Two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon on April 15, killing three and wounding over 170 more, leaving the nation in a state of shock. Since the bombing, two of the deceased were identified and President Obama made a speech at an inter-religious ceremony in Boston on Thursday.
While cyberprayers are being sent out on Facebook and Twitter, the real anxiety lies with sophomore Ana Leal and freshman Matthew Torgeson who had family and close family friends at the marathon when the bombs went off.
“I was really scared at school,” Leal said. “It wasn’t until I got home that I found out our family friend was fine. It really scared me.”
And even though most students didn’t have close family at the marathon, there was still a widespread silence after the news got to the school.
“It’s tragic to think that if the bombs had gone off sooner the country would be mourning more than two lives especially since we’re still trying to get over the Sandy Hook elementary shooting,” Gabriella Rice (11) said.
The students flocked to the social networking sites, either lashing out against the act, begging for prayers, or making light of the situation.
“People experience this differently, they don’t have to react the same,” Daniel Munoz (11) said.
The main conversation after the bombing was commenting on the parallels between Boston and the Middle Eastern war.
“We as a nation are desensitized to war in general, since we have been involved in a war for over a decade,” Stephen Botts (12) said. “Current Afghanistan would be more of parallel to what happened yesterday. Terror is something citizens of the United States are moved by, starting with 9/11 we came together as a nation and utilize the best military, security and intelligence forces that exist, making us apt to deal with events, such as [the Boston bombing]. Evil will always exist in the world, but alongside evil, there are men and women that work tirelessly in the efforts to subdue such evil. Americans embody this spirit and commitment to do justice onto those who work to cause injustice. The American Spirit is something that can’t be taken away by any act of terror, and we see this time and time again.”
The scariest thing among students at school is how this will impact Fiesta at the end of April.
“I don’t really know what to think about it,” Belen Lopez (11) said. “It’s scary, those people showed up for a fun day and some people’s lives got changed forever. It makes me worried about Fiesta. I think both are pretty bad and both are horrible but I’m more aware of what happened in Boston, which is sad, because in Iraq it’s not just a one day thing, it’s constantly happening.”
It is encouraged to wear running shoes April 19 in support of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Photo by Sarah Morales
