BEN DAVIDOFF/Arizona Daily Wildcat Omar Shahin, left, the Imam and director of the Islamic Center of Tucson, converses with Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of congregation Or-Chadash as they lead a group of mourners toward the Mall to participate in a ãUnity Rallyä Sept. 12. During the memorial event, both Shahin and Louchheim joined many other students, professors and Tucsonans in prayer and speech.

Rallies, vigils among events that helped students cope

In the wake of the tragic events of Sept. 11, the university community managed to plan a series of events and activities that helped students cope with the ordeal.

Immediately following the attacks, UA President Peter Likins organized a community forum on the Mall.

More than 1,000 members of the campus community attended the gathering, which was created in an attempt to make sense of the largest terrorist attack in U.S. history.

Likins addressed the crowd along with more than 15 other people, including Ray Quintero, then-president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, and Omar Shahin, the Imam and director of the Islamic Center of Tucson. All stressed the need to avoid placing blame on specific groups of people.

ãThere are people of all nations on this campus that come to us from every corner of the world,ä Likins said at the forum. ãThere are no nations responsible for these crimes, which are crimes against humanity, not just crimes against America.ä

Other campus events included a peace rally on Sept. 12, sponsored by local leaders of the Jewish and Islamic faiths.

The rally began with a parade that ended on the Mall and drew a crowd of approximately 1,000.

Other students chose to express their emotions through various religious vigils that took place the evening of Sept. 11.

But forms of emotional expression were not the only repercussions of Sept. 11. As a result of the tragedy, security was heightened all around campus.

The University of Arizona Police Department worked to secure dorms, places of worship, such as the Islamic Center of Tucson and the Hillel Foundation, and various campus landmarks such as the Administration building and Main Gate Center

ãWeâre not anticipating any problems, and UAPD has been wonderful at assuring our safety,ä Michelle Blumenberg, director of the Hillel Foundation, said on Sept. 11.

However, not all Muslim community members echoed this feeling of safety. Shahin said he locked the doors of the Islamic Center on Sept. 11, only allowing those he recognized to enter through its doors.

ãWe are not afraid,ä he said. ãBut we do have to be careful. Crazy people have started pointing fingers at us, but we are not responsible. We are not the terrorists.ä

Campus residence halls closed several hours earlier and quiet rooms were set up to help students deal with emotions triggered by the attacks.

ãI know a lot of people are frightened,ä said Jim Van Arsdel, director of Residence Life. ãA physical threat on this campus is infinitesimally small, but (Residence Life) wanted to make sure we were in a position to help out.ä

Some students sought ways to help those affected by the tragedy by donating blood on Sept. 11.

Approximately 450 students and community members donated blood that day at the American Red Cross center, 4601 E. Broadway Blvd.

The center typically accepts blood donations from no more than 225 people on an average day ÷ half as many as donated at the center on Sept. 11.

ãWe have had an unprecedented turnout,ä Richard White, executive director of the Southern Arizona chapter of the American Red Cross, said on Sept. 11. ãThis is a wonderful display of caring and humanity. Because the disaster is so fresh, people are coming in waves.ä

The most visible sign of reconstructive efforts on campus was the Wall of Expression, a multi-panel construction built on the west end of the Mall, and a similar wall in front of the Center for Creative Photography.

UA administration erected the walls to encourage students to share their grief and act out their anger in constructive ways.

Written on the wall were such statements as, ãThis is our Pearl Harbor! Donât forget,ä ãFight violence and pain with peace and compassionä and ãWhat if it was your dad? Your boyfriend? Your best friend? It was mine.ä

Likins called on students to be expressive but not violent in reacting to the attacks.

ãThe world is now a different place, this nation is a different nation because of this tragedy,ä he said at the campus forum. ãAnd we need to struggle every way we can to avoid destructive consequences of this act.

ãThe challenge for all of us is that the feelings of this moment donât turn into anger.ä