USD Magazine, Winter 2002

THERO Surviving and Thriving in

by Michael R. Haskins

A few days before Sepe. 11, students in sociology Professor Anne Hendershocc's Urban Studies class had begun co ponder che vibrancy of New York City, the urban center chey would use as a study model all semester. A few days lacer, a piece of chat city was gone forever, and wich ic, a piece of their lives. On camp us, che terrorise accacks of Sepe. 11 couched off a space of changes. The young men and women of che university's ROTC unit, which is considered a military base, were ordered by the Pentagon co oper– ate under the highest scare of security. Several military reservists who work at USD were called up or put on alert. More uni– formed public safety officers were stationed in and around residence halls, while advisers mec with students co explain proper proce– dures for handling susp icious mail. In the aftermath of the attacks and che subsequent transformations in campus life, Hendershott and her fellow professors - scholars in che human disciplines of sociology,

psychology and religion - have considered the impact the accacks have made on our everyday lives. As they try co understand che tragedy and help their students do the same, their ideas offer insight into how people can best carry on in an irrevocably changed world. "Nobody can expect co go back co normal, because the definition of normal has changed," says Moises Baron, director of USD 's Counseling Center, who sec up a crisis response center immediately after che attacks and counsels students on how co deal with the tragedy. "What people should do is return co the routine of their lives, which can be comforting." Baron and Ken Keith, head of USD 's psychology department, both advise against "over-psychologizing" responses co the ter– rorist attacks. Reactions such as worry, depression, sadness and anxiety are normal, they say, and not a reason co seek profession– al help. If these feelings interfere with the

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USD M AGAZINE