By Jon Tollestrup

The Daily Universe celebrates 50 years

The world landscape dramatically changed after the bombings of the World Trade Center. Now things like taking off your shoes for airport security and hearing the level of a terrorist threat described in a color code are just some of the small changes that have become a normal part of life.

However, the events of Sept. 11, 2001 created an atmosphere on campus that was anything but normal for students and faculty.

For the most part classes were still scheduled as usual, but many teachers postponed their classes and turned the news on so that students could stay informed on the worst terrorist attack in American history.

In a perspective piece that ran in the Daily Universe, former senior reporter Elizabeth Bennett recalled some of the feelings that dominated campus after everything had happened.

'I remember walking around campus that day. The quad was eerily deserted and silent, but the Wilkinson Center was crowded with people watching the news coverage,' Bennett wrote. 'The tension in the air was thick. It pounded into my head. I remember there was no laughter on campus for two days.'

Students also talked to the Daily Universe that day and expressed a wide range of concerns and worries over the horrific attacks.

'I thought the world was coming to an end,' one student said.

Another student said he thought a careful investigation should be done and that serious action should be taken to show that the United States wouldn''t be taken lightly.

The light-hearted mood that typically exists on BYU''s campus had been hijacked and replaced by shock and disbelief, causing many students to engage in a political and religious dialogue in connection with the attacks.

Editorials and letters to the editor came pouring in dealing with subjects such as not judging Muslims based on Osama bin Laden''s example and the price of personal privacy.

'A knee-jerk embrace of expanded wiretapping could plunge America into a police-state society,' one editorial said. 'But with nearly 5,000 people still missing in the rubble of the World Trade Center, something must be done to curb the terrorism. Even if some privacy is the price.'

The days and months following the attacks on the World Trade Center, campus life at BYU wasn''t radically altered, but some students still felt the affects due to the heightened sense of vulnerability that swept across the country.

'The summer following Sept. 11th, BYU''s performing groups did not tour outside of the United States,' said Carri Jenkins, University spokeswoman. 'This year a few of BYU''s performing groups are scheduled to tour outside of the United States.'

The travel issue is something that created changes that still exist today. University deans, directors and administrators are asked to make informed decisions relating to college or department travel, and not to go to countries on the U.S. State and Department 'Travel Warning' list.

At the time of the World Trade Center bombings, many BYU students were studying abroad, a concern that former BYU president Merrill J. Bateman addressed in a special prayer meeting.

All BYU students studying abroad had been contacted earlier that day, and were told to avoid any U.S. facilities for the time being, President Bateman said.

He then told the faculty and students not to fear, to be respectful of all people and to remember the goodness of the gospel.

'There is no reason to fear for our lives. Even in times of turmoil, it is possible to feel peace,' President Bateman said. 'The greatest thing we can do as a university is to gather together once a week to celebrate the message of the gospel. ... Today we''ve seen how fleeting life may be.'