The entire campus community mourned the victims of the September 11, 2001, bombings of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the hijacking of the airplanes, which constituted a synchronized set of terrorist attacks. The Student Government Association and Team VOLS worked together to create and sell for $1 blue ribbons, the proceeds from the sale of which were given to the American Red Cross. Phi Delta Theta fraternity set up a table on the corner of Francis Street and Andy Holt Avenue to sell ribbons and donated over $3,800 to the Red Cross. Farmhouse fraternity joined with Sigma Kappa sorority to collect tangible goods for the Salvation Army and in two days collected over three hundred gallons of drinking water, fourteen hundred pairs of work gloves, and two hundred flashlights with batteries.
A program was held in Thompson-Boling Arena, open to all members of the community, entitled “Reflections on September 11.” The program included music performed by faculty and students from the School of Music, readings from sacred texts, and remarks from local and UT officials. Seminars conducted by some of UT’s best faculty were also held, sponsored by the International House. The September 17 seminar by Religious Studies Professor Jim Fitzgerald, “Violence, Anger, and Reason,” drew a standing-room-only crowd at the International House’s Great Room. The Tuesday seminar, “Understanding Islam,” was presented by Palmira Brummet, professor of history, and Rosalind Gwynne, professor of religious studies. The third seminar in the series, held on September 22—“International Law”—was moderated by Law Professor Barbara Stark. The Muslim Student Association, after postponing its first general body meeting for over a week, held its meeting on September 18 in the Great Room, to a large crowd. The SGA, Equity and Diversity, the Muslim Student Organization, and the International Student Association organized a week of healing, which offered an array of events for students and members of the campus community.
The International House received bomb threats following the attacks, and UT Police officers were stationed at the I-House for the week following the attacks.