‘I want to change the world’

"I’m uncomfortable with all this talk about us unifying as Americans. We’re all humans. We need to be cool with the rest of the world too, not just America. Yes, it was a big event, but there are deaths and terrorism in other parts of the world too."
—Sharine Xuan, 15, South Pasadena HS

"I see more infringements on civil liberties. It’s like McCarthyism, the Red Scare. There’s a hotline where you’re encouraged to report suspicious activities about your neighbors. That’s scary to me, because I have this weird neighbor, and I would hate to think what he might say."
—Brynn Holland, 17, Cleveland HS

"I don’t think we’re the best country. That mentality is what got this thing going. It’s one of the attitudes that sparked the terrorists’ rage."
—Chelsea Sanders, 13, Marlborough School

Airport searches

"When I flew to London, there was a whole row of Muslims being searched. But they passed up this scary looking guy carrying some luggage that looked like a body bag. Random searches really aren’t random."
—Danna Friedberg, 15, Hamilton HS

"But it’s not just racial profiling. They look at where you’re going and what kind of ticket you have. I was searched because I had a one-way ticket. They’re searching every 30 people? It doesn’t seem like enough."
—Sarah Peterson, 15, Flintridge Preparatory

Media coverage

"I’m kind of sick of hearing about it on the news. My mom said they’re thinking of making it a national holiday. Who wants to remember a day of bombing? Who wants to spend the day imagining what it’s like for people who lost their loved ones on the plane?"
—Connie Chung, 15, Gabrielino HS

"Every time I open the newspaper there’s something about war. Everyone is so sick of it. My friends and I try to get away from it."
—Diana Park, 17, La Canada HS

"I liked reading about the families that lost loved ones. But it occurred to me that 9/11 sells and advertisers know that too. Ralph Lauren is Mr. America now. It bothers me that it’s a money-making scheme."
—Sarah Peterson, 15, Flintridge Preparatory

"The first day the coverage was very informative. But then in the following days they added all kinds of nonsense to make it seem bigger. I watched the TV coverage of the picture of the demon in the cloud of smoke, and I was afraid to go to bed. I thought a demon might kill me. After a while, most people I know forgot about it. They weren’t following the news at all. Some people at school thought that Afghanistan invaded us."
—Joo Yoon, 14, Troy HS

"We shouldn’t scold the media for doing a lot of coverage. This is a really big deal, it broke down our economy, it really matters. Anyone could attack us today or blow up a school bus tomorrow. Why should we worry about the next Playstation coming out when we don’t know if we’re going to be alive?"
—Candace Coleman, 15, Marymount HS

"Unfortunately it took an event like this to make me more interested in world events. During the weekend, I’ll flip through the newspaper to see if anything’s happening. I’m interested in Israel and Palestine. I’ll sit and watch Hardball with my dad. I want to be updated."
—Andrea Domanick, 14, Harvard-Westlake School

Future plans

"It hasn’t changed my plans for the future. I want to go to NYU and become an actress."
—Danna Friedberg, 15, Hamilton HS

"A lot of wealthy people lost money in the stock market. I’m very nervous that there’ll be a lot more people going to the less expensive schools. It makes me wonder, will I be able to pay for college? That’s really scary to me."
—Jennifer Gottesfeld, 16, Beverly Hills HS

"I used to want to be a foreign correspondent because I thought it would be fun. I know some of the media coverage of 9/11 wasn’t very good. Now I feel I’d like to change that—tell people what they need to know. I have a purpose now."
—Tory Fine, 17, Marlborough School