It is after a week of contemplating the tragedy of Sept. 11 that I have found my reaction. I wish to share this reaction only because the statements and attitudes I have witnessed on this campus disturb me.

I am most fraught by the statement of Andy Tofilon at the memorial service on Friday. “There are no enemies on campus.” On one hand I would like to believe him and the other authority figures that try to reassure me that I am safe here, but for the first time in my life I have truly felt fear. I fear we will continue to let our guard down. We will continue to delude ourselves.

The fact is there are enemies on campus. There are enemies in this great country that will continually try to undermine the very confidence that allows us to think we are safe.

These enemies are not of any one race, religion or nationality. They do not ascribe to the fundamentalist profile that we assign to terrorists. They are simple everyday people who we live right next to, maybe even room with in the same dorm.

Those who have sought to destroy the moral fabric of America do so with carefully planned deception. This planning has been backed by skilled training and ample funding. The depth of the support network for these terrorists is only now becoming apparent, and it should frighten anybody.

As a society we have always been comforted by the ability to come home and feel safe. We should still be able to come home and be safe, but will be unable until we are sure that we are not in danger of being killed at our workplace, our school or our homes.

It is unfortunate that people have been able to distance themselves from Washington D.C. and New York with such ease. I have heard repeatedly in the last week “No one will attack Iowa” and “We aren’t a big target; they’ll go after big cities.”

I think we need to stop lying to ourselves and start really listening to the vibrations in the ground. People really hate America, and those who live here. Their (who ever “they” is) reasons may differ, but they hate us with such a passion as to willfully and coldly kill thousands of people. These people will stop at nothing to hurt us and these people live here. They will strike here. They live in and among us, and we need to be more alert as to what they are planning to do.

This country may yet see a war on its soi. If that day comes, are we prepared as a country to defend ourselves? I’m afraid not.

We have managed to allow ourselves to become disarmed, both physically and psychologically. As many of our leaders have stated, this new war will be a different war, fought with unconventional tactics, and aimed at unconventional targets.

Hopefully we won’t have to wait until we see the Campanile burning to realize the enemy we face is already on our soil and the fight needs to begin now.

Wake up Iowa, we need to act, not react.

Alex Rodeck

Senior

Animal Science