September 11, 2001, forever changed the country, the world, and your University. The gaping holes left in the ground in New York City and Pennsylvania and the gash in the side of the Pentagon were horrific symbols of a new world in which safety can never be taken for granted and in which the quest for peace must be redoubled.
      The grief we at Syracuse feel over the unprecedented carnage is sharpened by the knowledge that 30 of our alumni are gone. Still others lost family members, colleagues, and friends.
      You have reason to be very proud of your University in this time of crisis. Reaction to the September 11 events was immediate and effective. A crisis team of administrators, faculty, and staff gathered within hours of the attacks. Their efforts culminated that first day in a University gathering at 3 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel.
      I watched in amazement and gratitude as some 2,000 students streamed in. They filled every seat, even those traditionally reserved for the choir, and they lined the walls on both floors.
      They heard words of comfort from chaplains, the vice chancellor, and me, and they were encouraged to support each other and to talk freely about the incidents and their meanings.
      Counselors were dispatched to every corner of the campus. Buildings remained open well past normal hours. Food and beverages were available around the clock.
      And the community gathered in grief and in resolve to learn the truth.
      A blood drive the next day saw members of the University line up by the thousands, far too many to accommodate at that point. A call for clean shirts and socks for the New York City rescue workers resulted in hundreds of pounds of clothing being collected on campus and sent to New York by tractor-trailer.
      The work goes on, and so does our renewed sense of purpose as a university. As the nation and the world struggle to find answers, we know we must be true to the essence of a university—a place where the search for truth can go on unhindered by fear of reprisal. This is the unique role we have been granted, one we must carry out if we are to have a present worth preserving and a future worth our hope.