By any measure, this semester has not been an easy one. Over the past three months, we've lived through events that in a simpler time were unthinkable. They were the sole province of the screenwriter, things that only happen in the movies.
In rapid succession, the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon left over four thousand dead, the nation was gripped by an unprecedented bioterrorism scare, and we found ourselves at war with a country that, before Sept. 11, most of us knew nothing about. In this world turned upside down, a plane crash that took more lives than TWA Flight 800 attracted a fraction of the attention accorded that disaster.
And at a University already hard hit by these events, the tragic deaths of two students seems almost too much to bear.
This year, Thanksgiving break offered us something more than usual, something that was sorely needed. It gave us a break from our busy lives as students. It gave us some time to sort our feelings about what we've lived through this semester.
It gave us time to be with family and to reflect upon those things for which we are really thankful. It gave us a chance to consider how our world has changed and how those changes have affected our lives. It gave us an opportunity, one we don't often have, to take a hard look at our priorities and reconsider them in light of what we've been through.
Thanksgiving break provided us with some respite and a chance to clear our heads. But now, we have to focus on finishing what has been a very long semester.
In these final weeks, as we work to complete coursework and prepare for finals, we must continue to think about these tumultuous months.
It's been a painful and difficult Fall semester, one that few of us are likely to forget. And though we've grown a lot, its not likely that any of us has fully grasped the gravity of our new circumstances. We can only hope that the worst has passed.
