As cameras whirred and press trucks lined the Green for a second day in Hanover yesterday, some gathered together away from the eyes of the media to grieve the loss of Half and Suzanne Zantop.
A gathering at President James Wright's house yesterday afternoon drew the attendance of around 50 members of the faculty and a few students who had worked closely with the couple.
The event, guarded closely by Safety & Security officers, was closed to the press. Permission was given to The Dartmouth to send a reporter into the Wrights' home.
Wright greeted those who entered his doors with an embrace, though many of the Zantops' colleagues and friends seemed so shocked by the violent loss of the couple that they could barely summon the strength to thank him for opening his house to them and only nodded their heads at him silently in gratitude.
The atmosphere of the gathering was hushed and muted, attendees rarely speaking above a whisper. Fellow professors of the Zantops, along with graduate students and undergraduates who had grown to know them well, huddled together in tight circles, holding each other.
Some shook with sobs, others wept silently and one woman stared out a window alone, her glass of Perrier water forgotten in her hand.
One student noted she had not known the Zantops, but wanted to attend the event in order to show support for her professors and friends who had been acquainted with the pair.
Students expressed their concern over the lack of information disseminated by campus officials as news of the double homicide reached the ears of nearly every member of the Dartmouth community.
"It feels like they don't have very much information," said Amanda Behm, '03. "I think they're doing all they can, but I want to know -- is it over? Are we still in danger?"
Some noted that the lack of information served as a deterrent to campus-wide panic.
"If their intent is to keep people calm, they're definitely achieving that objective," noted Maureen Ellinwood '03.
"If they had S&S officers stationed every 50 feet, or something dramatic like that, then people's concerns would be heightened to an unnecessary level," Ellinwood continued.
The distance -- however short in length -- of the crime scene in Etna from the center of campus in Hanover allayed the fears of many students.
"Because it didn't happen on campus, I still view this place as pure and untouched," said Andrew Trief '02.
"From day one here, you're not really taught to worry about things," Trief continued, noting this mindset is difficult to shake, even in a time filled with a violent tragedy such as this week has been.
Student speculation about the perpetrator or perpetrators ran rampant yesterday, with many students conjecturing that the murderer might have been a fellow classmate.
Around noon in the Collis Center, groups of students laughed wryly over the pressures placed on students at the College and took turns predicting when television news programs would air segments addressing the stresses placed on the average Ivy League student, should their hypotheses prove correct.
"They'll be saying 'Look what happens with that kind of pressure,'" one student predicted.
All were quick to acknowledge that the dearth of information offered to the community by College officials allowed no credence to their guesses as to who might have slain the two professors.
The tragedy, noted Behm, is "the weirdest thing.
"It makes you want to stop and think, to stop what you're doing for a few days and to reflect on what it is you're doing and to think about why you're doing it," she added.
Concerns about safety varied among students.
"I try not to go anywhere alone," said Behm.
"You're walking down the street at 2 a.m., going home from doing work and you definitely look over your shoulder and it's just sort of eerie," acknowledged Allan Klinge '02.
"My mom was freaked out," noted Behm, adding that her mother had sent her an e-mail querying, "What is going on? I thought you were safe in this town."
A student of Half Zantop's last year, Klinge expressed his disbelief that the earth sciences professor in particular would be the victim of such a brutal crime.
"He's about the most level-headed guy you could meet. I can't imagine anyone wanting to do him any harm, it just seems totally ridiculous," Klinge told The Dartmouth.
Across the board, students contacted by The Dartmouth noted that the crime was hard to address both emotionally and logically because of the alien nature of such an event to their concept of Hanover as a sleepy and peaceful town.
"We're just not used to this," said Payman Zamani '01.
