If the “Oct. 11 Coalition” has its way, the one-month anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks will not pass quietly.
Faculty and student coalition members are pushing for the full or partial cancellation of classes on Oct. 11 to facilitate a day of remembrance and discussion about the recent events.
Spearheaded by Art History Prof. Lyle Massey, the day would be devoted to seminars, panels and discussions on a broad range of topics connected to terrorism. Massey debuted the idea to about 30 members of student group executive boards via e-mail nearly a week ago, according to GLOBE executive board member Rodolfo Neirotti.
“The events of Sept. 11 were tremendous and deserve the proper attention and analysis,” said Neirotti, a Weinberg senior. “Professor Massey is trying to dignify what happened with a proper response and on multiple levels.”
Setting aside a specific day on which to concentrate on the horrors of Sept. 11 would allow the Northwestern community to explore the tragedies with a breadth and depth not yet achieved, Neirotti said. Despite university efforts to provide students with panels and support groups, coalition members said NU needs to do more.
“We don’t think the university has done much short of the vigil,” said Howard Lien, Weinberg junior and executive director of ACLU-NU. “There’s really been nothing officially sponsored by them.”
But some students feel the university has handled the aftermath of the crisis well.
“Every speech I’ve heard, they’ve had a moment of silence,” said Brigitte Salembrier, a Music freshman.
The group has begun to amass signatures on an online petition posted on ACLU-NU’s Web site. Lien said that as of Sunday evening, the petition had received several hundred signatures.
“The signatures have been a equal mix of graduate students, undergrads, faculty and staff,” said Lien, who had expected the majority of supporters to be undergraduates.
Coalition members will meet tonight to discuss presenting their petition later this week to administrators, including Vice President for Student Affairs William Banis.
While members such as McCormick junior Jay Goyal see putting aside the daily routine as a way to underscore the importance of Sept. 11, the coalition’s members are wary that others might disagree.
Although canceling classes would boast attendance at a remembrance day, Neirotti realizes the request may prove to be a long shot.
“I think fully canceling classes might be too much to ask for, especially in a quarter system,” Neirotti said.
But he said it was feasible for NU to partially cancel classes.
“It’s been done for Martin Luther King Day, and I don’t see why this is any different,” he said.
GLOBE President Uri Kogan said he expects some hesitancy from the university in the upcoming meeting.
“We’re not expecting the administration to jump on the bandwagon 100 percent,” said Kogan, a Weinberg and Music senior. “(But) the events of Sept. 11 … and what they may mean for our country is unprecedented. Unprecedented events call for unprecedented responses.”
Neirotti said he expects a sense of moral obligation on the part of the university to influence administrators’ decision.
But with The Rock losing its stars and stripes Friday night and resuming its daily routine, some people on campus wonder if NU students aren’t ready to reclaim a similar comforting sense of normalcy.
Coalition members said this has not been their sense.
“I’ve had absolutely no indication, or personal inclination, to move on,” Neirotti said. “This is not like the O.J. Simpson trial, this is not a nuisance. This is a basic thing in American history and not something you can get tired of.”
