Lewis Counsels Against Parent Panic

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 has asked parents’ cooperation in “restraining your own alarm, and not unnecessarily increasing the alarm of your children” in a Tuesday letter to students’ parents about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the safety measures the University has taken in recent weeks

In a two page letter dated this Tuesday, Lewis talks about safety at Harvard, available counseling services for students and the need for “tolerance and a recognition of our religious pluralism.”

Lewis said yesterday that his office has not received an unusual number of calls from concerned parents, but that “I knew that a lot of parents, particularly those who are geographically far away, would like to hear from the College an assessment of the state of affairs in this community and hear what is going on here.”

He told parents in the letter that depending on the traveling situatuation during Thanksgiving break,if more students opted to stay on campus, “we will certainly make every effort to see that they are taken care of during that holiday.”

Additionally, Lewis addressed the topic of security, writing in his letter that, “Security has been increased at football games, major concerts, and the like, and we have asked students to keep their doors locked and to take other simple precautions to improve their safety.”

Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) spokesperson Steven Catalano said that though he cannot give specifics, the HUPD has heightened their presence and talked to students, faculty and staff.

“We have received feedback from the community that just being visible and out there has helped,” Catalano said.

Lewis emphasized in his letter that the University was taking all potential threats to Harvard and the Boston-area seriously, but that “we hope that you will understand that until we have consulted with local and national law enforcement agencies, and they have given us their assessment, we are unlikely to be able to provide any useful or authoritative information.”

On Tuesday, Lewis also led morning prayers at Appleton Chapel in Memorial Church, speaking about the importance of education in the face of Sept. 11’s events.

Lewis also noted in his letter the efforts of the Bureau of Study Counsel, Mental Health Services at University Health Services (UHS), the United Ministry and other religious groups.

The staff at Memorial Church held the outdoor service in the Tercentenary Theater on the evening of Sept. 11 and they also held a special service on Sept. 14, the day President George W. Bush declared a “National Day of Prayer and Remembrance.”

But the attacks have made some question their safety.

Tiona Zuzul ’05 said she does not feel as safe as she did before Sept. 11.

“We all had this idea that no one would dare attack the U.S.,” Zuzul said.

She attended the Tercentenary service the day of the attack and said, “It was nice to know that so many people were collectively praying for the same thing.”

Some students say they feel the campus is returning to normal.

“People don’t care as much as they did before. At last they are not sad,” Phil T. Telfeyan ’05 said.

Telfeyan said his parents are not overly concerned about his safety in Cambridge.

“They called the day of the attack and I called them. We all kind of felt safe the whole time, telling ourselves the big attack had already happened,” he said.

Others say they have not been able to return to their normal routine after the attacks.

“I’m very emotional about it,” Ryan Roark `04 said. “Everyone keeps on saying life has to go on, but I don’t know. I guess its hard to read the stories about it. I just got to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Roark said her parents are not too worried about her safety, although her grandmother is.

“I don’t believe there is a chance I’ll be physically injured. When it first happened, it felt like the one thing that was bedrock was taken away. My worry isn’t a bomb will be dropped on Harvard,” Roark said.

While recognizing the kindness and concern of students, Lewis tells parents in his letter that an atmosphere of tolerance is essential.

The United Ministry has made their own statement on prejudice, condemning violence aimed at Muslims in an advertisement in yesterday’s Crimson.

Lewis says he choose to speak about Sept. 11 in his morning address to Memorial Church after writing an opinion piece for The Crimson entitled “Things to Think About.”

“That [op-ed piece] started me thinking about the purpose of education.

That is how I came to address that subject in morning prayer,” Lewis said.

This was a prayer. This is not political. I’m not going to analyze it.”

Lewis was asked to speak at Morning Chapel months ago, though another impromptu speaker last week was President Laurence H. Summers.