Students, community line up for Clemson University class on Sept. 11 attacks

Posted 6:09AM on Friday 11th January 2002 ( 23 years ago )

CLEMSON, S.C. - In a crowded Clemson University classroom, students in baseball caps and gray-haired retirees leafed through handouts on the first day of class as they contemplated the legacy of Sept. 11. Many schools around the country have offered courses on the terrorist attacks, but Clemson officials invited the public to sit in for free to attend Jay Hetherington's class. More than 200 people attended on Thursday, the first day of class. Hetherington, who has 33 years of CIA experience, is bringing in several high-profile lecturers to help students and members of the public make some sense of the attacks. "It's changed the world," said Lamibia Clark, a 19-year-old nursing major who is one of the 75 students enrolled in the class. "I'm interested to know how it's changed other people." "This shocked us into this new attitude," said Bob Rochford, 78. "I think it's a wake up call for the country." Since the attacks, colleges have expanded classes on terrorism, Islam and fundamentalism to meet student demand. The University of Georgia introduced a class on television, war and terrorism, while the College of William and Mary in Virginia is offering a course on Afghan politics. Hetherington hopes to give his class a new perspective on what terrorism means to the United States. He worked overseas on North Korean issues in the late 1970s and was deputy chief of the CIA director's arms control staff during the Reagan administration. The professor offers extensive knowledge of the Middle East, weapons of mass destruction and challenges to civil liberties. "We all find ourselves learning and groping our way through issues that have too many facets, too many variables and too many imponderables," Hetherington said. The first guest speaker, Rep. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, talked Thursday about America's war on terrorism. "This is not over by a long shot," said Graham, with the image of a target focused on the World Trade Center illuminated behind him. "The only reason why they used airplanes is because there was nothing else to use," he said. "There is a ticking clock in terms of when and if they get their hands on a weapon of mass destruction." Hetherington plans to tap FBI agents, emergency room doctors contracted to the Defense Department and other experts as future guest speakers. "Each brings their own perspectives, agendas and outlooks to the table," Hetherington said. "Why use me when I can use a doctor who has some hands-on experience?" Iranian native Roger Doost, who teaches accounting at Clemson, is scheduled to speak before the class in February. He looks forward to sharing his experiences with religious fundamentalism in his homeland. "This is a serious global problem, more so in the Middle Eastern dictatorships where they don't have a vent," Doost said. In America, fundamentalists "can talk about it, they can go to churches." "My hope is this young generation becomes aware of the issues ... and individually and collectively think in terms of what needs to be done," Doost said. University President Jim Barker said Hetherington's class grew out of a successful forum about the terrorist attacks held in October. "We're trying to recognize this moment," Barker said. "Our hope is we're doing what we're responsible for and that is to teach."

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/1/203402