6 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 12, 2001
OP/ED
4
a g aiIg
420 MAYNARD STREET
ANN ARBOR, MI 48109
daily. letters@umich.edu
c (
We have lived a very safe and coddled
___ _
EDITED AND MANAGED BY
STUDENTS AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
SINCE 1890
GEOFFREY GAGNON
Editor in Chief
MICHAEL GRASS
NICHOLAS WOOMER
Editorial Page Editors
life in this country. And now we are.like
the rest of the world."
The Washington Post's Marc Fisher
4
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's
editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not
necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
FROM THE
UNIVERSITY
The University of Michigan
prides itself on its longstanding
history of acceptance and
tolerance of all cultures. These
assets are the cornerstone of our
education, and are integral in
good times, and an utmost
necessity in times of stress and
trying.
Yesterday morning's events have
thrown us into a catastrophe on a
magnitude never experienced
before. The day has . been
tumultuous; we don't know what to
believe; we don't know what to
think.
This crisis is an opportunity
for us to practice what we
preach; it is an opportunity for us
to come together, recognize and
pay proper respect to the tragedy,
and unite behind one another.
We are all in the same boat -
confused.
Things are difficult right now,
and they will be for some time to
come while we try to interpret
what has happened. Let's take
this opportunity to unite behind
our common values of diversity,
tolerance and acceptance.
Terrorism only succeeds when it
forces its victims to change their
practices, and we refuse to let
terrorism succeed.
As noted by President Bollinger,
if you have any questions regarding
counseling, help lines, or anything
else, www.umich.edu will have
continual updates as they occur.
Sincerely,
~
. - -
y
_vw
Affiva.
When evil scales
*
all bariers
Il" RT DIA TTY
A
7r.
L 'IA i
.N. r
I.
/t
YJ
l
it -
mornrw
qwl
_ 1 A)V
Y
W, ,, /Pq
/EN#A~f /
I
MLAN 15H A
ny fierce
commit-
. ent to an
ideology brings an
unfortunately easy
tendency to lose
sight of the impact
of one's ideas.
There stands a barrier between imagi-
nation and reality - a barrier that is
usually seen as an impediment to our
advancement. We dream of curing
cancer, but the reality is farther off.
We picture an equal society, but have
no success in attaining it. We can mar-
vel at the stars, but have no certainty
of understanding them.
But there are times when the barri-
er between imagination and reality
seems all too thin, all too weak.
Yesterday morning, the collective
imagination of a group of terrorists
crossed the barrier and created a reali-
ty that destroyed more than an impedi-
ment between the mind and the world.
It's almost unfathomable to think that
this could have been anything more
than a natural disaster. It's the sort of
thing that shakes to the core the
romantic idea of the inherent goodness
of mankind. This has to be a series of
unfortunate events - it's impossible
that anyone could have dreamed of
this, planned this and implemented
this.
The news tells me otherwise. Sud-
denly it becomes impossible for me to
believe that all people are good or that
all people understand the inherent
linkage between each other. Soon after
the twin towers of the World Trade
Center crumbled, we saw horror,
shock, mourning. But we also saw
some less than noble human respons-
es.
AIJI NOTHING CATCHY
world of non-believers. We saw Pales-
ti mans dancing in the streets, passing
out candy to celebrate the suffering of
an enemy. We saw genuine glee at the
deaths of people who as yet do not
have faces.
Though such a tragedy cannot be
recalled in the collective memory of
this nation - an attack of this magni-
tude is unheard of on American soil -
we have had our fair share of man-I
made trauma. Whenever these stories
break, there are soothing voices on the
radio and calming faces on the televi-
sion explaining to us that this is our
moment. This is our time to come
together as Americans, our time to
shine, our time to prove our grit and
our soul.
I wish that this were the sort of
thing that could be uniting, but my
pessimism wins out. Already, Arab-
Americans on campus are being
attacked. Already, we hear national
reports of faux-bomb threats placed by
people willing to take advantage of
this situation. Already, Henry
Kissinger is suggesting an all-out
attack on any group or any nation that
seems even remotely suspicious.
Already, the places of grief are filling
instead with anger and hatred.
In and of itself, the terrorist attack
was enough to shake my self-indul-
gent romanticism regarding the
goodness of mankind. But the
response makes me question a funda-
mental ideal that I've held for as long
as I can remember. People who act
with evil intent may not simply be
misguided or blinded - they may in
fact be evil.
And still, the barrier remains.
Between the minds of evil and the
reality of the world is a barrier of
JOINT STUDENT STATEMENT
n light of yesterday's
tragedy, we stand united in
condemnation of these
heinous attacks. Together, we
must grieve and ultimately
overcome. This crime forces us
to contemplate every held
belief about ourselves, our
community, our nation, and
our world.r
This attack could make our
world appear dark and dismal,
or could be an opportunity for
cohesion and growth. It is vital
home, as a result of this
diversity, but also tolerance.
This tolerance has never been
more crucial than now. The
microcosm that we call our
home can serve as an
international example of
diversity, tolerance, and peace.
It is in our hands.
In solidarity,
RACHEL TRONSTEIN
President
LSA Student Government
This statement was co-signed
by the following student groups.
CAMPUS RELIGION NETWORK
PROJECT SERVE
MICHIGAN STUDENT ASSEMBLY
STUDENT ORGANIZING FOR LABOR
AND ECONOMIC EQUALITY
ALPHA IOTA OMICRON
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
TZEDEK: A JEWISH SOCIAL JUSTICE
N:.
E. Royster Harper
Vice President for Student Affairs