Online Edition | Washington State University | Pullman, Washington | Friday, February 22, 2002

Terrorism sparks spring courses, 
seminars at WSU
By Brad Redford, WSU Today

As the United States fights a war on terrorism, secures its borders and protects its citizens, professors at various universities, like WSU, are looking at these activities as topics of discussion, lecture and research.

Duke University and the University of North Carolina, for example, have changed their curriculums for the spring semester to teach about such events in the classroom. One professor from Duke University told the Associated Press (AP), "This is the largest opportunity for us in a generation to contribute to the public good."

The U.S. Army War College, according to an article by the AP, is refocusing their courses to "examine a relatively new concept: ‘asymmetric warfare’ — the idea that an unseen, unknown and unconventional enemy will attack where least expected."

WSU awareness
Some Washington State University faculty are revamping class syllabuses and adding seminars to focus on the different magnitudes and effects of terrorism.

Steven Stehr, professor of political science, is an expert in natural disaster recovery. He has studied such catastrophes as the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake near San Francisco. Stehr claims the events of Sept. 11 have dramatically changed our view of the causes and consequences of such tragedies.

Stehr says the collapse of the World Trade Center revealed new factors to be considered in rescue recovery. Some of these include the scope of the destruction and the loss of so many response personnel. He believes future rescue response procedures must incorporate lessons learned at ground zero in New York City.

"I think the main change in recovery is a rethinking of the disaster assistance and relief system, particularly in how assistance programs are coordinated," he added. He wants to incorporate the events of last fall into his public administration classroom and have students analyze a disaster relief program.

Since last fall, Stehr has also seen a change in an American viewpoint — more people are willing to give up liberties for security.

"Government was widely distrusted; now we look to government to solve our problems," he said. "Before, two-thirds did not trust government, but that has flipped, and we now make heroes out of policemen and firefighters."

At WSU’s College of Liberal Arts, John Kicza, associate dean, and a group of students, faculty and administrators are working on a two-day seminar to be held in March, the six-month anniversary of September 11.

"We want to analyze the climate both at WSU and the nation, the effect the tragedy has had on the economy, the direction of the country, national politics, society, ethnic relations and international relations," Kicza said. "We hope to bring in a major speaker to keynote it."

The program will be held on March 11 and 12. Right now, the schedule is tentative, Kicza added. One planned event includes Pres. V. Lane Rawlins and other speakers participating in a noon program on March 11 at the Glenn Terrell Mall or in the CUB. The presentation will focus on the impact that Sept. 11 had on Washington State University and higher education over all. Also, the College of Liberal Arts is arranging for the keynote speaker.

Afternoon sessions will include the transformed American economy, changing career patterns, job prospects in the Pacific Northwest, "Media: Stories Not Told," and how WSU and the local community responded to the 9-11 tragedy.

Another event will feature the photography of Fazal Shiekh on Afghan refugees of Kabul 7 – 9 p.m. Monday, March 11. A presentation and discussion on the artistic representation of human tragedy will accompany the exhibit.

WSU hopes students will find and attend events of interest, Kicza said. Most sessions will be scheduled during lunch, late afternoon and evening and should not conflict with classes.

Classroom instruction
Thomas Preston, professor of political science, has taught national and international security since he came to WSU. He fought to keep the curriculum as part of the political science venue when the department, like many around the nation, considered disbanding it because of the end of the Cold War.

"After the Cold War ended, a lot of universities were getting rid of their national security courses," Preston said. "We came very close to doing it here."

Preston’s classes deal with U.S. national security, foreign and defense policy and international security — topics covered long before Sept. 11 — as well as terrorism and nuclear and biological proliferation.

Preston saw his classes becoming hard for students when discussing Sept. 11 events. He could see students fighting back tears. But this brought more motivation to discuss the issues in the classroom.

Preston claims the classroom is a good place to teach about national security. "Knowledgeable, informed citizens help to make better defense policy," he concluded.