Volume 141, Issue 1

Page 3

The Amherst Student, September , ď™…ď™ƒď™„ď™„

Page 

College Remembers, Reflects on Lessons of 9/11 Continued from page 1 but also use their grief for good. ´7RGD\ ZH UHPHPEHU QRW RQO\ WKRVH ZKR GLHG EXW WKRVH who miss them,â€? he said, hoping that those gathered before him would take away the following message. “Who is important in your life, and do you let them know? What will you do with your life to make the world better, and how will you do it?â€? 7KH FHUHPRQ\ FRQFOXGHG ZLWK PHPEHUV RI WKH &KRUDO 6RFLHW\ VLQJLQJ ´<RX DUH WKH 1HZ 'D\ Âľ D VRQJ WKDW 0DOORULH Chernin, the director of the choral music program, hoped would SURYLGH ´UHOLHI UHĂ HFWLRQ >DQG@ ORYHÂľ LQ WKLV WLPH RI JULHI 6KH

“Even if you don’t support the war, you have to support the troops because a lot of them don’t have the option to not be there. And people don’t realize that they’re actual humans, and their lives will be changed forever.â€? — Angie Epifano ’14 HVSHFLDOO\ UHPHPEHUHG 7DP ZKR KDG EHHQ D GHGLFDWHG PHPEHU of Choral Society. “She loved to sing, so much so that her mother called her ÂśKHU OLWWOH VRQJELUG ¡¾ &KHUQLQ VDLG ´7KLV RQFH EHDXWLIXO OLYHO\ intelligent and talented creature was reduced to a fragment — all that was recovered was a jawbone. I think of her so often. We have a plaque devoted to her memory in room three of the music EXLOGLQJ DQG , NHHS D SLFWXUH RI KHU QHDU P\ RIĂ€ FH Âľ For those who did not make the early morning ceremony, WKHUH ZDV D VLOHQW SURFHVVLRQ RQ WKH $PKHUVW 7RZQ &RPPRQ DW 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, as well as an interfaith service at *UDFH (SLVFRSDO &KXUFK All members of the campus community were invited to share their thoughts and memories throughout the week on large SRVWHU VKHHWV VHW XS LQ WKH DWULXP RI .HHIH &DPSXV &HQWHU 7KH messages ranged from simple notes of love to memories of fear and confusion from young children who simply had not understood.

2WKHUV UHPHPEHU PXFK PRUH YLYLGO\ 7LP &ODUN ¡ ZKR lived outside Washington, D.C. in Virginia, recalled his fear and concern at having multiple family members in the city. His EURWKHU ZHQW WR VFKRRO QHDU WKH 1DWLRQDO &DWKHGUDO KLV IDWKHU ZRUNHG Ă€ YH EORFNV IURP WKH :KLWH +RXVH DQG KLV FRXVLQ ZDV LQ 1HZ <RUN +H H[SUHVVHG KLV JUDWLWXGH IRU WKH PHPRULDO VHUYLFH which he felt allowed people to mourn in their own way. “It was simple, it was to the point,â€? Clark said. “I rememEHUHG >D IULHQG@ PHQWLRQLQJ WKDW LW ZDV WKH TXLHWHVW VKH KDG HYHU heard the campus. I mean, what do you say? When we were ZDLWLQJ IRU WKH PRPHQW RI VLOHQFH WR KDSSHQ , PHQWDOO\ SOD\>HG@ LQ P\ PLQG ZKDW ZDV KDSSHQLQJ LQ 1HZ <RUN WKDW GD\ WKH planes coming in, and the bells rung, and this was the moment the world changed, and we entered a whole new way of doing things.â€? For Robert Doran, Samuel Williston Professor of Greek and Hebrew, who was in rehab at the time after a car accident, the horror of the attacks gave him a new outlook on his own situation. “I was training myself to slide out of bed into a wheelchair so I could at least leave the room,â€? he recalled. “I did not have 79 VR LW FDPH DV D FRPSOHWH VKRFN WR PH ZKHQ P\ ZLIH WROG me the news. Suddenly my pain was put into perspective, as I thought of the terror those people in the towers must have felt.â€? $QJLH (SLIDQR ¡ ZKR OLYHG LQ 7H[DV DW WKH WLPH RI WKH attacks, was not directly affected by Sept. 11 itself, but by its consequences. Her father, a long-time military man, was sent WR ,UDT IRU WKH Ă€ UVW \HDU RI WKH ZDU DQG UHWXUQHG D FKDQJHG PDQ “Once he came back he was very different, which changed our family dynamic,â€? she said. “He became disillusioned with the military and very fed up with the war, with Bush at the time and just how the military was run. He said it was really hard to have to send these young guys out knowing that they were going to get blown up. Having it on his conscience, that he sent out these orders that have ruined people’s lives or have drastically changed their lives, he just couldn’t deal with that anymore.â€? An outpouring of wishes for peace and for distance from the bitter partisan politics the country is currently mired in came out RI WKLV WK DQQLYHUVDU\ (SLIDQR IRU RQH KRSHG SHRSOH ZRXOG remember those who are still giving their lives for their country. “People get very disconnected with the war, and they don’t UHDOO\ XQGHUVWDQG ZKDW VDFULĂ€ FH DQG VWUXJJOHV WKH WURRSV KDYH WR JR WKURXJK Âľ VKH VDLG ´(YHQ LI \RX GRQ¡W VXSSRUW WKH ZDU you have to support the troops because a lot of them don’t have the option to not be there. And people don’t realize that they’re DFWXDO KXPDQV DQG WKHLU OLYHV ZLOO EH FKDQJHG IRUHYHU (YHQ LI

