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President Brand expresses university's sorrow in the wake of Tuesday's tragedies
Sept. 11, 2001
Indiana University President Myles Brand stressed the institution's profound sorrow and concern about Tuesday's national tragedy, the apparent terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon and elsewhere.
Brand said the safety and well-being of all of IU's students, including international students, faculty and staff, are the foremost issues for the university in the wake of this incident. University administrators are closely monitoring the situation and are taking steps to address any concerns of students, faculty and staff. While Brand stressed there had been no specific threats received at IU, security has been increased on all of IU's campuses, especially around those facilities that serve the needs of international students.
After discussing the situation with administrators and public safety officials from around the university Tuesday morning, Brand said the decision was made not to close the university or cancel classes in the wake of the events.
"We feel that classes meeting provide an opportunity for faculty and students to meet and discuss the issues and share their thoughts. We are an academic institution, and we will move forward in that spirit," Brand said.
Brand said that administrators on all eight of IU's campuses have been encouraged to hold small group discussions later today to allow students, faculty and staff to discuss the events of the day and their reactions to them.
Indiana University is working on a process to make its phone lines available free of charge to students who want to check on the safety of friends and family on the East Coast. Officials will provide more details on that later in the day.
In Bloomington, the IU Health Center will be open to provide counseling to any student who requests it in the wake of the tragic events. The university encourages any student, faculty or staff member who feels threatened or who sees any suspicious activity to notify authorities, either campus or city police.
"We will continue to provide updates through IU Web sites, and we will announce any changes in policy and procedures as events warrant," Brand said.
(Susan Dillman, 812-855-0850, sdillman@indiana.edu)