PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 21, No. 6, Sept. 20, 2001

Cantor: ‘together in unity’
Campus community pulls together in time of tragedy

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
(217) 244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu

Photo by Bill Wiegand Coming together After a moment of silence, Chancellor Nancy Cantor addressed the thousands of students and faculty and staff members who gathered at the student-organized vigil on the UI Quad Sept. 14. Classes were canceled from noon to 1 p.m. for the event, which was prompted by President Bush's call for a national hour of reflection in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. The event included music and reflections by students as well as comments by administrators.

Through heads bowed in silent reflection, voices raised in song and an outpouring of donations, members of the UI community responded last week to the events of Sept. 11 when terrorists flew U.S. airliners into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the Pennsylvania countryside.

Like millions of others around the country, indeed around the world, faculty and staff members and students at the UI’s Urbana campus reached out to one another for comfort and support while offering aid to victims and their families affected by Tuesday’s disasters.

As members of the Urbana campus community began reeling from news accounts of the disasters, university President James J. Stukel sent an e-mail message to faculty, staff and students expressing his sorrow at the day’s events. The campus’ new chancellor, Nancy Cantor, also sent mass e-mail messages reassuring members of the campus community that the UI was not believed to be a target for similar catastrophes and that classes would remain in session. Cantor urged recipients to use their shared sorrow and feelings of vulnerability as a catalyst for unification rather than divisiveness and retaliation.

Members of the campus community responded to the tragedies with an outpouring of financial support. More than $57,000 was raised in a two-day campuswide fund drive organized by the Staff Advisory Council and the Council of Academic Professionals to benefit relief efforts by the American Red Cross. At least 18 collection points were established around campus to accept monetary donations, according to Mary Ellen O’Shaughnessey, associate director, Office of Academic Human Resources.

Although a similar fund drive was held by Illini Radio Group, Champaign, in the parking lot at the Assembly Hall, members of the two campus organizations believed that establishing multiple collection sites around campus would encourage more members of the campus community to contribute.

"I think it’s fabulous," L. Denise Hendricks, assistant vice president for human resources, said about the support shown by campus members. "Many people appreciated having the boxes in locations they could access easily."

Photo by Bill Wiegand Singing along Chancellor Nancy Cantor (right) with student Anita Zavala, a member of Lamba Tau Omega, one of the organizing groups of the Sept. 14 vigil on the Quad.

"We have seen a response like we’ve never seen before," said Barbara Payne, executive director of the Illini Prairie Chapter of the American Red Cross, Urbana. "I’ve seen this community pull together with a passion unlike anything I’ve ever seen before."

Members of the campus community turned to one another for support, solace and inspiration during commemorative services around campus held the evening of Sept. 13 at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and at noon on the UI Quad on Sept. 14, which had been designated a national day of prayer and remembrance by President George W. Bush.

Instead of hosting Illinois-Louisville football game fans on Sept. 16, Memorial Stadium hosted a smaller crowd of people who chose to join together for a communitywide commemorative program. Titled "A Community Remembers," the program included addresses by Stukel, Cantor and other community and student leaders as well as music by the Marching Illini.

A listing of upcoming events and volunteer opportunities related to the tragedies can be accessed from the "Opportunities for Engagement and Reflection – Events Calendar" link on the university’s main Web page at www.uiuc.edu.