How one class at HHS discussed Sept. 11
By:Sally Goldenberg
After Hillsborough High School observed a moment of silence and gathered along lockers to hold hands and remember the victims of last year’s Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, one class marked the event with a lively and sometimes cynical discussion of American government and the media.
Bob Fenster led his Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics class of juniors and seniors in analyzing the actions of the government and the media after Sept. 11. Echoing his criticisms, the students expressed overwhelming dissatisfaction with both.
After outlining the major steps taken by local, state and federal governments since Sept. 11 such as sending emergency workers to Ground Zero, providing financial aid to the victims’ families and the U.S. government’s military strikes the discussion moved from specifics to open-ended questions.
One student chastised America’s attacks on Afghanistan, claiming that she felt Afghanistan was targeted when numerous countries harbor terrorists who are at odds with the United States’ policies.
Other students criticized America’s treatment of immigrants with questionable visas, saying the government had reacted too harshly.
After assessing the United States government’s actions, Mr. Fenster asked his students to judge the media’s 9/11 coverage on the day of the attacks, in the months that followed and in the weeks leading up to the one-year anniversary. Most of his students criticized the broadcast media networks for inundating the country with excessive coverage of the attacks, particularly in the past few weeks.
Though several students defended most networks’ decision to exclusively air Sept. 11 coverage during the first few days, most of the class felt the coverage became excessive. The students said reporters related most news stories to the attacks or covered them in relation to the terrorism, whether or not they were really related stories.
Mr. Fenster said that despite the state Department of Education’s suggestion to downplay the attacks, it was incumbent upon him to generate a discussion on the topic, due to the nature of his class and the timing of the anniversary the first day he would have scheduled a class discussion anyway.