Campus Reacts to National Tragedy

On September 14, the day President Bush declared a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, students, faculty, and staff alike came from all over campus to gather quietly in front of Fondren Library. They were there to join Americans across the country in memorializing the victims of the terrorist attacks against the United States just four short days earlier and to comfort and support one another.

President Malcolm Gillis; Bill Martin, the Harry and Hazel Chavanne Professor of Religion and Public Policy; and leaders of the Student Association and Graduate Student Association spoke at the event. “Those lost we can no longer help,” Gillis said. “But we can hope that by conveying—silently and aloud—our innermost thoughts of condolence and support, that their friends and families may draw solace from our humble gathering.”

Martin talked about the many emotions caused by the terrorist attack. He pointed out that many people probably wondered how the tragedy might alter everyday life. “That you probably had some of these thoughts does not mean you are a bad or a terribly shallow person,” Martin said. “It means that you are human with some self-regarding tendencies, an almost ineradicable characteristic of humans. That it may have bothered you to have such thoughts is also human. Take comfort in the fact that many people also acted altruistically, even heroically, and that you would have too had you been there.”

Student Association president Gavin Parks said that on the day of the attack he and co-president Jamie Lisagor visited college commons, where students were gathered around watching the television in disbelief. “I also saw students, associates, RAs, and masters coming together and comforting each other in this time that needs much reflection and thought,” Parks said. “This is a part of the healing process. This is part of the magic of Rice. This is part of why we are a community.”

Lisagor called on Rice to “create another series of images, just as powerful and just as memorable as those seen on television: images of a community that refuses to turn against itself, but rather looks deep inside and strengthens its resolve to work together for a better tomorrow.”

As an international student, Graduate Student Association president Miles Scotcher said that he believes non-Americans are equally shocked by the attack. “The fear and pain caused by the attack has hurt a multitude of nations, and this is reflected in the graduate community at Rice, both in the American citizens and also in the 500-some international students from over 50 countries who study here.”

All of the speakers urged Americans not to retaliate against Arabs or Muslims living in America. Gillis reminded those in the audience that “while there are evil people, there are no evil peoples.”

Remarks made at the campuswide observance, including Martin’s reflections on the tragedy, can be found at http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~opa/crisis/observance.html.

—Dana Benson