Campus Finds Strength in Unity

One year ago, students, faculty and staff gathered around televisions, at candlelight vigils and in places of worship to mourn the loss of friends, family members and faceless Americans.

And one year later, students and administrators said the aftershocks of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks can still be felt as the campus climate continues to become more open-minded and inquisitive.

Dean Bresciani, interim vice chancellor for student affairs, said he has seen a marked change in the atmosphere on campus since Sept. 11.

Bresciani said there is a natural tendency on college campuses for students to bond with like-minded people. But now, students are reaching across boundaries to learn about others.

The interactions are not only taking place in the classrooms -- students also are gathering spontaneously and discussing important issues, he said.

Hildy Fong, co-president of the Campus Y, said there always has been a cultural separation on campus. Students self-segregate not because they are racist but because it is comfortable, she said.

But since the attacks, that gap seems to be closing. There is still some separation, but students are striving to be more aware of their differences and their similarities. Students are more tolerant and more interested in learning about each other, she said.

Bresciani said some students' hunger for information translated into demand for certain classes. Few are changing their majors, but many students are taking electives about international relations and foreign languages.

Bresciani said this is a sign of the increased awareness among the general population.

"People are learning that we have a lot to learn," he said. "That's what a University is supposed to be about -- discussing things, learning about things."

Fong said students looking for information and support after the tragedy poured into the Campus Y, reaching out by volunteering their time.

Although fewer students are reaching out to help others now, many students are still reaching out to learn about others, she said.

Provost Robert Shelton said he has seen a significant increase in awareness and a desire to understand other cultures. "There are more dis-

cussion groups and spontaneous gatherings of students to talk about America's place in the world," he said.

Shelton said Americans typically look inward and forget to consider other cultures because so much news is focused on the United States. But since Sept. 11, many students have realized that they need to reach out as well. "We have to balance the national tendency to look at America for 98 percent of the time with the fact that the world is shrinking."

Junior Stef Gordon, a psychology major, said that students do not live in fear but that there is an increased sense of unease about travel and security that was not there a year ago.

Life for students is different now because the possibility of another terrorist attack is a reality, she said.

Students also see the need to study other religions and cultures. "People are more open to other religions because they want to find out what is going on because it effects us," Gordon said.

Sophomore Kate Frankey, a pharmacy major, had only been on campus for three weeks before the terrorist attacks.

But Frankey said she can see a difference in students' perspectives since then.

Frankey said that before the attacks she did not watch the news often but that now she is much more interested in what is going on in the world. "I'm much more aware personally," she said. "I'm not as ignorant as I was before."

Class discussion often turns to Sept. 11, and classmates and teachers seem more tolerant. "No one wants to discriminate against the victims, but at the same time no one wants to discriminate against other religions," she said. "It's a new attitude, not just a new subject."

By Meredith Nicholson, Assistant University Editor