By Rena Lidstone
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

Photo by Holly Smith

The eerie calm of the UH-Clear Lake Bayou Building was penetrated by the sounds of panic and chaos blaring from television monitors as newscasters described details of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on America.

Groups of students huddled below the overhead monitors in the hallways and atria watching images of the crumbled World Trade Center and Pentagon flash across the screens. Some bowed their heads in silence while others chatted softly with fellow classmates. News of the tragedy spread quickly as UH-Clear Lake students began their day and prepared to attend classes. "I was horrified when I turned on the television set for my grandson and saw this instead of the Teletubbies," said Jane Dunkelman, undergraduate math major.

Psu Nguyen, a management information systems undergraduate, called the university to confirm if classes were going to be held. School officials told Nguyen it was his decision whether to attend. "I was on my way to the campus when I heard on the radio that two other commercial airplanes were hijacked," Nguyen said.

Other students were at work when they learned of the attack.

"My husband called me at work to tell me the news," said Nicole Branch, graduate psychology major. "My initial reaction was shock and dismay because it was so unexpected. When I arrived for my psychology class, we were given the choice to stay or leave, but many of us chose to stay and talk about it."

David Myers, undergraduate criminology major, was also at work when he heard the news of the first plane.

"At first I thought it was weird, but [the World Trade Center] is such a tall building," Myers said. "I thought maybe it was an accident, but when the second plane hit, I knew it was not."

Shock and surprise turned to anger and sadness as more details of the well-planned attack began to surface. For some students, the tragedy was personal.

Myers, an officer for the Webster Police Department, talked about friends and comrades on the New York Police Department who were unaccounted for as of Sept. 13. He mentioned another friend who works at the Pentagon.

"His office was right there where the plane crashed," said Myers, who remains hopeful his friends will be found alive.

Meredith Merrell, an undergraduate elementary education major, spoke of her father who works for the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment in Washington, D.C. The building is located between the Capitol and the White House.

"After I heard the Pentagon was hit, I called my mother immediately, and she said she had talked to him, and he said he was actually safer at work than he was at his hotel," Merrell said.

As most students searched for answers, some speculated about the actions the United States should take in response to the attack.

"I don't believe in violence, but I can understand the decision to go to war," Merrell said.

"If Osama bin Laden did it, we should try to bring him back to the United States," Nguyen said. "If we cannot get him to come to the United States, then we should attack."

The Indian Student Association, in conjunction with the Office of Multicultural and International Student Services and the Office of Enrollment Services, set up a booth in Atrium I of the Bayou Building to solicit signatures, sentiments and donations from students. A banner approximately 100 feet long, containing more than 1,000 messages of hope and sympathy in English, Spanish, Hindi and other languages, will be mailed to New York later this week.

"We have been affected as Americans [have]," said Madhavi Chadaparasipalli, a member of the Indian Student Association.

"We have also lost many Indians in this tragedy," she said. UH-Clear Lake students have also donated more than $1,000 for the Red Cross relief effort.

UH-Clear Lake students also discussed the treatment of international students on campus. According to Linda Bullock, director of the office of multicultural and international student services, there are more than 600 international students enrolled at UH-Clear Lake.

As days pass and more information becomes available, incidents of hostility toward people of Middle Eastern descent are being reported nationwide.

University officials and students share the concern of misdirected anger.

"We do not need to lash out and show prejudice or racism," Myers said. "The university should reinforce this."

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