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sept. 9, 2021 high °, low 4°
t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k |
dailyorange.com
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SU’s College Republicans is planning on bringing in speakers, hosting debates and having some non-political events this semester. Page 3
Two sisters and their partners refurbished a school bus over the last year and are cruising across North America visiting national parks along the way. Page 7
Syracuse and Rutgers meet again on Saturday for the first time since 2012 — the two team’s storied rivalry began 107 years ago. Page 16
20 YEARS LATER Reflections from family members of SU alumni who died on 9/11
Thirty Syracuse University alumni died in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Family members of two alumni recounted their stories. sarah lee senior staff photographer
By Richard J Chang news editor
Disclaimer: This article details events that may be disturbing to some readers. win brothers Bob and Billy Bernstein grew up in the streets of Brooklyn, New York, together. They both attended Syracuse University together. After graduating, they lived in the same apartment building and both ended up working near Wall Street. On Sept. 11, 2001, Billy Bernstein was working in the Cantor Fitzgerald office on the 105th floor of the North tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, right
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above the impact zone of the airliner that crashed. Bob had been in the building 30 minutes before the attack. Steven Weinberg worked hard in his job as an accountant after graduating from SU, said Laurie Weinberg, his wife at the time. But he always made time to spend with his three children: Sam, Jason and Lindsay. He took them to SU games and had Orange memorabilia scattered around the house. Weinberg was on the 82nd floor of the South tower — the second tower hit in the attacks. In a phone call to Laurie, he said he could see the smoke coming from the North tower, but he thought nothing was wrong and he could go back to work. That was the last time Laurie heard from her husband.
see family page 4
Five alumni who were on campus in fall 2001 recount their experiences during and after the 9/11 attacks By Richard J Chang news editor
Andrew Schwab was walking across the quad in the late morning. The weather was perfect, he said. It was dry and mild with no clouds in the sky. Students were gathering on the quad to connect with and comfort one another. Then Schwab saw fighter jets fly low over Syracuse University’s campus.
The date was Sept. 11, 2001. Alumni who were on campus during the fall of 2001 talked with The Daily Orange about where they were when they heard that the World Trade Center in New York City collapsed. They also recalled what campus was like in the weeks following the event. While none of the alumni The D.O. spoke with lost anyone close to them in any of the attacks that day, they all said this day was one of the defining events of
their college careers. SU’s campus was a more carefree environment before the attacks, said Schwab, who was a junior at the time. Students, some of whom were away from their parents for the first time, thought about the safety of their families or pondered whether another sudden attack on American soil would happen, Schwab said. “Many of us might say we lost some innocence that day,” Schwab said. “When you hear, for the
first time in your life, fighter jets flying over campus as they were patrolling the northeast, you feel as if your world gets much bigger all of a sudden.” He noticed a large shift in his policy studies courses after that day. While topics in the class typically included gun control and education funding, they suddenly became discussions on national security and surveillance. Eleni McCready, a freshman
at the time, was running up the staircase in Brewster Hall coming home from her 8 a.m. Spanish class. Another student was in the staircase and informed McCready a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers. McCready didn’t think much of it until she walked into the lounge on her floor. The TV was on, and everyone was watching. As soon as McCready walked into the room, the second plane hit the South tower. see alumni page 4