Those who matter to us

Something bad happened this week.\nBefore Monday night, bicycles mattered. Concerts and parties mattered. Exams mattered. Yet for many, these matters have been postponed. \nThere is a family who has lost their daughter, IU senior Ashley Crouse. That family has become larger after the course of events that occurred late Monday night.\nThere was an accident that took a young woman at the verge of her life's beginning. Some of us knew her. Many of us didn't. However, all of us are her. \nWe have majors and big plans. We have cell phones and bills to pay.\nThe sad difference is we have the rest of our lives ahead of us.\nIt was raining Tuesday afternoon. The pay lot in front of the Indiana Memorial Union was full, students forming a line of cars waiting to park and go to classes. Some rushed over the slick, gray Bloomington hills that morning behind the wheel. Did they feel safe? Did they note their own power? Did they note how swiftly that power can escape them?\nEvery day we feel invincible. We are young. We lay claim to the future. We are loved. However, sometimes bad things happen. Our reason cannot decode them. They happen, and we're left to wonder why. They happen to us, to our friends and family.\nAnd every now and again, we are reminded, they happen here. \nIn classrooms and workplaces, some are crying. Others are thinking about those they love, worrying about the things they should. Some have not read the news and worry about the things they shouldn't. Still, what happened has meaning for us all. \nWe do not live outside of ourselves. Here, we focus on our future, our career path. Everything is done so tomorrow will be better. Yet all the while, we build strong and meaningful present lives. We smile at those we pass on the street, we tell jokes while sharing a meal, we share embraces and dreams while preparing for sleep. All of those gestures fill others around us. And at any moment, our opportunities to give those gifts can be taken away from us.\nThose gifts are what matter today. The price of gas is suddenly not so frustrating. The threat of finals is suddenly less nerve-wracking. The anticipation of the weekend is suddenly less uplifting. What matters today is the person sitting beside us as we go through the motions. \nStudents, faculty and residents of this city all share a common bond with IU. When a piece of the University falls, it touches us all. Bloomington is our city. IU is our neighborhood. Every member is our neighbor.\nAs this semester comes to a close, we can only hope to renew our commitment to each other -- as neighbors. Neighbors who deserve our kindness. Neighbors who deserve our emotional respect.\nNeighbors we cannot take for granted.