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As we approach the first anniversary of September 11, 2001, each of us will be reminded anew of that awful day, of all that has followed in its wake, and of the many questions that remain unresolved in our minds and hearts. In anticipation of this moment, I convened a group of community leaders to meet over the summer and develop ideas for a suitable commemoration on our campus. Surely we will have a diversity of responses. Each of us will bring our own sense of how we need to revisit - or not to revisit - this painful memory. With that in mind, we have developed a variety of opportunities for the community to come together in a spirit of mutual support. Participation in any of these events is entirely optional. After dinner on the evening of September 10 (at 8:00), members of the student life division will be hosting conversations in each of the three major dormitory complexes. All members of the college community are welcome to participate. Faculty and staff who are interested in working with members of the student life division to facilitate one of these discussions, or anyone interested in more information about the event, should contact Michelle Lepore, Interim Dean of Students. On the morning of September 11, the carillons will toll at 8:45 a.m. so that members of the community who wish can observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., the time the attack began. At 10:29 a.m, when the second tower collapsed, we will join communities across the country in tolling our bells to recognize and honor all those who died in all the attacks that day in Washington, New York, and Pennsylvania, and on the flights that originated in Boston, Washington, D.C. and New Jersey. During community time, from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m., I invite you to a community gathering on Severance Green for a simple program of commemoration and reflection. Just before that gathering, all members of the faculty and staff are invited to join students for lunch in the residence halls simply to share that time and to walk together to Severance Green. I would appreciate it if faculty and staff who are able to join the students for lunch would call my office, at extension 2243, before 5:00 p.m. on Monday, September 9 so that we can provide food service with an estimate of the numbers they can expect. At 7:30 p.m. we will hold a candlelight vigil on the Chapel lawn to which all are welcome. All community members are welcome to bring poems, prayers or other reflections to share at the vigil. I'm grateful to the informal committee that worked out these plans and to the many students, faculty, and staff who provided insights and suggestions to inform their work. Those discussions led us to the conclusion that we wanted, above all, a gentle and respectful commemoration of this anniversary itself. Many ideas surfaced about substantive conversations we would like to have as the year unfolds and questions we would like to take up as a learning community. I very much encourage those efforts (as I did at convocation) and my office stands ready to help in whatever way we can. To that end, I will make available to any members of the community modest funds to be used in support of events that are designed to foster these conversations and to address the difficult questions that confront us.
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