Friday, September 14, 2001

Student handwrites signs to release ‘pain for humanity’
By Erin LaMourie
Staff Reporter

“We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools,” Martin Luther King Jr. said years ago.

Sean Grose, a senior English and history major, said he posted King’s words and similar signs around campus Wednesday to inspire people to rethink their beliefs.

He spent two hours Tuesday night creating 150 signs with markers until he ran out of paper. He said he did not want any recognition for the signs.

Nick McPherson/SKIFF STAFF Sean Grose said he posted 150 handwritten signs across campus to release his emotions after Tuesday’s attack.

Grose said the signs was a way for him to deal with Tuesday’s events.

“I felt this intense pain for humanity and I felt that was the only way to release it,” he said. “I thought I had things figured out until this happened Tuesday.”

Keith Whitworth, sociology instructor, said Grose was likely attempting to reconstruct his values in reaction to the terrorist attacks.

“Catastrophic events such as this one (the terrorist attacks) cause individuals to question their belief system and the belief system of the society they are within,” Whitworth said.

Whitworth said the attacks made our society feel powerless. He said in an attempt to regain control, people often become activists.

Maria Adamczyk, a junior speech communication major, said she was impressed someone took the time to put up signs.

“Our nation does need to change, especially spiritually, because I think the moral decline in America is being exposed,” she said. “But I have seen America come together through this, which is something I have never seen before.”

Justin Seabourn, sophomore criminal justice major, said he read the signs, but he did not think the signs had a large effect on students.

“They were very visible but the time between classes just wasn’t enough time to absorb what they meant,” Seabourn said. “I think they are great signs, but you have to put some action behind them.”

Erin LaMourie
e.m.lamourie@student.tcu.edu