Yesterday morning, four commercial airplanes were hijacked. Two of the planes were flown into the two main towers of the World Trade Center, which later collapsed. The third plane was flown into part of the Pentagon and the last plane crashed in Somerset, Penn.
Following the news of the morning attacks, the campus was swept with silence, tears, indignation and utter disbelief. In the campus center, Valentine, the Red Room and the library, students, staff and faculty stood stunned before televisions displaying images of utter destruction. Many students used cellular phones to check in with friends and family members.
At 11:49 a.m., Gerety issued a campus-wide email, which was also relayed by voicemail, speaking to the attacks and informing the community of the College's immediate plans to address the tragedy.
"In view of the several terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C. and New York City, I wish to announce that we will convene as a College community this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. in LeFrak Gymnasium," wrote Gerety. "All College activities today should be structured, if possible, to provide solace to those members of our community who may be directly affected, particularly our students."
All athletic practices were canceled. Gerety suggested that members of the staff and faculty should feel free to cancel scheduled campus activities, classes and labs in order to see to personal priorities.
In LeFrak, students, faculty and staff filled all available seating in bleachers and rows of folding chairs and spilled over into seats on the floor and standing space.
"I decided to come down [to the campus-wide meeting] just because I was interested to see what the leaders of the College had to say," said Abbie Andrews '04. "I was interested to see how the leadership would react to the crisis."
John Hill '05 said he decided to attend the meeting because, "I just thought I owed the respect to the U.S. I thought, as a U.S. citizen, I should pay my respects to the people who were affected."
Gerety opened the campus-wide meeting with a moment of silence.
"This is a day that I suspect all of us will remember for the rest of our lives," said Gerety. "There will be many losses ... some that will touch us ... I am sure there will be tens of Amherst graduates in the World Trade Center on the upper floors."
Following Gerety, Dean of Students Ben Lieber announced events that would be taking place throughout the day and beyond to help all members of the College community confront the tragedy, including an "ongoing informal conversation" in Johnson Chapel last night.
Following Lieber's announcement, faculty members addressed the community, offering condolences and predictions about the possible political and social repercussions of the attacks.
"We are going to have to do the best we can to carry on at the College and in the country," said Professor of History and American Studies Gordon Levin.
"These acts of terrorism are forms of suicide bombings and an effective new weapon of the weak," he added.
Levin also warned that Americans ought to be careful not to pin the bombing on the Middle East because there is no "firm evidence" yet. He cited the Oklahoma City bombing as an incident when initial and false blame was laid on the Middle East. Nonetheless, Levin suggested that some evidence points to a Middle Eastern instigation of these attacks.
"We are facing the first postmodern global war," said Professor of Political Science Pavel Machala, whose remarks followed Levin's. "These symbols are not symbols of the United States, they are symbols of post-Cold War structural power," Machala said of the targets of yesterday's terrorist acts.
"My real concern is that the current administration will do the stupid thing ... Punishment at this point is unwise for justice," said Machala. "It would be revenge."
"I do realize that personal tragedy shapes our lives more than political tragedy," he added. Machala also offered his opinion on how America should react to the attacks. "We have to, as members of this international community, see this world as it is-where many are angry ... and the only way we can protect ourselves against the anger of those who have and will attack us ... is to make their anger less strong."
Assistant Professor of Religion Jamal Elias said, "I am still very much in a state of shock ... I felt nauseous when I finally saw the buildings come down on television."
"For one thing, it is dramatically obvious that there is very little we can do to protect ourselves against this," he said. "No just cause can be furthered by terrorism," he continued, quoting a statement made by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.
"I will never really understand what would lead a group of people to do this," said Professor of History and Women's and Gender Studies Margaret Hunt. "Our country will have to come to terms with a sense of vulnerability that it has not felt for years."
Following the remarks of faculty, Student Government Organization President Michelle Oliveros-Larsen '02 informed students of blood drives currently taking place in Springfield and Leeds, Mass. and announced that college vans would be making trips to those locations in the coming days. Oliveros-Larsen also said that there would be an on-campus blood drive on October 2 and 3.
After Oliveros-Larsen's comments, a number of students and other members of the community took the opportunity to address the College from microphones placed in the aisles.
Barbara Ehrenreich, whose freshman seminar lecture slated for 4:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon was canceled, also offered her remarks. "Let us not compound this tragedy with further tragedies," she said. "There is going to be the strong temptation to bomb the bejesus out of somebody, somewhere to punish them."
Ehrenreich expressed concern that, as a result of yesterday's events, the government would act in a way that would encroach on civil liberties. "I am afraid that the attack on freedom is just starting," she added. Ehrenreich also expressed her doubt that the Bush administration could respond judiciously to the recent tragedy.
Some students were bothered by what they viewed as political commentary by the speakers.
"I thought [the program] was pretty responsible," said Eric Osborne '04. "But to have a meeting five hours after the towers fell and to have political statements made is inappropriate. At this time, it is more important to talk about sympathy than foreign policy. Foreign policy can wait a week."
"I think a lot of people shut it off," said Ben Falby '03. "I think that it, maybe, should have just been a long moment of silence or something in that spirit."
Other students appreciated the commentary of the speakers and felt that their words were appropriate in view of the situation.
"Some of what was going on there was to get people to look at not only what happened but why it happened," said Solomon Granor '04.
At the 7:30 p.m. meeting in Johnson Chapel, which Lieber described as "an opportunity for people to think and talk freely about these events," several students, staff and faculty members gathered together in quiet conversation.
"I guess I felt that anything else I would be doing would be valueless right now," Granor said at the gathering in the Chapel.
"I came because I had a sense that this is going to be something very painful for my generation," said Falby. "Something intuitive tells me that I should be here ... At the same time, I am really afraid of dramatizing the issue."
"I was interested by how people are taking this tragedy," said Matt Stevenson '05. "It seems like it is out of Hollywood," he said, referring to the television and photo images of the massive destruction to the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Stevenson also commented on the spirit of campus reaction. "There is a lot of empathy, but there is still a fair amount of apathy," he said, criticizing the students who walked out of the campus-wide meeting while others were speaking.
"I felt that it is a small community, and we need to address this as a community," said Brian Carty '02, explaining why he attended the informal forum last night.
Carty also spoke of the campus reaction. "People weren't too quick to judge but also not too afraid to respond appropriately," he said.
The College's alarm and grief due to yesterday's tragic events was further expressed in a candlelight vigil on the freshman quad. Over 100 students, faculty and staff gathered together in silence, reflection and sympathy.