Three days after Tuesday, a question arises. When will students and staff here wander out of the figurative cloud of smoke and dust that has enveloped the campus? When will normal life begin again?

The answer seems to be that at Washington University, normal life never ended. The fundamental character of this community was not shaken by this week’s events; it was highlighted and strengthened.

Emotion tore through most of us on Tuesday, and much still remains. But the university confronted horror in a characteristic way-with unity, activism and the deep, tolerant and open discourse of the academy.

Within hours of hearing the news, the entire campus banded together with concerted efforts to aid both victims on the east coast and those suffering here. As usual, our concern and activism were focused both within and without the community. But even in reaching beyond the campus, we worked together.

We confronted the situation with the minds of learners. Instead of offering oaths, we offered blood. Rather than tending to revenge, we tended to one another. While others placed blame, we prayed.

WU administrators held a press conference before noon on Tuesday, and offered a unique contribution to the unfolding situation: expert commentary on politics, civil engineering and pyschiatry. A gracefully arranged community gathering Tuesday night provided a place for administrators, faculty, students and a collection of religious leaders to share grief and provide support and understanding. The speakers at the gathering stepped back from the day’s horrors and urged open-mindedness, civil discourse, and the need to make WU a family for everyone working here, while they were separated from their biological families.

In a familial spirit, counselors were made available to students all over campus. The Office of Student Activities compiled a resource guide to on campus counseling services as well as a list of campus ministers available to students who needed to share their thoughts. Lopata 204 became an emergency counseling location. And the university closed the phone directory online to protect Muslim students from threats.

Faculty attended judiciously to the needs of their students, while employing their skills as intellectuals. As classes were cancelled to reflect the priority of unity over superficial resilience, professors did not cease to make themselves available, and later in the week they were open to integrating the concerns of the moment into class discussions.

Quite possibly the most visible example of student activism amidst disaster has been the recent decision by the Team 31 leadership to turn WILD into a benefit concert for the victims of the disaster. Students and administration alike should rally around Team 31′s effort and support the altered focus of the day.

Moreover, religious organizations have been a driving force in providing solace and bringing the community together, whether at the Tuesday night gathering or Tuesday services at Hillel and the Catholic Student Center.

These efforts reflect an open and welcoming community that is unafraid to acknowledge its vulnerability and sustain itself by that very recognition. They are a tribute to the unique strength and perspective of academic communities. WU has put its resources to use in a time of crisis, and in so doing it has preserved its character and continued to pursue its mission without interruption.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 10th, 2002 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.