Francesca Wade (junior-crime, law and justice) said during the months after Sept. 11, 2001, she felt unsafe and scared to be living in Manhattan, worried that terrorism would strike again.

Her family left its residence, about three miles from the World Trade Center, the evening of Sept. 11 to visit its vacation home in New Fairfield, Conn. They didn't return for a week because they needed time to come to terms with the incident, she said.

But today, while she has concerns terrorism may again strike New York, she said she feels much safer than she did on Sept. 11, 2001. And that's only one of the reasons she will be voting for George W. Bush.

"I feel that he has done an amazing job the last four years and will continue to do so if re-elected," she said.

Wade said her vote is partially due to Bush's handling of national security issues since that day. She feels more secure now than she did three years ago because of increased police patrol on New York streets and in other public areas, such as train stations, she said.

The morning of the attacks, Wade, then a senior at a private girls' school, The Chapin School, said she heard rumors from friends that a plane hit the towers. Her school's principal called an assembly to announce the news, but made no mention of suspected terrorism, she said.

Her mother picked her up from school. Feelings of fear, uncertainty about the future and of the whereabouts of close friends and family consumed her as she walked home, she said.

"Part of the sky was a crisp blue color," she said. "But, then you could see the huge clouds of smoke. It was such a creepy feeling."

She said she also felt helpless and frustrated because she saw the city in a state of chaos, but couldn't do much to help. She wanted to donate blood, but her mother wouldn't let her leave home, she said.

"I couldn't do anything to help the situation," she said. "I was dumbfounded."

As months went on, Wade became less concerned terrorists would attack again. She said she knows recent events, such as the Republican National Convention, may make New York City a magnet for possible terrorism, but she is less concerned about her safety each day.

And while Bush's handling of the terror strikes will weigh in on her vote this year, the event is not the only issue influencing her mark on the ballot, she said.

Wade says she feels more comfortable knowing that Bush has a track record of not only being head of the U.S. government, but head of the armed forces.

It's a fact that is especially important to her, as her brother, Barrett Wade, recently joined the Navy, she said.

"For my brother's sake, I'd like to see that Bush be his commander-in-chief," she said.

Her vote in the presidential election is not only for Bush, but also against John Kerry, she said.

"Kerry's campaign has been very iffy," she said. "You hear a lot of lies about him."

Joel Gilchrist (sophomore-electrical engineering) is a friend of Wade's. He was living in New York on Sept. 11 and agrees that the day's terror attacks aren't the only issue influencing his current political views.

Gilchrist was a senior at a Queens, N.Y. high school when the planes hit the World Trade Center.

He said he does not feel adamantly enough about politics to vote in the next election, but said even if he decided to cast his ballot, he doesn't think the events of Sept. 11 would have an effect on his choice for President.

"I don't see that as playing too much of a role," he said. "It might influence me more when I was voting for the mayor of New York, but not the president."