Remembering Sept. 11: Dean Ronald Weich Reflects on Memory, Community and Unity

On the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, Dean Ronald Weich reflects on the attacks, the uncertainty of that day and the extraordinary sense of community that followed—and challenges a new generation of lawyers to uphold that spirit of unity, compassion and respect.

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Twenty-five years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Law School Chaplain Father Nicholas Gangaro opened the Sept. 11 Mass at Seton Hall School of Law by inviting the community to remember those who were lost and come together in God’s presence.

“We’ve come here together to commemorate 25 years since the awful events of Sept. 11, 2001,” Gangaro said in his homily “Each of us will pray, in our own way, as we turn our hearts and minds to the memory of those who were lost.”

Dean Ronald Weich then reflected on a day that changed the country—and on the sense of community and national unity that emerged amid the uncertainty of its aftermath. Weich shared his memories of that morning in Washington, D.C., where he was working at a law firm, and reflected on what the experience can teach a new generation of lawyers about community, compassion and responsibility to one another.

On the morning of Sept. 11, Weich was in a meeting with a client when they first learned that a plane had struck one of the World Trade Center towers. “We assumed it was a small aircraft, that it was an accident,” Weich recalled. “But soon after, we found out that a second plane had hit the second tower. We realized, of course, that this was not an accident, that something more deliberate had taken place.”

From his office, Weich could see smoke rising from the Pentagon. As reports continued to emerge, uncertainty spread. “We didn’t know everything that had happened,” he said. “We could see that the Pentagon had been struck, but we didn’t know what else was coming.”

Later that day, Weich and his wife returned home to be with their daughter, Sophie, who was not yet two years old. As Weich watched the news, he tried to shield her from the horrific images being repeatedly broadcast. “I distinctly remember holding my hands over her ears and covering her eyes so that, as she grew up, she wouldn’t have a memory of those images,” he said.

At one point, the family went to a nearby park. Sophie played on a tire swing while the events of the day continued to unfold. “I was struck by the incongruity of that peaceful setting and the events of the world,” Weich said. “She would grow up in a world that would never be the same.”

Weich was not at Seton Hall Law at the time of the attacks, but he has since spoken with colleagues who were. Members of the Law School community could see the Manhattan skyline from the library’s floor-to-ceiling windows before the building that now blocks the view was constructed. Some may have seen the planes strike the towers, while others watched the buildings collapse. Some students lost family members and friends that day.

The lack of reliable communication compounded the uncertainty, Weich said. “There was an unbelievable amount of confusion,” he said. “We didn’t have the communication networks we rely on today. We all have cell phones now, but that wasn’t the case then.” But alongside the fear and uncertainty, Weich recalled something else: an extraordinary response from communities across the country. “There was a tremendous outpouring of community, empathy and a desire to help—to stand together in solidarity,” he said.

He recalled people rushing to blood banks to donate, although the brutal attacks had left few wounded who needed blood. Meanwhile, members of Congress from both parties gathered outside the Capitol that evening to sing “God Bless America,” Weich said. “There was national unity—a sense of common national purpose,” he said. “We’ve lost that in many ways. Our society today is much more divided and intolerant.”

Weich shared a recent reflection by Charles Greene, whose father died aboard one of the hijacked planes. Greene wrote, “Having lived through the profound solidarity of September 2001, I know that our capacity for connection runs much deeper than our propensity for division.”

For Weich, that idea has particular meaning at a law school, where students are preparing to enter a profession in which disagreement is inevitable. He pointed to Seton Hall Law’s culture of respect and its ability to sustain dialogue without sacrificing humanity.

“I’m so proud that at our law school we treat people with respect, we care for one another and we’re able to work through disagreements without losing our humanity,” he said, urging students to carry that principle into their legal careers.

“I call on all of you, and especially our students, as you enter the legal profession, to recognize that we have the ability to rise above divisions and recapture the sense of unity that followed that awful day,” Weich said.