Letter to the Editor | Sept. 11 inappropriate day for chalking

Like most Americans, I was full of emotions on the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. There was rage, fury, and indignation at the perpetrators of the heinous crimes committed that day. There was pity, sorrow, and sympathy for the thousands who lost loved ones, and awe, respect, and reverence for the untold many who acted selflessly.

Regrettably, this Sept. 11 I also felt bitter disappointment and anger directed towards some of my fellow Vassar students.

Several displays, often in the form of chalk writings on streets and sidewalks, of such trite and unsophisticated complaints found throughout campus were but a despicable affront to the way we should remember Sept. 11. Oft-repeated messages along the lines of “Iraq ≠ 9/11” and “Impeach Bush” offer nothing to an intellectual discussion, nor do they respect the victims. Something greater than any administration, congress, or policy should be honored with the dignity deserving of such a day.

Politicization of the attacks does serve useful ends. My opponents surely will counter with such arguments, saying, “What better day to remind the country of the government’s failure directly related to Sept. 11?” My answer is, perhaps none, but that does not justify such detestable and poor taste. Even the Bush administration’s constant invocation of Sept. 11 as an excuse for a wide range of decisions does not permit us to sink to such a moral low.

The First Amendment guarantees free expression. Our Constitution, thankfully, does not legislate etiquette, propriety, or appropriateness. Instead, it leaves these subjective judgments to the people. We are free to say what we choose, but we are responsible and accountable for our opinions. Those students who decided to politicize the deaths of thousands of Americans chose disgracefully. This is an honest appeal to decency.

Where were the chalkers on Sept. 10 or Sept. 12? Are the issues they raise irrelevant on other days? Their comments would be as childish on other occasions as on Sept. 11, but they would not be inherently reprehensible. Did they simply seek attention, regardless of the contemptible means needed to get it? Where were their messages of respect for the dead, for honor of the loss? Those messages, those personal reflections upon a somber day, were lost amidst the cheap exploitation of a calamity.

I am giving the chalkers the attention they sought by writing this. I acknowledge this, but it is necessary. It must be made clear that Sept. 11 should be a day of remembrance, when politics are put aside. Those responsible for the chalkings demeaned the deaths of 3,000 Americans for a political end.
—Zachary Kaye, ’09