Americans observed the six-month anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks the country has ever experienced Monday with church services and commemorative memorials, starting with a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. EST, the time when the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center.
But there were no such largely publicized services on the UW-Madison campus, with students perhaps remembering Sept. 11 more privately, according to Robert McGrath, director of Counseling and Consultation Services at University Health Services.
UW-Madison Interim Dean of Students Roger Howard said it would have been the decision of student organizations to hold an event.
\I'm kind of happy there wasn't a huge deal made out of it,"" said Jackie Feibel, a UW-Madison senior who said she had lost a friend in the terrorist attacks. ""I have to deal every day and I don't need to be reminded it's six months.""
McGrath said he was not surprised there were no services on campus since students had been dealing with the tragedy on an individual basis for a while. He said a March 10 documentary about New York firefighters and the Sept. 11 attacks was more of a commemoration than some kind of assembly-like function Monday.
""I think that probably served as a national communal connection than going to Library Mall and having 50 people show up,"" McGrath said.
The documentary, which aired on CBS and was hosted by Robert DeNiro, was originally a documentary by two French brothers about a firehouse a few blocks from the Twin Towers.
Howard said he did not know of any campus commemorative services but also was not particularly surprised.
""It's certainly on top of everybody's mind, but people are trying to get back to their normal lives,"" Howard said. ""I don't see students reacting differently than the rest of the country.""
Six months may seem like a short amount of time after the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history to return completely to a sense of normalcy, though.
McGrath said he found students more anxious and serious as a result of Sept. 11.
""It's hard to be totally wrapped up in just hanging out, drinking,"" he said.
A sense of vulnerability may also still exist among students, McGrath added.
""I think the immediacy is calmed down,"" he said.
This immediacy was evident in the approximately 20,000 students, faculty and community members who attended a memorial on Library Mall shortly after Sept. 11. The fact that there was not a similar six-month service did not seem to bother many students.
""I think people grieve in their own way,"" UW-Madison junior Brittany Reed said.
