Being a student of tragedy
Looking
through the yearbook of a generation
Case in Point
By Elizabeth Leffall
The Collegian |
Sometimes I’ve sat in
awe listening to my elders describe what it was like for them to live
through America’s Great Depression or fight in a World War. At times
it’s overwhelming and I wonder when I will ever have stories to
tell.
But I do; we do. Every generation has one; every graduating class from
Fresno State will have its own custom yearbook that tells the story of
historical tragedies that have occurred during its lifetime.
Case in Point
If we took a look at our generational yearbook, many of us could remember
just how old we were in 1990 when our President declared war on Iraq.
Did we really understand what war was? How many us remember watching media
coverage as American soldiers, involved in Operation Desert Storm, traveled
to Kuwait to protect oil interests?
 Turn the page. Does anyone remember hearing about Saddam Hussein, labeled
American Enemy No. 1, in 1991 on your television set? Does anyone remember
that morning in February when allied troops moved into Kuwait City and
drove out Iraqi forces? As children, did any of us know what it meant
to cease-fire? Those are stories to tell.
Case in Point
Flip the yearbook pages forward to 2001. Many students on campus were
in high school, some at the beginning of a college career when they watched
on television as an airplane crashed into the World Trade Center in New
York on Sept. 11. Some students watched in other countries, wondering
if it would still be safe to come to America, while other students, sitting
in American classrooms wondered if the world was coming to an end. These
are stories to tell.
Case in Point
Skip to Dec. 2004. How many remember hearing or reading stories about
the tsunami that hit five countries in Asia and Africa? Several students
on our campus have lived to tell how they survived what has being called
the worst tsunami ever. That’s history made, someone has a story
to tell.
Case in Point
How can we forget the recent devastation in New Orleans, Mississippi and
Texas? The devastation caused by one hurricane, named Katrina, directly
connected so many college students at Fresno State and around the world.
I’ll never forget the story about the twin nursing students on campus
who sold their books to bring family to Fresno.
How can I forget the young man I interviewed for The Collegian, who when
asked about the relatives he hadn’t found, said, “If it’s
their time to go, it’s their time?”
Our campus still buzzes with news more than a month since Katrina hit.
Through all of these historic and some very tragic events, certain phrases
and images have remained with us and have become apart of our generational
yearbook.
Although young and with very little life experience, we are students of
tragedy, and yes we have stories to tell.
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