This time, students in Houston Hall were too busy studying for midterms. And besides, the large-screen televisions had been wheeled out weeks ago.
It was Sunday, the tail-end of Family Weekend, and hardly anyone seemed to have heard that the United States was now actively at war.
Many Penn students said they expected something like yesterday's attacks on Afghanistan, which included bomb drops and missile launches from American and British forces. And though the acts were sudden, students did not seem especially concerned that the United States had taken the first steps toward "creating conditions for a sustained effort," as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld put it.
"I knew it was coming," Wharton sophomore Domenick Santoro said. "I knew it was eventually going to happen. I just didn't think it was going to be so soon."
Some students added that they thought the attacks were premature, though none said that they doubted the involvement of Osama bin Laden in the tragic attacks of Sept. 11. And though government leaders said the actions were as much a humanitarian relief effort as they were acts of retaliation, students said that was hard to believe.
"I personally feel its too soon for air strikes," Engineering senior Sarika Jain said. "I personally don't want innocent people to be killed. I don't know if they're doing a surgical sort of method for attack, but if they aren't then hundreds of people are going to be affected."
But many students seemed less empathetic and more concerned that justice be served in any way possible. People also said they agreed with the president's statement that the bombings were a necessary measure.
"None of these demands were met and now the Taliban will pay a price," President Bush said in an address from the White House yesterday afternoon.
And the demand for retribution seems to be as loud as ever, especially from those who were directly affected by the events of Sept. 11.
"I'm from New York, so my gut reaction is that I'm very angry, and I want to wipe [the terrorists] out," College junior Lauren Sercander said. "I'm really angry about this. It's my city."
"I think it's good that we're bombing them," she added. "We have to show some sort of retaliation. We got hit hard and we have to show the world that we're not going to take that -- that we're Americans. We gave them an ultimatum and they knew it was going to happen."
But several students were more concerned about the welfare of the Afghan people than about retaliation, though few doubted that this was exactly the type of justice most Americans wanted.
"It's hard because we are so far away from it, but it is real," College junior Jen Valentine said. "But it's just scary that we're doing the same thing to them that they did to us, and who knows what's really justified."
"The government is looking for answers, looking for ways to have some quick action," she added. "People are upset, and it's hard to say what's right or what's not. People want to see something happen, but I don't think that we want to see innocent people die."
Several also said they worried that the humanitarian aid efforts were only a means of justification for the attacks. Another concern was that the aid -- which consisted of dropping packages of food and medical supplies to waiting ground personnel -- was only a band-aid fix to Afghanistan's long-term economic problems.
"I think people in the United States generally would [be satisfied with the attacks], because they wanted retaliation and adding this humanitarian aid would satisfy those who said they didn't believe in air strikes," Jain said. "Its like we're trying to lessen the bad effects, or the pain that we're inflicting."
"It just sounds so hypocritical," Engineering graduate student Bjoern Hartmann said. "We're dropping bombs at you, but at the same time, we're also dropping food and supplies. But at least it's a sign that we don't want to wage a war against the Afghan people."
But most students said they felt that the attacks on Afghanistan were primarily acts of war, and acts that deserved attention.
"I think its going to have a big impact," Hartmann said. "Over the past three weeks, it's been on everyone's mind but it's been going on a descending curve of attention... but now people are going to be very aware, very afraid of a repeat."
Students said they worried that the United States was giving terrorists what they wanted: a jihad, or holy war. And even those who thought the situation would blow over said they realized that the realities of wartime -- the possibility of a draft, religious antagonisms, etc. -- were not far off.
