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Terrorism and College Students: a Generation's Response to September 11, 2001 Robert Mason Wild University of Missouri-St

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Terrorism and College Students: a Generation's Response to September 11, 2001 Robert Mason Wild University of Missouri-St University of Missouri, St. Louis IRL @ UMSL Dissertations UMSL Graduate Works 2-2-2006 Terrorism and College Students: A Generation's Response to September 11, 2001 Robert Mason Wild University of Missouri-St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Wild, Robert Mason, "Terrorism and College Students: A Generation's Response to September 11, 2001" (2006). Dissertations. 611. https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/611 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Terrorism and College Students: A Generation’s Response to September 11, 2001 Robert Mason Wild M.S., Educational Administration, University of Wisconsin – Madison, 1996 B.A., Biology and African American Studies, Washington University – St. Louis, 1993 Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Missouri – St. Louis In Partial Satisfaction of the Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Education Advisory Committee: Dr. Patricia Somers (Chair) Dr. Charles Schmitz Dr. Kathleen Brown Dr. Henry Biggs December 2005 Acknowledgements 1 I am grateful to my dissertation chair Dr. Patricia Somers, for her constant guidance and support during my five-year doctoral program at the University of Missouri – St. Louis. Dr. Somers put some of her personal research on student persistence into practice in her patient, nurturing, and encouraging style. Dr. Somers continuously emphasized the importance of collaboration in the doctoral process. I offer my thanks to the numerous graduate students in the doctoral program at the University of Missouri, St. Louis – notably Debbie Below, Terry Freeman, and Ted Hoef who set the bar very high in the early years of the program. Also, I would like to thank Ken Wetstein, my study partner during the exit course, who spent numerous hours over coffee during the dissertation phase, encouraging me and pushing me to finish. Additionally, my colleagues at Washington University have been incredibly supportive of my efforts towards this degree outside of my daily work activities. In particular, Justin Carroll, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Students and Dean of Students has served as a consistent mentor, advisor, supervisor, and friend throughout my undergraduate and graduate work. Without his guidance over the past 15 years, none of this would have been possible. My parents have consistently emphasized the value of education and provided unlimited resources, support, and guidance throughout the process. My childhood was filled with books. I will always be indebted to them, and I hope that they can appreciate the role models that they have each individually been during the course of all my educational endeavors. Although they have no idea how supportive they have been, my two young children Jameson and Jack have sacrificed greatly throughout the dissertation process. 2 They have allowed their father to spend countless hours researching, interviewing, and writing when he could have been at the playground. Finally, the true support to this great achievement has been my wife, Dr. Angela Wild. She, too, has sacrificed her time to allow me to complete this dissertation. She has always been an outstanding role model and inspiration to me as I worked towards this often-distant educational goal of the doctorate. Angie is an outstanding editor, and I truly could not have accomplished this without her constant love, critical perspective on my work, support, and encouragement. Tables and Figures Tables: 3 Table 1: Sample Demographics - Hometown ................................................................42 Table 2: Sample Demographics - Race ..........................................................................43 Table 3: Sample Demographics - Religion.....................................................................44 Table 4: Sample Demographics - Socioeconomic Status ................................................45 Table 5: News Source (N=30)........................................................................................45 Table 6: Direct Effects...................................................................................................46 Table 7: Distal Effects ...................................................................................................47 Figures: Figure 1, Direct effects – retaliation...............................................................................50 Figure 2, Direct effects – fear ........................................................................................54 Figure 3, Direct effects - fear for NY/DC subpopulation................................................56 Figure 4, Direct effects - depression by race ..................................................................58 Figure 5, Direct effects - interruption of academic activities by gender..........................60 Figure 6, Direct effects - taking action after 9/11...........................................................63 Figure 7, Direct effects - watched more news ................................................................65 Figure 8, Direct effects – change in religious habits by race...........................................67 Figure 9, Direct effects – support...................................................................................68 Figure 10, Direct effects - interaction between depression/fear and using religion to cope ..............................................................................................................................71 Figure 11, Distal effects - acceptance of others..............................................................75 Figure 12, Distal effects – bigotry..................................................................................78 Figure 13, Distal effects - global awareness by major ....................................................81 Figure 14, Distal effects – patriotism .............................................................................82 Figure 15, Distal effects - patriotism by gender and race................................................85 Figure 16, Distal effects - non-patriotism by gender and race.........................................86 Figure 17, Distal effects - political views.......................................................................88 Figure 18, Direct effects - change in political views by major........................................90 Figure 19, Distal effects - career choice.........................................................................91 Figure 20, Distal effects - influence on major/career......................................................93 Figure 21, Direct effects - civic engagement by gender..................................................97 Figure 22, Interaction between civic engagement and career/major choice.....................98 Figure 23, Relationship between not patriotic students and bigotry/acceptance ..............99 Figure 24, Relationship between news watchers and patriotism ...................................100 Chapter One: Introduction The terrorist attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001 marked a significant cultural turning point for Americans. The destruction of the World Trade 4 Towers, the damage to the Pentagon and the loss of thousands of civilian lives brought an end to the optimism and feelings of security and invulnerability that marked the decade of the 1990’s. As Americans coped with feelings of helplessness, fear, and uncertainty about their future, the United States entered into military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the economy faltered, and the travel industry suffered. The historical events, aptly named “9/11,” directly and indirectly caused a shift in the priorities and attitudes of many Americans. American military reservists were called up to active duty. Increased security measures throughout the United States made travel difficult for everyone. Subsequent political elections were characterized by heated debates over the role of the United States in addressing global conflict. Different subpopulations within the United States, from Arabs to New Yorkers, each experienced a unique and profound change in their lives. Students who were enrolled in college at the time of the attacks were also uniquely affected. Historically speaking, the college campus has served as a focal point for social change. During the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the GI Bill opened the door to higher education for many who were previously unable to attend college. The rapid increase in college enrollment preceded a shift in the American workforce from the industrial blue- collar generations of the early 20th century, to the more educated, professional workforce of the mid-20th century. During the 1960’s, the college campus was a venue for protest and dialogue during the birth of the civil rights movement. One of the earliest non-violent protests involved college students from the Negro Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro, North Carolina, who staged a sit-in at a lunch counter that refused service to 5 blacks. This sit-in signaled a symbolic shift in public attitudes towards race relations and resulted in significant policy improvements such as affirmative action. At the time of the Vietnam War, the college campus was again a
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