All college gathering in response to Hurricane Katrina at 12:15 p.m. today
On Sunday, August 28th, and in the days following, we watched with concern and then shock as Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf region of the United States. The result was a natural disaster of unimagined destruction, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens. In response to this tragedy, President Bush has declared a national day of prayer and mourning for this Friday, September 16, 2005.
Thus, I invite the Middlebury College community to gather on Friday from 12:15 to 12:30 PM on the hill in front of Mead Chapel for words of solace, meditation, and music, befitting a moment both of loss and the reaffirmation of life. Mead Chapel will be our rain site.
No doubt there will be many other opportunities in the weeks and months ahead to express our support and to learn more about the causes and impact of this natural disaster. For this moment, let us simply gather together our community as a witness to hope and healing in a time of loss.
Ronald D. Liebowitz