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College Responses to the WTC Attack

© ML Arthur

On Monday evening, September 10th, I wrote a to-do list for the rest of the week. On it, I place the writing of my suite101.com article, which I planned to have address special programs for returning college students. You can look for that article to be written in the future, but now I just wanted to address the World Trade Center tragedy. As a New York resident, I was only 3 miles from the site of the disaster, but I am not going to discuss my personal experiences. Instead, I will focus on something more relevant to my column - college communities' responses to the tragedy. My words will be brief, but I thought readers might be interested.

I will profile three schools that I have personal knowledge about. I invite readers who have personal knowledge of other school's responses to contribute this information. Either submit it to the discussion linked to this article or email it to me at wtcedprofiles@maritov.cjb.net. If you email it to me, I will add it to this article.

Mount Holyoke College
The administration at this idyllic college for women in Western Massachusetts cancelled classes early on September 11. Students all took part in small group discussions in their dorms with professional facilitations. Jewish and Muslim students have been working to create a way to express solidarity and help prevent unjust attacks on people of Arab descent. A teach-in with faculty from Middle Eastern studies, peace and conflict studies, and politics is planned, as well as a brown bag lunch sponsored by the international relations department. The college also held a vigil and a special bell tolling ceremony.

Amherst College
Professors at this small college in Western Massachusetts called off classes for two days. The year's showcase lecture by Barbara Einreich was also called off. Two special memorial services were held, and many student organizations held discussion and support meetings for their members. Athletics were suspended for a period. A candlelight vigil and special noontime service were held on the Friday following the attack. Finally, exactly on week after the attack, a moment of silence and bell tolling was held at the war memorial on campus.

New York University
The main campus of the United States' largest private university is located below 14th street in New York City. Because of this, access the campus by non-residents was prohibited for three days. During this time, classes were suspended. 7 university dorms were evacuated due to their location. Students have been able to return to 2 of them, but the rest remain off limits. Students housed in these dorms have been temporarily sheltered in open housing at other dorms or in two uptown hotels, as well as given free linens, textbooks, and rental computers. NYU facilities were used as a gathering place for area residents and food, hot drinks, and telephone banks were made available. One of the most impress actions taken at NYU involved a 19-year-old student who instigated a project allowing New York residents to record their thoughts on paper at Union Square. He hope to have these papers preserved, archived, and displayed. Also, a series of lectures and teach-ins is ongoing at the University, addressing such issues as the roots of terrorism, Middle Easter and Islamic culture, and anti-discrimination efforts. The graduate school has also worked to support its teaching assistants by helping them raise the issue of the attacks in a relevant way within their classes.

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