Thursday, September 13, 2001

Your Views
Letters to the editor

TCU’s mission is ready for action after tragedy

I am, like everyone else, horrified by the events of Tuesday. It is unspeakable, unthinkable, unimaginable.

My son works on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, and I am relieved to say he made it home to his family safely. But it was not so for many like myself, who feared for the safety of someone held dear. For all of them, we grieve.

TCU has a mission calling for ethical leaders in a global community. I hope that the entire TCU student body thinks about cross-cultural understanding at this particular and compelling moment in U.S. history.

Nations do not blow up buildings. Races do not blow up buildings. Religions do not blow up buildings. Fanatics blow up buildings. And they stand in contrast to people all over the world who go to work and love their families and delight in the rising sun on a new day.

We must look at all humanity on this spinning globe as neighbors and encourage tolerance. Fanaticism will be fought with knowledge, not missiles.

On campus, we must embrace our international student population as a resource for understanding. I hope we will include them in our journey from pain to healing. They are surely harboring fears of their own as they observe our horror.

This is the moment for TCU to put into action its value of inclusiveness and understanding, and show sensitivity to all TCU students whatever their citizenship.

— Susan Layne, coordinator for the TCU London Centre