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| President Hunter Rawlings speaks to a crowd of some 3,500 people gathered on the Arts Quad to mourn the victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks. Robert Barker/University Photography |
Warning that the days ahead will be continue to be difficult, as the full extent of the terrorist attacks carried out Sept. 11 becomes known, President Hunter Rawlings urged members of the campus community to continue to be sensitive to the needs of those affected by the tragedy and to reach out to others.
"This is a strong and wonderful community," he told some 3,500 Cornellians who gathered on the Arts Quad at dusk to provide mutual support and mourn the loss of life and injuries in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in another related highjacked-plane crash in Pennsylvania.
These events "have shocked and horrified us all," the president said, speaking from the terrace of Olin Library. "Many students, staff and faculty members have suffered tragedy and painful loss, and we offer them our heartfelt sympathy and our support at this time of bereavement. We do not yet know the full extent of this tragedy.
"Cornellians are already assisting the victims of these assaults," he told the somber crowd, many of whom were holding lighted candles. "Physicians at our medical college have been treating patients in New York City since early this morning. Many individuals at the medical college are already donating blood, and many of you here in Ithaca have inquired about doing the same thing. ... Faculty and staff members and student government leaders are offering help to members of our community who need personal support and counseling. On this score let me offer all of you an admonition: many people, after such a series of tragedies, have a delayed response. They believe that they are coping with the situation well, but are in fact traumatized by the sheer magnitude of the events. No matter how you think you are doing, be sure to talk with others about your feelings, express them as openly as possible and seek help and advice. If you have children or young siblings or friends, give them as much reassurance as possible, and stay closely connected to them. Above all, make yourselves available to others, and particularly to young children, listen to them and respond to their fears and anxieties."
Rawlings said he had attended a freshman writing seminar that morning, in which the reading was an address by Cornell historian Carl Becker delivered in 1940 on the 75th anniversary of Cornell's charter. Becker reiterated Cornell's fundamental purpose of "freedom and responsibility."
"In spite of these tragedies today," Rawlings said, "we will continue to keep the university open and we will pursue our work as an academic community. ... It is incumbent upon all of us to make no premature judgments about the perpetrators of these attacks and to recognize, even if the perpetrators are identified, that members of the Cornell community are not responsible for the actions of others. We are a tolerant, fair-minded and humane campus, and we should remain so; otherwise we will betray the tradition established by Ezra Cornell, when he founded this university, and enhanced by Carl Becker. I urge each of you to pursue freedom with your heartfelt sense of responsibility and to set an example for others as you do so."
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| Members of the Cornell community hold lighted candles during the vigil on the Arts Quad Tuesday evening, following the terrorist attacks earlier in the day in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Robert Barker/University Photography |
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| Participants in Tuesday's vigil on the Arts Quad listen to remarks by President Hunter Rawlings and the Rev. Kenneth I. Clarke, director of Cornell United Religious Work. Community support meetings will be held at 2 p.m. in the International Lounge of Willard Straight Hall through Friday. Robert Barker/University Photography |
The full text of Rawlings' remarks is available at ;http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Sept01/HRR.remarks-vigil.html.
Kenneth I. Clarke, director of Cornell United Religious Work, spoke after Rawlings. "We are reminded in this tragic moment of the wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr., who said the human community is woven into an inescapable garment of destiny; that whatever affects any one of us directly, affects the rest of us indirectly. This is not just a tragedy for the city of New York or Washington, D.C.; it is our tragedy, it is a collective tragedy."
Clarke added, "[This] should be a time for us to recognize our interdependence and our vulnerability; an opportunity to rely on spiritual resources in a time of turmoil; our need to reflect and then act to create a far different world than the one in which we live. May we lend support and solace, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a bodily presence to others in this time of need."
The text of Clarke's remarks is available at http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Sept01/Clarke.remarks-vigil.html.
The vigil was not the only chance to grieve. In Willard Straight Hall, three televisions, set on three different networks, broadcast news from the scenes of the tragedies. Students watched the BBC, MSNBC and CNN with hands on their open mouths. A box of tissues sat on a nearby a chair.
A female graduate student sat in tears in a carrel in Sage Hall with her laptop computer on. And another student in Warren Hall was sobbing while she talked on her cell phone.
Cliff Cone '02 learned Tuesday that his father was in 7 World Trade Center during the attack and that he was all right. "This tragedy becomes more realistic when you see it with a large group," said Cone, at the vigil. "The extent of the tragedy is overwhelming. This is Pearl Harbor times 10."
One of the many students planning to donate blood over the next several days, Dan Ramras '02 said he was impressed by how many students attended the vigil. Another student said, "It was nice to mourn somewhere else other than in front of a television."
An anonymous graduate student looked to the perhaps painful future for the United States: "The real question is how do we stay close to our democratic roots, yet fight terrorism. When the only effective way to fight terrorism is to give up part of our ethos, this could really hurt."
Facing a sea of candles on the Arts Quad at the close of the vigil, the Cornell Glee Club and the Chorus performed hymns, including "All My Trials," and concluded with "America the Beautiful," accompanied by members of the community and the timeless call of migrating Canada geese.
Perhaps the song's third stanza, performed by the combined choirs, held the highest meaning for the day: "O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years. Thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears. America! America! God shed his grace on thee. And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea."
After the vigil, hundreds of students stayed around to talk, and many did not leave until long after dark.
Community support meetings will be held at 2 p.m. in the International Lounge of Willard Straight Hall through Friday, Sept. 14. Among other support services on campus, those in need of assistance can call Gannett Counseling and Psychological Services at 255-5155 or Empathy, Assistance and Referral Service (EARS) at 255-3277.
Many people on campus have expressed an interest in providing aid by giving blood in the wake of the recent tragedies in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
A local schedule of Red Cross blood donation drives, updated regularly, can be found at: http://www.tompkins-redcross.org/.
The schedule as of Sept. 11 follows:
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