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Fletcher Touched by Terrorist Attacks in New York and Washington By Arturo Ramos F'01 An article by Michele Malvesti in the September 10 issue of the Fletcher Ledger on Americancounter-terrorism policy could not have been more
The dozens of Fletcher alumni who are employed by the Department of Defense (DoD) and housed in the Department's Arlington headquarters witnessed the terror first hand. Graduates of the Fletcher School who work in the building include the Undersecretary of the Navy, Susan Morrisey Livingstone, Fletcher Alumni Association of Washington DC Co-Chair, Gayle Meyers, as well as Erin Conaton, Julie Werbel and John Kruze. Larry Hanauer, who fled the damaged headquarters building with fellow Fletcher graduates Jay Wilkins, F'88, and Mustafa Popal, F'01, wrote fellow Fletcher graduates about his experience "evacuating in somewhat organized chaos, and being shooed out of the parking lot because of a second hijacked aircraft rumored to be heading toward DC." Robert Ripperger, F'01 who works for DoD contractor, Scientific Advisory Board, was also at the Pentagon on Tuesday morning. "I was on the other side of the building, and I got out," he recounted to his concerned classmates. Like many others in the Washington area, he experienced difficulty getting a phone line in the hours immediately following the incident. Phone systems were overwhelmed as millions of Americans tried to reach their loved ones to confirm their well-being. While the damage to the Pentagon was considerable, the devastation at the World Trade Center was of harrowing proportions. Concerns for the lives of a number of Fletcher alumni who work for Citigroup subsided when Bill Miller F'01 put out word that none of the recent graduates who work for the New York City based firm, namely himself, Clay Norrbom, Lynn Swartz and Rick Evans, were in the company's downtown offices on Tuesday morning. Kim Barry, F'00, responded to a nervous inquiry from a fellow Fletcherite. "I do work in the World Trade Center area but got out before [the towers] fell." Thus far, there are no confirmed casualties among the Fletcher community. However, tens of thousands of people working and visiting the World Trade Center on any given day and the chaos and displacement resulting from the incidents has made it difficult to track down a number of individuals. The closing of subways, bridges and tunnels in Manhattan coupled with phone system overloads left many individuals stranded and isolated. Some members of the Fletcher community have turned their grief and concern into action. Fletcher student Joseph Marcel-Saint Louis, who is a physician, began organizing a group of student volunteers on Tuesday evening to travel to Manhattan and aid in the rescue and treatment of victims. Responding to the shortage of blood supplies, many alumni have heeded the call of the Red Cross and donated blood. Other members of the Fletcher community have availed of their expertise in foreign affairs and terrorism to help the greater public better understand the situation. Malvesti appeared on National Public Radio's "Talk of the Town" on Tuesday afternoon and gave interviews to The Dallas Morning Post and The Baltimore Sun. Robert Pfaltzgraff, Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of International Security Studies at the Fletcher School gave interviews to Reuters and The Boston Globe. Richard Shultz, Professor of International Politics was on Talk of the Town. On Wednesday, Marc Gopin and John Moore are scheduled for Greater Boston with Emily Rooney, Michele Malvesti is scheduled for the David Brudnoy Show and Marc Gopin is scheduled for the New England Cable News |
