MILK TROJi
Student newspaper of the University of Southern California
MONDAY
September 17, 2001
Of interest...
USC professors provide possible technical explanation of the attack and its aftermath / 3
News Digest 2	Calendar	2
Opinions	4	Lifestyle	7
The Buzz	7	Classifieds	12
Crossword	13	Sports	16
vol. CXUV, no. 13 wwwdailytrojan.com
Students search for faith,
hope
Legend remembered
The late Trojan football Coach John McKay did more than simply win four national championships /16
Religion: Students turn to their spiritual traditions during weekend of prayer and mourning services
By LORI STUENKEL
Staff Writer
Students, along with people all over the country, are turning to prayer to find something to sustain and comfort them fn the wake of last Tuesdays terrorist attacks.
Those who conducted and attended various church services during the weekend sought to remember the victims of the attacks while exploring peaceful ways for the United States to recover and react
"We cannot come to prayer without recalling the events of last week,"
said Father William Messenger, director of the USC Catholic Center.
He said that scripture points only to healing — that it can provide strength, and not just comfort, for people seeking to recover.
He also noticed that people’s dependence on the church has increased since Tuesday’s attacks.
"It happens in times of crisis; we turn to a higher power," he said. “
Messengers homily also included a theme from the prayer service attended by President Bush on Friday: "We should not become the evil we abhor."
He acknowledged that people feel outraged at the situation, and attempted to answer the question of how to respond.
“I know my anger pales in comparison to people whose friends and relatives are dead," he said. "People jump to use language of hatred,
pnotos Dy Mason Poole Daily Trojar
retaliation, revenge. This should not be our response ... and people are asking, ‘Then what (should be)? How do we respond?"’
The church teaches forgiveness, and that is what people want to practice, he said.
“1 don’t know that 1 am ready to forgive what happened ... I’m just not ready,” he said, “But I’m also not ready to respond with more bombs.” People looking to forgive can do so, if the look to the church for guidance, Messenger said.
People of many faiths were echoing that sentiment as they assembled to honor the victims and lives consumed by the terrorist attacks.
At USC’s emotional Coming Together service held in Bovard Auditorium Friday, Kabbi Susan Laemmle asked those in attendance I see Religion, page 111
Giving hope.
Laura Schack lights a candle at a University Church Service Sunday in memory of the attack victims. •The Schack family drove from Santa Barbara to be with the USC community, where they were once students. At left, a shrine set up for the victims at the church.
Airport security tight, some too scared to fly
Procedures: Safety measures increased and many flights canceled at Los Angeles International Airport
By ROBB FERRIS
Staff Writer
Fewer people may be traveling now as a result of fear or being hassled at airports with canceled flights and stringent security measures.
Los Angeles International Airport has canceled most of its flights, with only a handful traveling to Washington. D.C., New York or other cities across the United States and abroad. Recent security measures have included restricted auto traffic from the airport and restricted pedestrian traffic in the terminals.
The recent attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon have incited fear in many would-be travelers, leading them to postpone vacations or business trips or seek other means of transportation.
R.J. Sommerdyke, a senior majoring in business administration, was going to fly home to Sacramento on Friday but canceled his flight
after Tuesday s events.
“Everything is so chaotic right now — I just don’t want to fly,” he said. “Its not worth it”
His parents agreed, urging him to wait until air travel was safer and easier, he said.
Most of the flights that would otherwise be connecting to LAX have been canceled, as were flights at most airports across the country and even in other parts of the world.
Some would-be travelers faced other obstacles.
Jafar Badre was on his way home to Diisseldorf, Germany, when he was refused service by a United Airlines pilot
"The pilot would not let me on the plane," he said. “The ticketing supervisor saw my face, saw my beard and told the pilot, who said 1 could not board the plane."
Badre, who was born in Iran, has lived in Germany for the last 17 years.
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Downtown safer, patriotic
Reaction: Workers in high-rise buildings still nervous, reaching out to each other
By KATIE FLYNN
Staff Writer
In an area some think could be the next target of terrorist attacks, people are smiling.
In downtown, American flags fly from almost every car and street peddlers push carts of patriotic memora-
bilia — including star-spangled blowup mallets and baseball bats. Even road rage is becoming passe.
“Since Tuesday there has been a change in people’s personalities,” said Clare Swensen, an employee at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in the center of downtown. “People are being so much more kind to each other."
This seems to be the consensus among those who have witnessed the local reaction to the terrorist attack. Sadness about the tragedy and fear that the city may also be a target
have united much of the downtown community.
“Working with the public everyday, it is really obvious to me how much happier people seem, how they seem happy to be alive," Swensen said.
In a city notorious for road rage and superficiality, there are now stories about people smiling and helping each other.
“People are driving like never before," said Ed Fuentes, a graphic
I see Downtown, page 3 I
Troy Camp takes first timers to Disneyland
Organization: Trip goes on despite attack, lines nearly non-existent at theme park
By STEVEN JONES
Contributing Writer
Marcos Jiminez was dressed as though he were headed to his first day of school. His green checkered
shirt was buttoned to the top and his jet-black hair was neatly slicked forward.
Instead, the 10-year-old sat in the parking lot at 6:30 a.m. Saturday ready to take his first trip to the happiest place on earth.
He couldn't hold back his smile and only had one word to describe his feelings — “great"
Even in the midst of the excite-
ment, it was impossible to entirely forget about Tuesday's attacks. Some campers thought the trip would be canceled, while some parents worried about their childrens safety.
USC Troy Camp adviser Sonia Saroulian instructed the counselors not to dodge the issue if the kids brought it up.
I see Camp page 13 I