Six days after terrorists attacked the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, plunging Tufts and the nation into a state of shock and mourning, many students are struggling to make up work they neglected while watching the story unfold.
"I've found myself reading the paper more than my assignments for classes," said junior Maryann Kuruvilla, a native of New York. "It's still extremely difficult for everyone to concentrate."
Some students are still having difficulty coping with the emotional aftermath of the attacks, and fear what may come next. They say that the University should have cancelled classes last Tuesday and Wednesday. Several other Boston-area universities, including Harvard, shut down and excused all non-essential personnel from work. Emerson College cancelled classes at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, while Boston College cancelled classes beginning at 4 p.m. and after. MIT remained open as events developed.
E-mails from University President Larry Bacow last week indicated that students concerned about their friends and family should be excused from classes and work, and some professors chose to cancel their lectures. Other professors pushed back regular coursework to discuss the attacks with students. As a result, the University extended the deadline for adding courses to 5 p.m. on Friday, as opposed to this afternoon.
But some professors stuck to the regular schedule, and students who were unable or chose not to attend classes are now under pressure to make up the work they missed. For some, Rosh Hashanah cut down on their class attendance this week as well.
The measures did not satisfy some students. "What is it going to take for Tufts to cancel classes?" one student asked. "Bombs on our own campus?"
The student was among several who cited Tufts' record of holding classes while surrounding communities suspend their daily schedules, noting in particular the lack of snow-related cancellations during the winter.
But an e-mail from the academic deans of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering sent the day of the attacks explained the University's decision. "We feel that it is important to move forward as a community of learning," the message stated.
At a memorial service later that evening, Bacow said it was important for students to learn from the crisis. Classrooms, he said, were the best place for that.
All Boston-area universities are back in session, and Tufts continues to provide individual and group support through the Deans' offices, the Chaplaincy, and the Counseling Center.
