TENNESSEE VALLEY - Feelings of vulnerability grow

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In the Tennessee Valley, Feelings of Vulnerability Grow College's Students, Faculty No Longer Feel Immune to Terror Threat After Sept. 11 Attacks, Bus Assault

By Peter Slevin Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, October 5, 2001; Page A18

MURFREESBORO, Tenn., Oct. 4 -- Gary Wiser remembers when the angry deeds of terrorists seemed remote from life in the Tennessee Valley. That was before three weeks of round-the-clock television coverage of "America's New War," and before a Greyhound passenger attacked a bus driver near here Wednesday, causing a crash that left six people dead.

"On the 11th, people said, 'We're in Tennessee, nothing can affect us,' " Wiser said, referring to the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. "After yesterday, we feel vulnerable here."

The dilemmas of the national battle against terrorism -- from the search for foreign targets to the debate over civil liberties on U.S. soil -- are close to the surface these days at Middle Tennessee State University, where Wiser and his classmates find themselves supporting President Bush and keeping their fingers crossed.

Confidence in the president has grown in part because of actions he has not taken, students in Prof. Clyde Willis's Introduction to Law class said today. An important U.S. goal should be to punish the attackers and their sponsors without killing innocents, they explained to a visiting reporter. Several said they oppose dropping bombs on Afghanistan.

"I was afraid he was going to go out the very next day and start shooting people," said Lori Hollandsworth, 20, an international relations major. "I'm glad he didn't jump in without thinking about it. It's the best thing he's done since September 11."

Opinion polls show that 9 in 10 Americans support military action against the terrorist groups or nations responsible for the assault that left more than 5,000 people dead. Yet a study released yesterday suggested a degree of caution, with 35 percent of respondents telling the Pew Research Center that there has been too little discussion of nonmilitary options.

The Middle Tennessee students, echoing the national uncertainty, wonder how to identify culprits and how to punish them. They find themselves asking questions about proof and consequences, and about the difficulty of attaining justice. They worry about how best to strike back against the right targets without inspiring further attacks.

"Going after every terrorist group, we don't know the repercussions. Who's to say if we're prepared to handle this?" asked Markisha Vaughn. Across the room, Catherine Landers added, "I don't know how you can judge who you're going to kill."

Wednesday's Greyhound bus attack -- and the quick, concerned response by transit and law enforcement authorities -- demonstrated how the nation remains on edge. In the Pew study, 73 percent of respondents said they were worried about another terrorist attack. Eighteen percent said they have been having trouble sleeping, and 42 percent report feeling depressed as a consequence of Sept. 11.

Lee Ramsey, a 22-year-old history major, said a retaliatory military strike would help give Americans a renewed sense of strength and control. He favors an assault, "not to scare the bad guys, but to help make us feel better. The safety that people feel around here is really shaky."

Governments sheltering terrorists, Bush has pledged, will be a target.

"If they're harboring them, I think we should go after them. I'll sign up," said history major Eric Parker, but he paused when asked how. "That's what I find hardest. I don't have a solution. And I don't think anyone else does, either."

Jason Moore said attempts to demonize certain groups and governments could fuel further hatred of the United States: "I don't know what it is. It could be imperialism or nationalism. It could be an ethnocentric xenophobia. But we need to get at the root of the problem."

As Congress neared agreement on stronger law enforcement measures, students said they worried about permitting deeper government intrusions into private life, particularly through wiretaps and e-mail monitoring. They said independent judges will be a crucial check and balance to federal authority.

"If we're taking away our freedom, the terrorists are winning," said Lee Ramsey, a history major.

On the other hand, several students asked why the United States has not enforced its immigration rules. The Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that 40 percent of the more than 6 million illegal immigrants in this country simply overstay their visas. Damir Igric, the bus assailant, entered the United States on a 30-day visa in March 1999 and never returned to Croatia.

One student suggested deeper background investigations and a one-year probationary period for legal immigrants. Several classmates, however, described feeling hurt by harassment of foreign friends living here. Parker told how he and fellow members of Sigma Phi Epsilon were making sure to accompany some foreign brothers -- two Iranians and an Indian -- when they went out. At one bar, he said, they intervened when a man approached one of the Iranians and said, "Who do you think you are? I'll kill you, Osama bin Laden."

Beth Davis described a Saudi student who told her that soon after the attacks, some people had broken into his room and threatened to beat him up. That night, he slept with a telephone programmed to dial 911.

"I felt so upset, I was just bawling," Davis said.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001


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