Photo by Sarah Ashman ’14

Members of the community gathered for a silent procession on the Amherst town commons. they’re not injured or killed, they will be different.â€? ,ODQD 9HQWXUD ¡ ZKR ZDV DW KHU -HZLVK VFKRRO LQ 1HZ York at the time of the attacks, called for cooperation and understanding between people of various backgrounds, and especially a de-escalation in Islamophobia. “In the past 10 years what’s really scared me is the extent of the Islamophobia that has grown in this country and in other Western nations,â€? she said. “If nothing else, I think from 9/11 I’ve learned that we need to put forth way more effort in creating bonds between people who are ‘different,’ because we’re not actually all that different after all. If you bring kids together from Jewish communities, Muslim communities, Christian communities, whatever communities you’re in, you’re going to be able to breed understanding and friendship and not hate and fear, which I think caused and was the result of 9/11.â€? Clark echoed Ventura’s sentiments and hoped that the nation could learn from the day of mourning and move forward to a better future. ´7KH RQH WKLQJ WKDW UHDOO\ VWLFNV RXW IURP WKDW GD\ ZDV WKDW there was a sense of unity in the country afterwards,â€? he said. ´7RGD\ HYHU\WKLQJ LV LQ JULGORFN (YHU\ERG\ VHHPV UHDG\ WR NLOO HDFK RWKHU :H ZHUH VR XQLWHG LQ WKDW VHQVH ÂŤ >EXW@ ZH¡YH ORVW WKDW , WKLQN LI ZH FDQ UHFRYHU WKDW Ă€ QG VRPH ZD\ WR UHWDLQ LW LW would go a long way to helping us.â€?

Students Offered Alternative Social Scene Meghna Sridhar ’14 News Section Editor

Students gathered near the Merrill Science Building on the night of Sept. 8 for a SOHDVDQW EUHDN IURP DGG GURS K\VWHULD 7KRVH who headed to the freshman quad were in for a sweet surprise as they discovered parked in front of Stirn Auditorium an ice cream truck

handing out free Ben & Jerry’s Peace Pops, Dove bars, Hoodsie Cups, Häagen Dazs bars and other assorted frozen goodies. Continuing onward, students found their way to O’Connor Commons, located in the Charles Pratt Basement, where a mini golf course had been laid out for friendly competition. 7KLV XQLTXH HYHQLQJ RUJDQL]HG E\ 6RFLDO Council and sponsored by Social Council and

Student Activities, was a part of a pilot program entitled “Amherst After Dark.â€? Students responded positively to the inaugural event WKLV SDVW 7KXUVGD\ ZKLFK ZDV ZHOO DWWHQGHG “It’s a really great way to bring people together and relax after a hectic week of FODVVHV Âľ VDLG %ULDQD +DQQ\ ¡ ´,W¡V YHU\ good of the College to organize something like this for us.â€? “It really brought out the child in me,â€?

Photo by Brianda Reyes ’14

Students enjoyed an alternative social evening featuring ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s and a nine-hole mini golf course.

added Bianca Routt ’14. “It’s great to connect with that side of you at college sometimes, in a social and fun manner. Plus, free ice cream is something every college student appreciates!� “I’m enjoying the mini golf a lot, we don’t do a lot of things like this on campus often,� said Maia Cole ’14. Amherst After Dark aims to offer opportunities to registered student organizations to host other such events on Saturday nights between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., offering collaborations with Student Activities and limited funding for event proposals. 7KH DLP RI WKLV SURJUDP LV WR SURYLGH FRQ sistent social options to students of the College with interesting and interactive events. Conditions for inclusion of an event in the program require that the event must include interactive or social components, maintain free admissions, use the AC After Dark logo in their publicity and be open to all students. (YHQWV PXVW DOVR SURYLGH IUHH IRRG WR WKRVH in attendance and ensure no alcohol will be served. A list of available dates as well as an application form for inclusion of an event in the program is available in the Amherst website, under Campus Life. 7KH QH[W IHZ HYHQWV SODQQHG XQGHU $P herst After Dark include a Letter Writing Social on Sept. 16 at the Friedmann Room DW .HHIH &DPSXV &HQWHU ZKLFK ZLOO LQFOXGH typewriters, wax seals and quill pens and tea and snacks, organized by Student Activities, and Crafts and Cookies on Sept. 24, also at .HHIH 2Q 6HSW WKH\ ZLOO IHDWXUH 7ULYLDO Pursuit and Pie.

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