ONE HARDLY would deny that for many students, coming to live in a university community offers opportunities previously unavailable to them and perhaps unavailable in other circumstances. That certainly seemed to be the case these past few weeks as various student groups on Grounds sponsored events to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. Of particular note was Sustained Dialogue’s Interfaith Dialogue held in Observatory Hill Forum a week ago last Monday. Attendees gathered to hear five students from diverse backgrounds relate the impact of Sept. 11 on their lives; participants then broke up into smaller groups to continue discussing ideas gathered from the presentations themselves or from their own thoughts about Sept. 11 and its repercussions.

A common idea shared by participants in the small group session was that this kind of dialogue was a useful and important one to have. Sadly, some reported that conversations such as this were rare for them and that throughout their middle and even high school years there were few forums created for students to reflect together on the events of Sept. 11.

Young people clearly noticed the increased airport security, experienced a certain loss of innocence at the realization that the United States was not immune to attack and grappled with questions of the prioritization of safety versus freedom. Yet they had to deal with these consequences on their own or in very small circles. Those who found safe spaces took advantage of them, but those who did not  had to wait for later dialogues such as those at the University.

Obviously, the ideal situation would have been for these conversations to have happened at an earlier stage than college. Given the fact that in many cases they did not, however, the University is the perfect place to create a safe space for its student community. One of the main points stressed at the Sustained Dialogue meeting was that when people were expressing their views, other participants in the discussion should listen with open minds. That laid the ground rules for broaching controversial topics such as the pre- and post-Sept. 11 status of Muslim-Americans, Arab-Americans and any Americans perceived to be terrorist threats. Coming into the conversation with the knowledge that one might encounter opposing views on a highly sensitive subject was, at the very least, good psychological preparation. At best, it was a reminder to be courteous and patient.

At one point the question was raised: Even if events such as the Sept. 11 commemoration speeches that took place on Sunday and the Interfaith Dialogue were well-publicized and well-known, do they not end up attracting a particular kind of participant? In other words, the presupposition was that it would be the open-minded people who would come to these events in the first place. Those who have no interest in learning about different views and Sept. 11 experiences would be difficult to attract.

This goes back to the basic principle of sustained dialogue: tolerance. Just as those who choose to participate are free to do so, those who choose to refrain, despite what many might consider to be to their loss, are free to do so. Truly the only thing one is able to do in such a situation is attempt to persuade. One person’s right to be right is another person’s right to be wrong. The hope is, though, that those willing to join the conversation are able to attract at least some of their reluctant friends to give it a try, with their successes counteracting the inevitable disappointments.

This is the time and the place to be opening up these kinds of forums to discuss sensitive, controversial and personal topics such as Sept. 11. The fact that these issues are difficult to address is the very reason they need to be addressed.

Enough of grappling with questions in silence. Enough of feeling isolated in trying to make sense of a rapidly changing world. Enough of being discouraged by the insecurity of one’s own ignorance on a given subject. The events held at the University during the past few days and in particular the Interfaith Dialogue offered what many students had not experienced yet elsewhere: a place to grieve and to mourn, a place to take a realistic look at the impact of Sept. 11 and a place to turn the memory of a tragedy into a stepping stone, hopefully for a brighter future.

Michelle Sawwan is a Viewpoint writer for The Cavalier Daily.