Message to Hunter College Students
By Jennifer Raab, President

The devastating events of September 11 affect every one of us at Hunter College, as New Yorkers and human beings. On that first day, as we began to comprehend the magnitude of the tragedy, we took immediate steps to ensure that Hunter would be a place of safety. We made every effort to gather accurate information and disseminate it as quickly as possible. In addition to our on-line advisories, we asked staff to spread the word throughout our corridors and gathering places that Hunter would remain open for those in need of a place to stay. I am enormously gratified by the instantaneous, selfless response, as so many sprang into action, working together for the common good: the staff who kept the cafeteria open late for stranded students; Security and Facilities personnel who quickly distributed our frequently updated bulletins and ensured a safe exit for hundreds leaving our buildings at once; and representatives from Student Government and other student groups that made their offices and telephones available to those who needed help.

I’m also very proud of the students and others in the community who instantly reached out to become part of the citywide rescue and recovery efforts. Our nursing students volunteered their services in hastily organized shelters in lower Manhattan. Indeed, the ultimate sacrifice was made by one heroic Hunter-Brookdale nursing student, Michael Mullan, who tragically perished with fellow firefighters that Tuesday.

As we turned to planning a college-wide response to the 9/11 tragedy, we tapped the resources of our School of Social Work and Department of Psychology to suggest activities that would help us as a community to express sorrow and begin the healing process. When classes resumed on Thursday,—our “Healing Wall—lined the third-floor crosswalk. You quickly filled up page after page, an outpouring that has touched me deeply. We will bind these pages from our Healing Wall, a permanent record of our individual and collective search for meaning amid the madness of these days. September 14 and 20 were special days of remembrance at Hunter. “Gathering spaces” on main campus sites were open throughout each day as havens for the exchange of feelings and thoughts in small groups. At the end of these special days, several hundred students, faculty and staff members came together for a more public expression of mourning and remembrance, called “The Hunter Community Gathers to Bear Witness.” Here, we shared stories, raised voices in song and joined hands, making an unbroken chain. We are aware that more will be asked of us in the coming months. In this place of learning and study, we should—and will—move to a deeper analysis and discussion of the September 11th attack and its ramifications. This presents both an opportunity and a challenge: an opportunity to build a community such as Hunter has never seen before, and a challenge to make our Hunter community a place of openness and respect for the diversity that defines us. Let a spirit of acceptance and respect be the powerful legacy we leave from these terrible days.#

Jennifer Raab is the President of Hunter College in New York City

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