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Volume CXXXIII, Number 3 |
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To the Editors:
Congratulations to James Fisher for his very good article
"Terror
bursts Bowdoin bubble" in last week's Orient.
It has been enormously gratifying to learn of the acts of kindness among students, staff, faculty and Brunswick community members over the past week. I write to thank the Orient for recognizing in your editorial the efforts of the many staff in the College who worked quickly and carefully on September 11 to gather information about students' families and alumni; who set up televisions across campus; who provided dining services into the night; who set up chairs and the sound system for the community meeting; and who thought about and did what needed to be done in response to the day's tragic events. Staff members in Alumni Affairs, A/V, Campus Safety, Career Planning, CIS, Communications, Counseling, Dining, Events, Facilities Management, Residential Life, Security, Student Affairs, Student Records, and elsewhere pulled together to support one another and help the Bowdoin community respond meaningfully to the events of the day.
The staff members who come to mind are those not often recognized
publicly for their valuable work. They are proud to be members of the
Bowdoin community, and without them Bowdoin would not be the community
it is.
Sincerely,
Craig W. Bradley
Dean of Student Affairs
To the Editors:
New York City is many things to many people. To most, it's
a place of intrigue; a magical wonderland of opportunity, culture, and
perhaps hedonism. It's a place to visit for a day, a night, or a week
or two. Some go to New York to take in a show, see the Guggenheim or MoMA,
or even pay homage to what remains of the legendary Twilo, then hit up
Fridays at Vinyl or Sundays at the Tunnel. Some might spend a few years
in the city to begin a career in one of the many lucrative industries
that exist there.
But to eight million people, New York City is home. Eight
million men and women from all over the world. Although I lack empirical
evidence, I would claim that in New York City there exists a community
of every single ethnic group across the globe. And aside from, most often
in spite of, the aggressive crime control tactics of the outgoing Mayor,
these eight million people live in a peaceful state of coexistence. One
need only to ride the 3 Train during the morning rush to see how vibrant
and diverse New York City is.
What the as-yet-unidentified terrorists destroyed on Tuesday,
September 11, to say nothing of the thousands of families who lost loved
ones, was not merely a symbol of American economic power (call it imperialism
if you must, but please be responsible in your word choice). The Twin
Towers of the World Trade Center were a point of reference, a beacon,
in a city that represents what America is in the 21st century. Their destruction
cut deep into the soul of every New Yorker, and tore the fabric of contemporary
American culture.
Make no mistake, there are several ignorant people across
the country who cling to the notion that they can and should live only
with people who look like they do. Their beliefs are by no means the reality
of our situation. The United States of America, in the 21st Century, is
made up of people from every corner of the earth. New York City is the
"great melting pot" of America, where eight million people have
found a way to live peacefully with each other and to allow their wide
array of cultures to thrive side by side.
The attack of September 11 was an attack on a city of tolerance.
As we embark on this uncertain war, we must keep in mind what we are fighting
for.
Simon Gerson '02