Kosher/Halal Opening The opening of the College's kosher/halal dining facility September 13 was covered by the Springfield Union News, the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and the Religion News Service, a national wire service handling religious and spiritual issues. All three reported on the opening of the Wilder facility in light of the terrorist attacks that occurred only two days before. The following is an excerpt from the Religious News Service report titled "Mount Holyoke Dining Hall: A Promise of Peace" by Christina Lee. "The September 13 ceremony, held two days after terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, was 'a moment of clarity,' said Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg of Amherst during the service. 'We have been filled with anger and helplessness. This is a moment of friendship and meaning.' Also speaking at the ceremony were the college Muslim chaplain, Sister Shamshad Sheikh, the Jewish chaplain, Efraim Eisen, the college dean and others from Jewish and Muslim faith communities on campus and in Massachusetts. ‘This event means a lot to our Muslim students, especially at times like this when they need to be welcomed and supported,' said Rani Al-Jammal of the Muslim Students Association at the neighboring University of Massachusetts. 'May God bless this venture, and peace be with you all.' Plans for the new facility developed after students petitioned Mount Holyoke in the spring of 2000 for a full service dining hall where they could eat according to the proscriptions of their faiths. Both halal and kosher foods require that animals be killed in a certain way, and food prepared according to specific guidelines. Helped by a $250,000 gift from an anonymous alumna—and a good deal of interfaith dialogue on campus—the 100-seat Wilder Hall opened this fall. Beverly Daniel Tatum, dean of the elite liberal arts women's college, called this cooperation 'the source of my greatest hope.'"

Crisis Communicators In seeking perspectives from valley academics on the September 11 attacks and their aftermath, local television and radio reporters turned to MHC international relations professors Vincent Ferraro and Jon Western. One of the most difficult questions, "Who hates the United States this much to launch an effort like this?," was posed to Ferraro by WFCR's Bob Paquette September 13. Here is part of Ferraro's response: "There are people, quite clearly, in the world who hate the United States and believe that the United States is responsible for a number of bad circumstances or a number of bad actions. It would be hard for a nation as important or powerful as the United States not to have significant enemies. But there is a certain pathology here which is difficult for me to analyze. I study international relations and the taking of civilian life is not something that ought to happen or should happen, and to take it in such a devastatingly efficient way is something we have no reference point for. Whatever individuals are responsible for this, it's clear that they are operating in the context of a lot of resentment against the United States, and that really is the key issue. The extraordinary plan that was put into effect suggests an eminently rational, very intelligent agent and that's what we have to deal with. We're not dealing with a crazy person, but we are dealing with a person whose values we don't share. That's clear."