The Phillips Academy community has traveled a long and difficult journey from the joyous all-school meeting Sept. 11 that launched the first day of classes this fall. Minutes after students had gathered to cheer the reigning Class of ’02, terrorist attacks shattered America’s peace of mind and left us grieving and emotionally unhinged.

But the strength of community prevails. In the painful days and weeks that followed the attacks, Andover’s students and teachers have come together often–as a school and in smaller groups–to talk with and comfort one another, to worship, and, most important, to teach and learn. Within hours of the attacks, we all drew strength from an all-school

gathering on the Great Quadrangle in front of Samuel Phillips Hall. We prayed, listened to beautiful music and began to get our bearings in a world we knew had changed forever. A

few days later, on the day President Bush declared a National Day of Mourning, more than 700 of us gathered for a candlelight interfaith observance in front of the Addison Gallery of American Art. Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim students led the group in prayer. In this simple ceremony, we saw that different faiths can unite rather than divide when practiced by people of good will. The large American flag displayed at the Addison Gallery served as a backdrop, conveying the school’s shared grief for the victims, two of whom are our own graduates. Tragically, as we learned days later, Stacey Sanders ’94 and Todd Isaac ’90 were both killed in the World Trade Center attack. We will print their obituaries in the Winter Bulletin.

In the post-Sept. 11 world, Andover’s diverse community presents us with great opportunities and distinct challenges. It has been both instructive and healing for American students to see that their peers from other countries share their grief for the victims and abhorrence of terrorism. And our international students are reassured to know they are warmly embraced here.

But in the weeks and months ahead, as our government, our nation, and the world respond to the attacks, our belief in one of the most cherished of American values–freedom of expression–will likely be tested and strained. Our true regard for diversity of thought will be challenged when views expressed conflict with our deeply held convictions about war, peace and justice. But it is only through open discussion, in what John Stuart Mill called the "free marketplace of ideas," that our nation and our society will continue to grow stronger. As I told our students at a recent all-school meeting, we owe it to one another (and to our democracy) to be sure that we all feel free to express ourselves–whether our views are reflected in the editorial pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post or The Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal or The Guardian.

In times like these, we also need to remember another of our greatest strengths as a country–our extraordinary success in making real the ideal of E Pluribus Unum. As an academy founded in the crucible of the American Revolution, we also believe in that ideal and try to live it every day. May our greatest virtues as a nation and as a school sustain us in the difficult times in which we live.

Barbara Landis Chase
Head of School