A Community of Colleges.

A Community of Colleges. America's community colleges felt the reverberations of theexplosions at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon just as surely asif their campuses had all been within sight of the blasts. No college was left untouched by the horrific events of Sept. 11,and it seems that no college failed to respond in some way to thetragedy. In the days following the disaster, students, faculty and staffwearing red, black or red, white and blue ribbons could be seen givingblood, raising thousands of dollars for relief efforts and gatheringeverything from pickaxes to toiletry kits to send to those in need. In college ceremonies from coast to coast, Americans flags poppedup everywhere -- even on computer-lab screen savers Screen Savers may refer to: Screensavers, computer programs intended to preserve CRT monitors from "burn-in". The Screen Savers, a technology-oriented television program that aired on TechTV and later G4. . Campus communitiesgathered to recite the pledge of allegiance Pledge of Allegiance,in full, Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, oath that proclaims loyalty to the United States. and its national symbol. , sing the national anthemand offer prayers in a multitude of faiths and languages. Classes and concerts were cancelled. College sporting events werepostponed. Alone, people made anxious calls, dialing and redialing numbersacross busy circuits to make sure friends and families were safe. Ingroups, on campus quads and benches, people tried to comfort oneanother. The following are but a few of the many ways in whichAmerica's day of terror touched community colleges and some of themany ways they reached out to help. At some campuses, worst fears about missing or unaccounted-forloved ones loved onesnpl → seres mpl queridosloved onesnpl → proches mpl et amis chersloved oneslove npl were confirmed. At Carteret Community College in EasternNorth Carolina Eastern North Carolina or (often abbreviated as ENC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the eastern third of North Carolina. It includes the Outer and Inner banks, thus it is often known geographically as the state's coastal region. , one student learned her uncle had been killed in theattack on the Pentagon. Carteret is close to two U.S. Marine Corps bases, and like othercampuses tied closely to the military, there was more than the usualamount of anxiety as students and others waited to hear from those whomight have been at the nation's military headquarters. Another Carteret student's husband, a Marine, had been onspecial assignment in the Pentagon at the time of the attack. She waitedthree days in mounting desperation until he was able to call her withthe news that he was safe. Coastal Carolina Community College student Cassandra Tighe, 20, wasworried about what the future holds for her friends and others in themilitary. "I have friends who are in the military," she said."I have friends whose husbands are in the military. What if they goto war? I'm scared to death that my friends are going to leave meand not come back." Other students who happened to be visiting New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of had some closecalls. A group of broadcasting students from the Kent campus of GreenRiver Community College Green River Community College (GRCC) is a community college located in Auburn, Washington, USA. It has a student body of around 10,000. The student to faculty ratio is 23:1. in Washington state were in Manhattan for amusic conference, and five walked up the steps from a subway near theWorld Trade Center towers just after it exploded. Families and friends of the 11 students who made the trip had sometense moments waiting to hear from all 11 students that had made thetrip, but all finally checked in safely. "I'm afraid," said Andrea Archambault, one of the 11said afterward. "I just really want to go home." Even students far away from the falling debris felt a tectonicshift of attitude toward their newly hostile world. "People our age," said Stacey Flynn, an 18-year-oldstudent at Scottsdale Community College External linkScottsdale Community College in Arizona, "theydon't know Don't know (DK, DKed)"Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what it's like to actually have to deal withsomething more than what they're driving and what they'rewearing ... "I don't feel safe anymore, because it was such a hugething," she said -- and seemingly so easily pulled off. "They came into our country, used our education to get theirpilots' licenses, used our own equipment and our own people to killus. It's like the scariest thing that could possibly happen." Despite the fear and the danger, others went to New York to offertheir skills amid the wreckage of what used to be the World TradeCenter. Montgomery Community College The term Montgomery Community College may refer to: Montgomery College, a two-year college in Rockville, Takoma Park/Silver Spring, and Germantown, Maryland Fulton-Montgomery Community College, a two-year college in Johnstown, New York emergency medical services An Emergency medical service (abbreviated to initialism "EMS" in many countries) is a service providing out-of-hospital acute care and transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient believes constitutes a medical emergency. instructor Brian Raming, from Troy, N.C., led several of his students,including Amanda Jordan, Ted Moore, Jr., Jennifer Jones for others with this name see Jennifer Jones (disambiguation)Jennifer Jones (born as Phylis Lee Isley on March 2, 1919) is an Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning American actress. , Austin Nabet,Dianne Saunders and Patti Fulk, as they spent several days assisting inthe rescue and recovery operation in New York. Other colleges' denizens became accidental heroes of a moreincidental kind. Half a continent away from the explosions, when federalauthorities ordered all jetliners to the ground across the U.S., threelarge commercial jetliners were forced to land at the tiny Garden CityRegional Airport Garden City Regional Airport (IATA: GCK,ICAO: KGCK,FAA LID: GCK) is a public airport located eight miles (13 km) southeast of the central business district (CBD) of Garden City, in Finney County, Kansas, USA. in rural Kansas. Garden City Community College staffpromptly volunteered their time and campus vehicles to help transportabout 180 passengers to lodgings as far as 50 miles away. Among those driving the vehicles was Jack Rutherford For the football player sometimes known as Jack or Jackie Rutherford, see .John Walter Rutherford (born September 25, 1929, Bruce Rock, Western Australia) is an Australian cricketer who played in one Test in 1956. , thecollege's physical plant director. "Jack just rounded up all the available drivers he could find,and we sent everything we could," said Dr. Carol Ballantyne, thecollege's president. Others chipped in on their own. At the American Red Cross American Red Cross:see Red Cross. Mt. HopeDonor Center in northwest Baltimore, Cameron Cooper was among more than100 people waiting to give blood after the terrorist attacks. "I figured I could