisor of the center for defense information, said, “The Iraq War has served as a great recruiting tool for Al-Qaeda.”

Korb said he considered the Iraq conflict a civil war between Sunni and Shia’a Muslims, and claimed a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq is the best strategy for stabilizing and securing the region.

“We’ve lost in terms of perception,” said Korb. “Psychologically, they’ve already won.”

Despite the popularity of this sentiment, many still hold firm that the Iraq War is keeping the fight away from the Homeland.

“The risk of terrorist attacks will always exist,” said medical student Scott Bickel, “but given the fact that there have been no major terrorist attacks in the U.S. since 9-11, I do believe that the actions of the administration have seriously disrupted terrorist networks and prevented attacks on the U.S.”

Others around U of L think Sept. 11 ultimately made the U.S. a safer place.

“Because our nation has gone six years without another tragedy like 9-11, I now do have a sense of security,” said senior political science major Kate Brueggemann. “I think we are, in a sense, a safer nation because we are now aware of ways to prevent/handle situations like 9-11.”

Six years after one of the most significant attacks in U.S. history, Americans still wonder how the events that took place that day have impacted our future.

Dr. Payne said Sept. 11 was the day we learned that no place in the U.S. is 100 percent safe.

Brueggemann recalled, “I think that one positive by-product was that the nation was brought together by the tragedy. People cared about

each other and wanted to help one another more.”