Life of the Closed Mind; 'Is that true? Maybe I should change my mind.' When is the last time you can remember a public dialogue that followed that useful course?(thoughts on students graduating from college four years after Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attack)

Publication: Newsweek

Publication Date: 30-MAY-05

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2005 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com

Byline: Anna Quindlen

A glorious morning for a commencement, the sky a blue tent cut with wisps of clouds over the Columbia University campus. From time to time a plane bisected the air above, an accidental eavesdropper on the passage of time and the celebration of joy. Clear weather, low-flying jets: it's what some New Yorkers still can't help thinking of as a 9/11 day.

All over America graduating seniors are being reminded of what they--and their parents--can scarcely forget. Most of them left home and arrived on campus in September 2001. But that knowledge is particularly sharp here in New York. Some students chose to leave afterward, to migrate to the quiet college towns so many of their high-school classmates had chosen in the...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.