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........................... Oct. 05 - Oct. 18, 2001
OTHER ISSUES .................... |
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| From The SCC SBA President Turner Timothy | |
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When I was young, I visited New York with my family. It was summer, and we were on a day trip. I still remember entering the dark hallway at the base. It was lit with fluorescent bulbs, but shadows still clung to the corners of the hallway. It smelled of aged metal and the ocean. My younger brother, Geoff, and I began to climb the stairs. We counted steps as we scaled the towering spiral of copper. We reached the top, tapping our feet and waiting for our mother. With our father's assistance, we looked out of the windows of her crown. We could read the book she cradled in her arm. From the top of the Statue of Liberty, we could see New York across the bay. She still stands in the harbor, and even as the towers later crumbled, she held aloft her torch of freedom.
She lights the way for all those who wish to come in hopes of finding a better world. In some ways, that is why we have come to Shoreline Community College. We have come here to become enlightened human beings and help create a better world. We have come to acquire knowledge not only from our books. We have come to learn from our teachers and our fellow students. We have come to share our knowledge and our gifts with any who wish to receive them.
In the days to come, remember this: We are all here to learn. We, too, hold alight our torches, the torches that chase away the shadows of intolerance and hate. We come together in our yearning to better both ourselves and our homes. We, the students, welcome all members who wish to stand beside us and hold their torches high. We shall not stoop to the level to which others may believe we belong. We shall remain united with our brethren. We will help all students receive the education to which they are entitled. We will work together to create an island of safety in a world which a few want to reduce to ashes.
I think about the ones who have suffered the most from these attacks. I think about the students who fear to leave their houses. I think about the students whose places of respite have been wrenched from them. The ones who were hurt the most were the Muslims who have been working for years to remove the stigma from their religion, only to see their toils collapse with the fall of the towers, the people who have been working to get the stereotypes removed from the Middle Eastern countries and their peoples, the peoples of all heritages who have being working to create bridges of understanding between the peoples of the world. In the end, this attack was not on America. It was on people who wish to peacefully create a better world.
We, as Americans of any generation, cannot allow the actions of a small but violent few change our view on how we can change the world. We must continue to fight for our right to change the world through reasonable discourse. We cannot allow ourselves to slide into the mentality that might is equivalent to right. If these actions cause us to lose our belief in these principles - that all people are equal, that we can shape a better world through understanding, and that knowledge can be our light - then the price was truly greater than what we have paid in blood and toil.
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| by Timothy Turner, SCC SBA President | |
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