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Off-Campus
Centers
Respond
to Disaster
THOUSANDS
OF PEOPLE STREAMED DOWN Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C.,
a block from SU’s Greenberg House, as the federal government
and most downtown offices closed at midday on September 11.
By late afternoon the neighborhood was unusually quiet; the
sound of an occasional helicopter or F-16 fighter making passes
overhead replaced the usual bustle of cars, buses, delivery
vehicles, and pedestrians. Smoke was still pouring from the
Pentagon four miles away across the Potomac River in northern
Virginia.
In the evening, students in the undergraduate
international relations Washington semester class gathered at
Greenberg House to share their thoughts on the day’s cataclysmic
events. All had been dismissed from their internships early.
Faculty and staff met with students to ensure they were safe
and had contacted their families. For the rest of the week,
both undergraduate and graduate classes explored the context
and possible consequences of the attacks.
The meeting of the SU Alumni Club of Washington
scheduled for September 11 was held the following week and focused
on attempts to help the victims. The club voted to make an immediate
contribution to Red Cross relief efforts and to make a more
substantial contribution later to assist the SU community.
On October 9, the Rev. Thomas V. Wolfe,
dean of Hendricks Chapel, led a memorial gathering at Greenberg
House and offered spiritual support to alumni, family, and friends
of SU, including prayers for the four SU alumni killed during
the Pentagon attack.
A few weeks earlier, Wolfe provided words
of comfort to about 30 New York City area alumni who gathered
at Lubin House for a period of fellowship. “We have quite a
few younger alumni in New York—who are single or don’t have
family nearby—who needed an outlet to talk,” says Lil O’Rourke,
associate vice president for alumni relations. “The gathering
was very well received. There were some classmates who reconnected
with each other and some who met for the first time.”
—Dug
Gillies ’68, director of Greenberg House,
and Margaret Costello
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U.S. Navy
photo by PH2 (AW) Jim Watson
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