In speaking of the war on terrorism, President Bush has said that we have defined our mission and our moment. Do you think these are defining or galvanizing events for your generation?

Chris Paul: If this question had been whether or not this has been the defining moment of George Bush's presidency, I don't think there is any doubt. As far as it being the defining moment of our generation, I hope not. I hope this doesn't escalate into a world war. But there's no doubt that September 11 will remain in our minds throughout our lives.

More Information The Chronicle Literacy Through Photography Duke Muslim Student Association Duke Progressive Alliance TowerView LEAPS (Learning through Experience, Action, Partnership, and Service)

Above: Luke Bergmann '02, a physics major, is photography editor for the yearbook. An Angier B. Duke Scholar, he received a Goldwater Scholarship for excellence in science. portraits:Les Todd Below: Julie Norman '02 has a self-designed curriculum on media in education and social activism. She is a resident adviser, coordinator of a service-learning organization, and a tutor in the public schools.

Neil Gupta: I do think it reflects the new reality of globalization, of an increased ease in communication and of populations moving back and forth across borders.
Chris Paul: I really like Neil's point that we're seeing the problems of globalization along with its good side--the international collaboration, the sharing of information among those who are trying to fight terrorism. I think this could be a turning point where globalization is put to work for the better.
Luke Bergmann: If as a country we want to view this in some way as an attack on who we are--and I'm not sure about the case for that--the very least we owe to ourselves is not to destroy those very values that we claim for ourselves.
Martin Barna: If this wasn't an attack on who we are, then what was this an attack on? This was an attack on America and on Americans. What struck me was the solidarity with America from the rest of the world, the outpouring of sympathy toward America and disgust and anger with the terrorists who did this to America. The terrorists targeted an American symbol and they chose to make a statement. And I think we need to make a statement in return.
Luke Bergmann: I would say it was a heinous, hateful, murderous, entirely reprehensible act. But recognizing that doesn't help us understand how we came to this point and where we can go in the future to avoid other consequences.
Mark Freeman: When Tom Brokaw talks about the "Greatest Generation," he's referring to a World War II generation that actively participated in a worldwide conflict. In this case, actions are being taken at the level of the government. But we're told that the best thing Americans can do is just go about their daily lives as if nothing happened, and maybe to spend money to boost the economy. I don't really sense involvement at the level of the individual.
To what extent has September 11 and the aftermath affected your personal sense of safety and security?

Christine Varnado: The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were motivated by a desire to get at the very echelon of society from which most Duke students come. I spent the summer in New York, and in that sense it feels personal. I was talking with a friend the day of the attacks, and we said to ourselves, there's probably not a person on this campus who doesn't know someone in New York or Washington.
Lala Qadir: As an American citizen, I felt a sense of invasion and an attack on my ideals. This summer, I interned for the State Department, and I strongly identified with the U.S. government because of its ability to do good domestically and internationally. As a Muslim, the repercussions of these events were another facet that was quite terrifying. All across the country there are a lot of Muslims who have been harassed and physically beaten, and there was a CNN poll that said that 31 percent of Americans would like to see Arab-Americans in detention camps. So there's a cascade of events from the original atrocious acts that are affecting innocent lives.
Dana Vachon: One of my favorite things that I've held on to is a September 11 copy of The New York Times--a time capsule from when the world was normal. And the front page of that issue announces that it's Fashion Week in New York. When I look at that, I always think, what a luxury. Maybe it's interesting to examine our compulsions. Now I read that Times over and over. I remember sitting in the Duke Gardens the Sunday after the attacks, when they had grounded all the airplanes, and something was flying over the gardens. It was red--a color you wouldn't normally see on a plane. And I said, "Oh my God, is that a crop sprayer?" I was genuinely concerned. Feelings that once would have probably caused you to seek counseling now make sense in this odd world that we've been handed.
Christine Varnado: Seeing those publications now is so spooky. They're from a different planet from the one we now inhabit.

Above: Neil Gupta '02, majoring in cognitive neuroscience, is editor of The Duke Mind, a student journal. He had a South Africa internship through Public Policy's Service Opportunities in Leadership program. portraits:Les Todd Below: Allison Brim '05, a B.N. Duke Scholar, is contemplating a self-designed major in peace studies. She is a research assistant in the Nicholas School of the Environment, a campus organizer for the U.S. Student Association, and a member of the Environmental Alliance, the Duke Progressive Alliance, and the Student-Employee Relations Coalition.

Luke Bergmann: We've been reborn. But it's not as if we weren't already living in a violent world. We just didn't realize it until September 11.
Allison Brim: The threat to my physical well-being hadn't really registered until I learned of the attack by the U.S. on Afghanistan. It just made it clear that there could be further attacks on our soil.
Julie Norman: When I first heard about the attacks I was definitely shaken up. I don't think I feared for my own safety here at Duke. But I have family members in New York and Washington, D.C., and it all hit so close to home.
Dylan Ashbrook: It was sort of surreal watching those planes just cut through those buildings. Every time I've driven to Duke from home, that's what I've looked at--the view of the New York skyline from the New Jersey turnpike. It's almost hard to connect those images to my everyday life because they were so incredibly horrific.
Neil Gupta: I don't feel a personal fear from what's happened. But what it's really highlighted is what people around the world live with on a daily basis; they have to put up with social oppression and with acts of terrorism. Because of what America has now experienced, we can better speak to the world on issues of oppression and terror.
How have the attacks influenced your thinking about your own future?

Dana Vachon: I spent the summer in New York and will probably go back there next year. Right after the attacks, I caught myself in this sort of heuristic, where I was trying to figure out if I could avoid New York while still achieving my goals. Before the process was over, I said, no, I can't do that. But when my father saw the Trade Center get hit, the first thing he thought was, "I work next to Grand Central Station."
Christine Varnado: These are particularly painful events for people of our age, who are just getting to the point where the world awaits us. I'm having a lot of anxiety about where I'll be traveling or working next year. I'd always planned to go to the Caribbean or West Africa; I always saw myself as unrestrained in terms of where I could go and what I could do. I believe in the ideals of a global community. But I'm having a lot of problems working out these issues right now. To me it would be a tragic thing if our world were to shrink to places that we can drive to from our hometowns, or places that are far from major population centers, because we're worried about terrorism.
Luke Bergmann: This has made me think much more seriously about going directly to graduate school; that seems to be the safest, most stable place I can think of.
Patty Chen: My plans haven't changed at all. I'm still planning on taking a year off and working, hopefully in a Pacific Islander community, perhaps with a Vietnamese refugee community. There are still people living in poverty after September 11, and since those needs haven't changed, my plans haven't changed.
Chris Paul: I'm personally interested in humanitarian issues. I think that field won't change; in fact, more importance will be placed on it. And hopefully these events will cause people of the United States to think about what it means for us to be so economically dominant in the world.


• continues on page two.