save a few lives today," the17-year-old Catonsville Community College student said. Outside a storefront in Lincoln, Neb., South east Community Collegestudent Megan Treadway rang a Salvation Army Salvation Army,Protestant denomination and international nonsectarian Christian organization for evangelical and philanthropic work.Organization and BeliefsThe Salvation Army has established branches in 100 countries throughout the world. bell usually reserved forChristmas. Along with other bell-ringers, she was raising money for thedisaster relief effort. "It's the best thing I could ever have come up with doingwith my spare time," she said. There were also immediate efforts on many campuses to forestall anybacklash against Muslim and Arab students. The Clarkston Campus ofGeorgia Perimeter College Georgia Perimeter College is a two-year Associate degree granting unit of the University System of Georgia. GPC has multiple campus locations on the north and east side of Atlanta. held an open forum for students, moderated byBob King, a political science professor and advisor of the ClarkstonMuslim Association. At Boston's Bunker Hill Community College Bunker Hill Community College is a two-year college located in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which is a neighborhood of Boston. It is an urban campus with a very diverse student body of over 8,500. Six in ten students are people of color and more than half of all students are women. , the only communitycollege admitted as an institutional member of the Middle East StudiesAssociation, the college's administration and senior managementpersonnel issued a statement that was circulated college-wide. In part,it read: "We encourage all members of our college community to usereasoned judgment and refrain from blaming all members of particulargroups for the horrific actions of some individuals. We support allmembers of our college community, especially those who may be unfairlytargeted at this time. We condemn all acts of violence and intoleranceeverywhere." That same tone was echoed at many other campuses -- particularly atthose with highly diverse populations. Dr. Bruce Howell, president ofWake Technical Community College Wake Technical Community College, commonly known as Wake Tech, is a two-year accredited institution of higher education and technical training school, is located approximately five miles south of Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina and county seat of Wake County. in Raleigh, N.C., told his campus:"Because we count many international students as part of the WakeTech family, it is important that we reassure these students that theyare welcome. Anger and hatred caused Tuesday's tragedy. We must notallow those same emotions to affect our behavior." And, being as the colleges are, after all, institutions ofeducation, there were also educators on hand to help students place theattacks in a wider context. At Monroe Community College For the community college in Monroe County, Michigan, see .MCC was founded in 1961 and began offering degree programs in September 1962. The college is part of the State University of New York system, also known as SUNY. Current AdministrationPresident: R. in Rochester,N.Y., history professor Dr. Henry P. French presented "History ofthe Attack" -- a lecture aimed at illuminating the historicalheadwaters of Sept. 11. At Cleveland Community College in North Carolina North Carolina,state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N).Facts and FiguresArea, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. , Frank T. Polk,the college's program coordinator of criminal justice, was apanelist on a student television production examining the attacks.Polk's perspective was uniquely qualified -- he spent 24 years inthe U.S. Army's Special Forces Anti-Terrorism division and wasstationed in several Middle East countries over the years. In the immediate wake of the tragedy, most colleges eithercancelled classes or at least abbreviated them in order to let studentsattend assemblies. But some colleges went ahead with previously plannedevents as defiant symbol of normalcy nor��mal��cy?n.Normality.Noun 1. normalcy - being within certain limits that define the range of normal functioningnormality . Cape Fear Noun 1. Cape Fear - a cape in southeastern North Carolina extending into the Atlantic OceanNC, North Carolina, Old North State, Tar Heel State - a state in southeastern United States; one of the original 13 colonies Community College inNorth Carolina continued on a regular schedule of classes to demonstratethat the terrorist attack, as horrific as it was, could not bring thecountry and its institutions to their knees. The day after the attacks, the college decided to hold an assemblyabout the attacks, then go ahead with "welcome back"activities that had been previously scheduled to mark the opening of thefall term. There was free pizza, beverages and a band played popularmusic. Many campuses set up some way for students and others on campus torecord their feelings about the national tragedies. Davidson CountyCommunity College in North Carolina set up tables with rolls of paper tocreate a "Wall of Caring," which will be sent to victims andfamilies to show the support of the college. In southern California, Irvine Valley College Irvine Valley College (IVC) is a community college in Irvine, California and it is a part of the California Community Colleges system. Irvine Valley College and its sister college, Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, comprise the South Orange County Community College and SaddlebackColleges added a commemorative component to their previously plannedmid-September open house celebrations of community colleges'centennial. Giant banners supporting America are expected to be signedby thousands of visitors before they are sent to President Bush. But for all the commemoration of the past and the remembrance ofthe losses of Sept. 11, community colleges' reactions were equallyfocused on the future Patricia Shoemaker, the dean of instructional and student servicesat Davidson County Community College in North Carolina, urged hercolleagues and others on campus "to reach out to others, to listento each other, to care about each other, to extend kindness to others,to turn our fear and anger into positive emotions. It is possible forgood to come from this horrible tragedy, and it is though each one of usthat that will happen." Her resilient optimism was seconded by Dr. J. Terence Kelly, thechancellor of Delgado Community College Delgado Community College is a Louisiana public community college with campuses throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area, the East and West Banks of New Orleans, the East Bank of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana and on the North shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Covington, Louisiana in New Orleans, La.: "Insore e strange way, this ultimate act of cowardliness should provide newstrength and hope, and uplift all of our spirits as we reaffirm ourcommitment to our democratic principles as a country, and salute thisnation's community colleges as beacons of freedom."