Last week’s tragedy sent ripples through the nation to the core of our country’s security – and the ISU community is responding with another campus conversation on the terrorist attacks.

The second session of “After September 11: Where Do We Go From Here?” will take place at noon Thursday in the South Ballroom of the Memorial Union.

The forum will begin in the same manner as the Sept. 14 conversation, with short remarks from a student and faculty panel, followed by open microphone questions and comments from the audience.

Fern Kupfer, event moderator and faculty chairwoman for the Committee on Lectures, said she hopes Thursday’s forum will provide more time for student remarks than the first campus conversation.

“People need to keep expressing,” said Kupfer, associate professor of English. “This is an opportunity for students to talk about what is going on in their own life.”

Pat Miller, lectures program coordinator, said the conversation is aimed to help students and faculty deal with the aftermath of the terrorist events.

“Different people are traumatized in different ways and have different needs,” she said. “This is an opportunity to express concerns, have questions answered and to be together as a university.”

Kupfer said a university is the perfect atmosphere for an educated discussion and consideration of a wide variety of viewpoints.

“The easy answer is the work of mad men and evil,” she said. “Here, we can talk about world politic scrutiny in a more intellectual forum.”

The varied expertise of the panel will enable conversation ranging from media coverage, the effects of increasing global community and the international perspective.

The five-member panel will include Kupfer; Mary Sawyer, associate professor of religious studies; Tracey Owens Patton, assistant professor of journalism and mass communication; Riad Mahayni, professor and chairman of community and regional planning; and Faiza Derbel, a graduate student from Tunisia.

“I think when we have a gathering of people who are knowledgeable in aspects of the world, it is a valuable learning opportunity for understanding of the situation,” Miller said.

Kupfer said the lectures committee wants to keep dialogue open to foster greater understanding of the ever-changing events.

“Things are never going to be the same,” she said. “This taught us how difficult it is to plan something for our futures. It grieves, saddens and humbles us to know how little control we have.”

One way to cope with the tragedy is to come together as an ISU community.

“Friday’s [Campanile memorial service] showed there is a great deal to be gained by being together,” Miller said.

“We encourage as many people as possible to come, because they add their own knowledge and situation to the experience.”