Wednesday, September 12, 2001

Tragedy brings together families separated by miles
By Kristin Delorantis
Staff Reporter

Brandon Smith’s family was staying at a hotel across from the White House when they were forced without explanation to evacuate and relocate to another hotel away from Tuesday’s terrorist attacks at the The Pentagon.

Smith, a junior premajor, said his mother and brother were accompanying his father, who is a director of the National Automobile Dealers Association, on a business trip to meet with some senators at The White House.

Courtesy of KRT Campus Emergency vehicles stand by to assist victims who survived the terrorist attack Tuesday on the Pentagon in Washington

Although the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. happened half-way across the nation, the impact is very close to home for some TCU students with family ties in the northeast.

Freshman religion and philosophy major Jeff Sebo’s family lives in Basking Ridge, N.J., and his father commutes into New York City everyday. The building his dad works in is not near the World Trade Center, but Sebo said his dad walks by the buildings every day.

“When I woke up this morning and turned on the TV, the first thing I saw was a picture of a plane hitting the Trade Center,” Sebo said. “At that moment, it was surreal. I had no idea, at the time that it was a terrorist attack.”

Sebo said that when he finally pieced together what was happening, he tried to get in touch with his father in New York City and mother at home in Basking Ridge. He was unable to confirm his family’s safety until hours later.

Susan Hutchison, a senior political science major, said her family lives 10 minutes from The Pentagon, and they could probably see the smoke from her house.

Hutchison said her mother works for Delta Air Lines, right outside of Washington, D.C., and her father works for a private company that frequently meets at The Pentagon.

“I just lost it when my mom called and woke me up with the news,” she said.

Jared Mapes, a junior fashion merchandising major, said he has an uncle in New Jersey who takes the subway into New York City every day. Mapes said he is confident that his uncle is safe.

“New York City is a huge city and it is not like they can cover the whole thing,” Mapes said. “Our government security is pretty safe, and there are no planes allowed in the area so they cannot bomb it like Hiroshima. Unless they bomb the subway, (my uncle) is pretty safe.”

Kristin Delorantis
k.a.delorantis@student.tcu.edu