Administration urges students to meet, talk

In the wake of the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center buildings in New York City and part of the Pentagon in Washington, IU President Myles Brand decided not to cancel classes, but urged students and faculty to use academic meetings as a way to find comfort and stability in a time of crisis.\n"We urge students to engage in conversation to try and understand what is going on and what this means to our lives," Brand said. "This is a defining moment for our country. It's a learning experience and an emotional experience."\nBrand made the decision not to cancel classes Tuesday morning after a meeting that included Chancellor Sharon Brehm and Dean of Students Richard McKaig. Brand said he was not aware of decisions concerning classes at other Big Ten universities. Although faculty were encouraged to talk to students about the issue, Brand acknowledged that some professors might not feel comfortable in discussing the situation with students.\n"We're going to leave it up to individual faculty members," Brand said. "Some may feel better equipped than others to deal with it."\nWhile Brand said he felt professors choosing to teach class material as usual might provide needed stability to students, Catherine Feldman, a sophomore, said if classes were not going to be canceled it was important for professors to talk to classes about the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.\n"Nothing is more educational than learning about this and watching history happen," Feldman said. "My first class today is chemistry, and the professor didn't say a word. There were probably 400 people in that lecture hall and probably not one was thinking about what the professor was saying."\nAssociate Professor of History David Pace used class time to provide a discussion forum for his students.\n"(The students) were as perplexed as I was," he said. "There's a lot of helplessness, I think." \nBrand spoke to representatives from all eight IU campuses and urged all to set up formal and informal forums for students to discuss their feelings. Brehm said she and IU Student Association President Jake Oakman, a senior, would walk around campus Monday evening to talk to students.\nAnother concern for University officials was the safety of both individual students and student groups who could be targets for violence or disruptions in the wake of the attacks on the East Coast.\nJames Kennedy, chief of the IU Police Department, said the Department was providing additional security to some groups, while also calling in additional officers and extending shifts in order to be a greater presence on campus. Kennedy said IUPD was also coordinating efforts with the Bloomington Police Department. Brand said Patrick O'Meara, dean of international programs, had personally gone to all the international student centers to talk to student groups about safety and security concerns. The University scheduled six forums on and off campus for student discussion and made free long distance calling to areas affected by the attacks available to students until midnight Tuesday.\nThe IU Health Center will be open to provide counseling to students who request it and Brand said students who cannot attend class this week in the wake of the crisis should contact the Dean of Students Office. The University also made phone lines available free until midnight Wednesday for students trying to call friends and relatives on the East Coast. \nBrehm said it was important that students know faculty and administration are there to help.\n"What's important is that students feel we are a community," Brehm said. "This is a frightening moment for everyone."\nStaff reporters Holly Johnson and Stacey Palevsky contributed to this story.