Tuesday’s terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania left millions around the globe shocked and asking the still-unanswered question: “Why?”
The events unfolded rapidly: Within 20 minutes, two hijacked airplanes hit the towers of the World Trade Center, eventually causing their collapse in the streets of New York City.
The third plane crashed into the ground just outside the Pentagon, sliding into it. The final plane crashed into the ground near Pittsburgh. Officials said that the target may have been Camp David.
At Saint Louis University, students and other members of the community reacted and attempted to deal with their mixed feelings. Memorial services were conducted, class discussions were held and campus-wide e-mails were sent.
As details of the events spread across campus, many planned to attend the Mass for Peace at noon and the evening prayer service at St. Francis Xavier College Church. Others mourned silently.
If not in class, students remained glued to television screens. Every second gave a bit more information, a hint more of what was actually happening in America on Tuesday.
“It’s so scary,” said junior Maureen Kenney, who attended both the noon mass and the evening prayer service. “People flying those planes like they were fighter jets.”
After watching television for a good portion of the day, Kenney echoed the idea of many others that these acts of terrorism on U.S. soil didn’t seem real. “It was seriously like watching Independence Day,” she said.
Students and professors expressed their feelings in class. Brenda Markovitz, political science professor, commented on the economy. “Obviously, at least for a day, the economy is shut down,” she said. “This will take days to really absorb.
“If Bush is smart, he might be able to get support from some Arab nations,” Markovitz continued. “I think that Bush will avoid an immediate reaction, at least a week is needed to figure out who is responsible.”
“A great majority of Arabs do not want to go to war,” said Chad Kreikemeier, junior political science major. “This could push us closer to Israel if we realize these are only a small number of extremists.”
Some question whether more funding for the missile-defense system could have helped make the U.S. immune to such attacks.
“No amount of security is going to make me feel safer,” Kreikemeier commented.
University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., sent out an e-mail on Tuesday to express concern for the situation and invite students to the noon mass and the 8 p.m. prayer service.
“The events [Tuesday] morning in New York City and Washington, D.C., have shaken our nation and our Saint Louis University community,” the e-mail stated. “I feel that now, more than ever, the victims and families of these tragedies and our country need and deserve our thoughts and prayers.”
“I have still not pulled myself together”
St. Francis Xavier College Church scheduled a Mass for Peace at noon in an effort for those praying for the events of terrorism. Students said that, with approximately 1,500 in attendance, the church was fuller than they had ever seen.
At 8 p.m., there was a Campus Ministry scheduled prayer service. The church was, once again, full. During the homily, Michael Doody, S.J., expressed his feelings on the situation.
“I have still not pulled myself together,” he said.
He echoed the sentiments of many other students when he said that “this doesn’t seem like reality.” He, said that it felt like a movie in which he could just leave the theater and everything would be normal again.
“But that’s not going to happen,” Doody continued. “Today’s violence cannot be rewound.”
Doody commented on his feelings of vengeance and anger, the fury he felt for the faceless people who did this. “My first inclination was to get even,” he said. But he said that it was not for vengeance that students and SLU faculty were gathered at College Church on Tuesday night.
Doody advised churchgoers to go beyond justice and seek reconciliation. He said that one’s hope is not in himself, but in God.
“Let us be instruments of peace to heal and soothe,” he said. “It doesn’t get any more real than this.”
“Islam does not condone this in any way”
Representatives from the Muslim Student Association were upset by some initial reactions to Tuesday’s events.
“I’m just a little upset about how some people are blaming Muslims,” said Owaise Mansuri, a co-president of the MSA. “We don’t even know who did it yet.”
Owaise continued, “Even if it was `Muslims’ who did it, Islam does not stand for this type of violence.”
Razi Rashid, a former MSA president, said that the organization is planning an event led by an imam, or religious leader.
“Islam does not condone this in any way,” Rashid said.
“I have family in New York, and I haven’t heard from them yet,” he continued. “We feel this just as much as everyone else.”
Rashid hopes that these acts of terrorism do not escalate further into a spiral of violence. “People who did this are not the people who live here.”
The MSA sent a campus-wide e-mail to let the SLU community know where the organization stands: “Muslims across the nation are grieving along with the rest of America,” the e-mail stated. “It is a time when blame and anger will run high, a time of heightened nervousness and feelings of insecurity.
“Many Muslims have been born and raised in the United States, along with the victims of this tragedy lay the bodies of Muslims buried in the rubble; their families will suffer, pray and cry along with the families of the other victims,” the statement continued. “Their children will be buried in American soil, the land in which they lived and loved, now they are in America forever.”
A resolution for peace and unity
SLU’s Student Government Association has also expressed concerns about the acts of terrorism and any effects they may have on our campus.
At last night’s SGA meeting, the senate passed two resolutions.
The first resolution offered “prayers, compassions and support to the families and loved ones of the victims.” The second resolution called for peace and unity inside the SLU community during this time of tragedy. Both of the resolutions were passed with no dissent and co-sponsored by almost every senator in the room.
On Tuesday, SGA President Michael Cappel and International Student Federation President Darrell Bradley sent a campus-wide e-mail. “It is important that the students of Saint Louis University stand together in mourning the senseless and tragic loss of life,” it read.
“Our community of students is comprised of 11,000 students from more than 96 countries around the world,” the statement continued. “This is not a time to single out certain members of our community, but rather a time to unite and to stand firmly against all forms of ignorance, violence and inhumanity.”
“The easiest thing to do now . is pray”
Campus Ministry is responding in four main ways: encouraging prayer, providing a place for donations, scheduling a blood drive and holding a prayer vigil. The first concern of Campus Ministry is to help students with whatever personal struggles they may be encountering, according to Campus Minister, Harry O’Rourke.
“This is something that so disturbs us at the heart of our being,” O’Rourke said. “As ministers, our first concern is to help students deal prayerfully and in line with what God has called us to do.”
The second action of Campus Ministry is to help collect donations for the Catholic Charities, which will go directly to the survivors of the collapsed buildings and families of victims.
“It’s our natural inclination to want to do something more concrete than pray,” O’Rourke continued.
Campus Ministry, through the American Red Cross, is attempting to schedule a blood drive at SLU in the next few weeks.
O’Rourke stressed that an event of this nature can completely empty the blood banks.
“Even in a month’s time, in two months’ time, the blood supplied will be tapped,” he said.
University students are also interested in forming a benefit of some sort to raise funds for the victims. Campus Ministry will hold a meeting Monday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. for any students interested in helping with the benefit.
The fourth issue is a city-wide prayer vigil to take place tonight, at 5 p.m. on the corner of Market Street and Tucker Boulevard. Students will meet in Campus Ministry at 4 p.m. to go as a group to the service.
“The easiest thing to do now, with as much effect as anything, is pray,” O’Rourke said. “Pray for the victims, our country and even the perpetrators; pray for the conversion of the heart of everyone involved.”
Counseling for students was available in the Busch Memorial Center and in the residence halls on Tuesday. Students are invited to contact the Office of Student Life or Campus Ministry for more information or the Counseling Center at 977-2323 to speak with a counselor.
