When the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center building and took the life of Mary Fetchet’s 24-year-old son, her life priorities changed
“It changed my life dramatically,” said Mary Fetchet in a phone interview. “I felt as though it was my responsibility in a way and that I did have a voice as a victim’s family member to promote legislation to make the country safer. It was just based on that personal lost.”
As a result, she quit her job as a clinical social worker and co-founded the Voices of September 11th in her hometown of New Canaan, Conn. VOICES is a non-profit organization that provides services for those affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It also promotes homeland security initiatives. The organization now has 6,000 members, according to the group’s Web site.
On March 25th, Mary Fetchet will be at Syracuse University as part a First-Amendment event organized by Robert M. McClure, the Chapple Family Professor of Citizenship and Democracy in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The event celebrates the First Amendment’s protection for citizens to petition the government for — as the amendment says — “redress of grievances.”
That means lobbying the government and is often seen as the special privilege of the powerful and wealthy.
Not so, says McClure of Maxwell. “We wanted someone on the program who could illustrate how ordinary people use the right to petition to make their government listen to them,” said McClure.
That someone was Mary Fetchet.
“She is an illustration of how under awful circumstances, and the death of a son will provide much unwanted motivation to get the federal government to do what it might otherwise not have done,” said McClure.
On the day of the World Trade Center attacks, Fetchet’s 24-year-old son, Brad, was working in the second tower as an equity trader. She remembered Brad calling and leaving a message on her phone after the first plane hit, telling her that he was okay. But then the second plane hit.
It was not until after those attacks that Fetchet realized how much her son’s life had been at risk working in the World Trade Center. Her group did research that showed a pattern of clear threats of terrorism to the two towers.
“I recognize how our country continues to be vulnerable,” said Fetchet. “On his behalf, and on the behalf of all families I feel a real responsibility.”
But as Fetchet explained, starting an organization to petition the government is complicated and challenging — especially for the beginner. “I was unfamiliar with politics. I never spoke publicly. I didn’t know how to turn on a computer. I knew nothing about non-profits. It was really an evolution of organization,” she recalled.
At first, she worked on getting the “Victims’ Compensation Fund.” She traveled to New York City and got information related to the attacks and then returned home to Connecticut and started meeting with local elected officials.
“I attended a rally and spoke as a mother that lost a son about the importance of really understanding what the failures were so we could make the country safer,” recalled Fetchet.
She then began networking with other victims’ families who were interested in establishing the 9/11 Commission.
After forming the VOICES, Fetchet began by lobbying for the government to create a commission to investigate the problems that led to the attacks. She, along with other family members, wanted to know what failures of the country’s homeland security protection plan allowed the World Trade Center attacks. Their goal was to try and help the government prevent future attacks. As a result, the bi-partisan 9/11 Commission was created.
Leslie Phillips, the communications director for Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and spokeswoman for Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., got to know Fetchet through that lobbying effort. Fetchet, recalled Phillips, became a familiar face in Washington as she worked with government officials to create the 9/11 Commission and write legislation.
“She was just tireless. She visited Washington multiple times. It was clear that her visits and the visits of other family members of victims of the 9/11 attacks had a great deal of impact on legislators here,” said Phillips.
Fetchet and other members of VOICES helped Lieberman and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, to write the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The act put the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission into legislation.
“They put a face on what otherwise might have been a dry legislative story. They were just incredibly courageous and strong and were just great advocates for the great legislation,” said Phillips.
In 2007 (correction by writer, 2004) Fetchet was also named ABC News’ Person of the Year for her efforts in U.S. government intelligence reform.
Now Fetchet is working with families on creating an Internet archive with profiles of all the victims’ of the 9/11 attacks. She is also traveling to speak at colleges.
“I have a real interest in speaking at universities because I think college students are really at that point in their life where they have the ability to become very involved in issues that are going to impact them directly and issues that are important to them personally,” explained Fetchet.
She will be speaking at Syracuse University as part of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications’ “Right to Petition” Year of the First Amendment event on Tuesday March 25th at 3:30 p.m. in the Newhouse I auditorium A1.
(Bryan Young is a sophomore magazine journalism and political science major)
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