It is likely that we are all feeling a collective relief to call Hanover, N.H. our current home. There is a wide enough geographic and emotional distance from the daily impact of the war to allow the Dartmouth environment to feel quite safe and padded. It is this emotional distance, however, that is often the hardest to negotiate. Many of us have already lost loved ones, or have family and friends in parts of the world that are in the midst of serious security threats. And for those of us who do not consider ourselves "directly" connected, we are still undeniably involved -- we read the news each day, we awake to radio-alarms telling of the wartime conditions that the world is steadily slipping into. We are all experiencing fear, confusion and, consequently, the emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs that are part and parcel of such trauma.
It has been the opinion of a number of students that the campus response to the emotional needs of community members at this time could be improved upon in some very specific areas. While the faculty panels and forums addressing the current conflict have been informative, educational and well-organized, many students are beginning to feel overwhelmed by growing uncertainty and sadness which they have no outlet for. The campus' fear of fostering a climate of mourning has prevented the creation of even a simple memorial where students can reflect or grieve. Students who attempted to erect a photo memorial shortly after the bombing found their creation constantly displaced, eventually finding a more permanent home for it in Rollins Chapel, quite far from our daily maneuverings around the campus sprawl. Fund-raising activities and acts of solidarity, while powerful, oftentimes do not allow for the coalescing of analysis, mourning, reflection and questioning that should be occurring.
For many, religious refuge undoubtedly will play a strong role in this time of spiritual questioning. Anger and protesting is another form of memorializing the dead and drawing attention to the tragedy unfolding in our lives. For others, denial and distraction will be a more viable form of coping. There is no point in levying the charge of "apathetic" against any member of any community at this time; regardless of the strength of our emotional or intellectual response, this war will touch us all. It already has.
The one thing that we can agree on is that admitting confusion and the need to begin accepting our new (and often uncertain) roles as war supporters, war protesters, or victims, is a powerful first step that we can all be taking together, regardless of specific political viewpoints.
It is for this reason that so many students are aching for a space to connect with others during this crisis, outside of a lecture hall. All of these reasons were prime motivations in The Minus Green's attempt to create a space for reflection on the events of the past month, in a way that allows for shared mourning, sadness, and the expression of that grief. The memorial that now sits on the Green was built to address this vital need for alternative modes of dialogue surrounding the events of Sept. 11, in a way that creates a spiritually inclusive space for collective grieving outside institutional settings. It is an unfinished project that everyone can help us continue, by posting notes, thoughts or messages on one side of the board, while memorializing the gravity of all of the lives lost on the other. The names which were written one-by-one include only two-thirds of those killed in the World Trade Center bombings; that does not include the fatalities from the Pentagon, or the downed flights.
As an extension of the thought process that led to the memorial on the Green, The Minus Green will be facilitating a community hour today at 12 p.m. in Collis Commonground. We invite all students, faculty, administrators, and community members to join us in our discussion of the various ways in which our daily lives are affected by the reverberations of these events in our memory. We have deliberately left the focus of the discussion open so that those who attend will feel encouraged to use the time and space as they wish.
