Student Bureau: Students react with disbelief to terrorism tragedy

Students at Hightower High School in Houston, Texas, react to news of the terrorist attacks in the United States on Tuesday

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNNSB) -- Students around the nation reacted to the terrorist attack against American landmarks in New York City and Washington, D.C. with dismay and confusion.

"The fact that all this is happening hasn't even begun to sink in yet," said Angela Sczypta, 16, of Brownsville, Pennsylvania. "I am sitting in my classroom with the television on, and we are discussing what happened, but I still yet can't believe it.

"All I know is that this is going to change everything and nothing will ever be the same... I don't know if I could ever understand why this had to happen," she said.

Angela attends school about an hour away from the terrorist-related plane crash Tuesday in Pennsylvania.

United Airlines Flight 93 was en route from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California, when it crashed in Pennsylvania. It was the fourth airplane to crash Tuesday in a string of paralyzing events that included a double plane crash into the World Trade Center and a crash into the Pentagon near Washington.

Several southwest Florida students were trapped inside the Capitol building in Washington when security officers locked down the building after the Pentagon attack.

The student group was ushered to an emergency bunker located beneath the capitol building, according to a representative from Rep. Porter Goss' (R-Florida) office in Ft. Myers. They were in Washington to meet legislators, lobbyists, media personalities and White House staffers for the Congressional Classroom project. The students are scheduled to return to Ft. Myers late Thursday evening.

Tuesday's terrorist attacks sparked many questions from students around the country who were watching classroom televisions as the two World Trade Center towers in New York crumbled to the ground.

"Thousands of people have lost their lives and now I want to know if more people will suffer," said Lisa Zosky, 15, of Pennsylvania. "I was instantly overcome with emotions of sadness and anger. As I started to think, a million questions rushed through my head. I wondered who could do such a thing and why."

Students said they were concerned that the country could be attacked so easily. "I am not getting on a plane ever again," said Libby Tholmaf, 17, of Florida.

"I worry about what the future holds for me, and my dreams of living free in this society," said Warnessa Hightower, 16, of Hightower High School in Houston, Texas. "It makes me think about how free I am. Am I really free or just been taught that I am free?"

A father picks up his daughter from school early on Tuesday following the terrorist attacks

The events sent shock waves across America as parents rushed to schools to take children home early -- no matter how far away they lived from New York and Washington. Some said they were motivated by fear and others by a need to gather their families to start making calls to relatives working near the targeted sites.

"I don't think anywhere's safe in America today," said one Ft. Myers, Florida. parent who rushed to take her ninth grader out of school. Nearly 100 parents signed students out of that school early Tuesday.

While many parents removed their children before the end of the school day, many more stayed with teachers who moderated discussions in classes.

Cypress High security guard Gerald Burns likened the incident to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was 9 years old the day Pearl Harbor was bombed.

"It brought back the day world war in Europe was declared, right back like a snap of my fingers," he said.

Patrick Farrell, an American history instructor in Florida, has a son who works near the World Trade Center. Farrell said he was very scared after the attack, but his son e-mailed him with word that he was OK. Still, Ferrell had not heard from two other relatives.

"I think it's worse than Pearl Harbor," said Teresa Wilson, an economics teacher in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. "At least they hit a military base, which was semi-prepared. But this time they attacked civilians. I expect my government to act quickly and to retaliate."

Some students contemplated the magnitude of this historic event.

"I am not quite sure how to react to this disaster because it has not hit me yet," said Megan Salmon, a student at Burlingame High School in Burlingame, California. "All I can think about is how in 15 to 20 years, my kids will be reading about this in their history books. It is amazing. All these years I have been watching attacks in other countries and seeing how horrible it is. I almost feel that this is not happening because it is so close."

Brandi Bracker, from Brownsville, Pennsylvania, said, "You read about things like this in history books, but now we are part of history forever."

Classmate Keri Wardman said history lessons did not prepare her for the reality of events that struck America.

"I feel scared because you read about this stuff in history class, but you never think it could really hit home," Wardman said. "I feel sympathetic for the families of relatives who were in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. For the people who are responsible for this -- may God have mercy on their souls."

Dan Hutner, 18, of Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont, said the tragedy was like a "wake-up call" for Americans.

"You don't really think about what's going on in the world around us," he said. "We think that here in America we're safe, we're one of the top countries, but look what can happen."

Jack Ivey, 15, from Hightower High School in Houston, Texas, said Americans need to pull together and take lessons from the tragedy.

"Although this ordeal was unprovoked and cost the lives of thousands upon thousands, I belive America can draw many positives out of this," he said. "This has served as a reawakening and realization to the fact that our security isn't perfect, and America isn't as invincible as we once conceived. Americans need to draw together and become a whole so that we can make it through this terrible situation."

Student Bureau contributors: Rachel Divizie; Nathan Pim; Al Shilling; Hightower High School, Houston, Texas; Cypress Lake High School, Ft. Myers, Florida; Brownsville High School, Brownsville, Pennsylvania; J.M. Tate High School, Cantonment, Florida; Burr & Burton Academy, Manchester, Vermont; Sabin Skills Center, Portland, Oregon; Burlingame High School, Burlingame, California; Del Val High School, El Paso, Texas; Bradley Bourbonnais, Community High School, Bradley, Illinois.