Opinion

OUR views

We should pass on the lessons of this semester

The semester is finally winding down as dead week begins Monday, but this has been anything but a normal semester.

Each semester is filled with different stresses and problems. Classes are harder than expected. Work becomes unbearable. Roommates who were friends the semester before barely speak to each other and so on.

But no one could have imagined what this semester would bring.

Just as we were beginning to settle into our new routines for the semester, our world was rocked by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The whole nation spent the day stunned, gazing at the television in disbelief. We cried as families shared their stories of loved ones lost. And then we mourned for one of our own, Dr. Paul Ambrose.

Americans have become united in a way our generation had never been before. They forgot about everything that "divided" them and focused on helping the victims of the tragedy.

We are only now beginning to come to grips with what happened and how it has changed our lives.

It is now our responsibility to prevent anything like this from happening again.

We must realize that hate and intolerance kill. Osama bin Laden and his followers hate the United States. They are intolerant of everything America stands for.

We must become the opposite of bin Laden and not hate those who are different from us. We must be tolerant of others' beliefs, even if we do not agree with them.

And we must pass these lessons on to the next generation. We must teach our children to be open-minded and tolerant of others and their beliefs if we want to prevent a tragedy like this from happening to others.

Most of all, our children must know how to love and appreciate the differences in the world.

We must teach them how to love, appreciate others and be tolerant, not through just our words, but also our actions.

This is will be our legacy to the world.

It will not be easy, though. The hate and intolerance has built up for thousands of years. We cannot change it overnight. But if we are resolved, we can make a difference.