Palo Alto President Dr. Ana "Cha" Guzmán, students, faculty and staff gathered in front of the large screen TV in the Student Center in the early hours of that Tuesday. President Guzmán led a prayer for the victims in New York City and Washington, D.C. Many students called home to see if their families had heard the news and to see if they were okay.

"No words can describe it," said sophomore, Sarah Tannenbaum, 26. "Every time I hear somebody describe it, it always seems belittled somehow. I don’t think there is any word in the English language that can describe the horror," Tannenbaum said. "I feel like we’ve lost a lot of family members out there, even though we’re not related."

Priscilla Nadine Adair, a third-semester student, said, "It just freaked me out when I heard that a lot of people had died. This gave me the chills, and I couldn’t believe it."

Many students could not believe that something like this could happen to the United States. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was the last time United States’ soil had been attacked, and that was in 1942.

"I was saddened and shocked that somebody could attack us," said third-semester student Caryl Boone, 24. "This always happens somewhere else, but not here."

Students felt like the day was never going to end. Classes were released early because District offices closed. Some students said that they attended a church service to pay their respect to those who lost their lives. Counseling sessions were offered on campus to help cope with the terrorist attacks.

Many students believed the attack would lead to war. Some were in favor of it and some were against it. Several students expressed concerned about their loved ones in the armed forces, as is the case for Aracely Torres, 18, a first-semester student at Palo Alto. "I feel worried because my brother is in the Air Force. I’m hoping that somehow they’ll give Osama bin Laden to us," she said.

Andrew Amador, 22, a third-semester student said, "I’m for war. I have nothing against it really, and there is a valid reason for it, so I see no problem with it."

Family members of students at Palo Alto have already been called for duty. Jacinto Casas, 19, a third-semester student, has a father and a brother who are active in the Army. "My Dad is already saying that he has to go and that he had to warn his family about what’s going to happen," said Casas. "It’s going to hurt, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do."

The falling economy also concerns some students. Many said they didn’t want it to plummet or to have a lasting effect. There are lower interest rates now and stocks have gone down in value. To many, this is good news, but to shareholders, this downturn is not having a positive effect on their earnings.

Economics professor, Alfonso Marquez, said, "Stocks and bonds are related, so I don’t know why they are taking their shares and putting them in bonds. The only difference is that stocks can rise or fall and bonds just stay the same."

"There are four categories that keep the economy going," said Marquez. "They are consumption, investment, the government and international trade."
Tannenbaum does not agree with the advice the U.S. government is giving with regard to the economy. "Authorities are telling us to spend money, to put money back in the economy, but a very human response would be to conserve money," said Tannenbaum.

How is it that Americans didn’t see this coming? Are history professors teaching us what we need to know about other countries’ views toward the United States?

History Professor Rex Field said, "We, as Americans, are so materialistic that we don’t take the time to know what is going on in other countries or how they need help. Our duty as professors is to go beyond what the book says to teach the student."

Since Sept. 11, the nation’s life has changed drastically. The images relayed to network news viewers are hard to shake off. The future seems more uncertain than ever before.

"The main thing that hurts me the most is all those people who died and those who gave their lives trying to save all those people in the buildings," said Adair.