September 11 - Swarthmore College Bulletin

September 11 dawned clear and crisp in Swarthmore, as it did all along the East Coast. It was one of the most beautiful days of the year--a day to throw open the windows and feel the rising energy of the new semester. By noon, everything had changed but the weather.

Like the rest of the nation, Swarthmore huddled around radios and TVs--incredulous, angry, afraid, and overwhelmed. Classes were suspended, many staff members went home to their families, and students gathered in small groups to talk, listen, watch, and pray. The everyday work of the College seemed irrelevant, as did this issue of the Bulletin, which was just a few days from going to press. We delayed it a few days longer to bring you news of the campus reaction (see “Stunned Campus”).

Amid the shock, fear, sadness, anger, and expressions of mutual support at Swarthmore, there were lots of questions--not the least of which was, “Why?” Why did this happen? Why did these people hate the United States so much that they could commit unprecedented acts of violence, knowing that they too would die? In the aftermath of September 11, we clamor to know who did this, how they did it, when and where our country will respond, and what we can do to prevent further attacks. But the most important question--especially at a place like this--remains, “Why?”

Every day, in classrooms, labs, and studios, Swarthmore students are encouraged to go beyond the conventional wisdom, to reject the simple answer. They stretch their minds and hearts to seek fresh ideas, to provide new answers to old questions. It’s how they learn and how knowledge and understanding are advanced--by asking, again and again, “Why?”

A college is the place to ask these difficult questions. An angry nation seeks justice, and students ask, “What is justice? Is it more than vengeance? How do we achieve it--and for whom?” A frightened world wants peace, and they wonder, “What is peace? Is it more than the opposite of war? How do we achieve it--and for whom?”

As we search for answers, we test our values and reorder our priorities, both as individuals and institutions. As has happened all over America, our sense of community has strengthened and the purpose of the College--to make our students more valuable human beings and more useful members of society--made clearer. As the world asks why, more than ever it needs places like Swarthmore.

--Jeffrey Lott