September 12, 2001

To All Members of the Johns Hopkins Community,

We have all been victimized by a terrible crime. Some of us have lost friends and loved ones in the horror of what occurred on Tuesday. Those of us who have not are, nevertheless, victims too. All of us are consumed with grief. Many of us are troubled by other feelings as well: fear, helplessness, rage.

This is a time for all of us to come together as a community, to support each other and to reach out to each other. This is a time for us to help and to heal.

It is a time for all of us -- who share the special bond of living and working in a community of scholars -- to look for and think about what unites us. It is a time to seek to increase our understanding of each other.

It is not a time for us to seek out that which divides us. And it is certainly not a time to assign blame to anyone among us -- someone from our own community -- simply because their culture, tradition or background is different from our own.

There are many, many opportunities for us to share our feelings and experiences with each other over the next few days. For instance, students have already begun gathering for formal and informal observances, religious and secular. Our professional and peer counselors have made themselves available for anyone who would benefit from a chance to talk. On Thursday, a town hall meeting is being organized at Homewood to allow students to look at the issues raised by Tuesday's events from an academic perspective. Undoubtedly, those issues also will be raised in classrooms and seminars throughout the university.

Information about some of these events has already been made available, as appropriate, by broadcast mail or by entries on the university emergency information page, linked to the home page at www.jhu.edu.

I thank all of you for your steadfast support of each other during this terrible time, and urge you to continue to care for those among us who most need our help and support.

Sincerely,
Bill Brody