HyneSight

No corner of the United States was left untouched by the horrific events of Sept. 11, including the corner southwest of the intersection of University Avenue and 13th Street in Gainesville, Fla. Like

U. S. citizens elsewhere, all of us at UF watched and listened in disbelief, amazement and awe as the dreadful news unfolded.

As it did for U.S. citizens everywhere, Sept. 11 touched us personally in the College of Journalism and Communications:

Many of our alumni, students and faculty either come from the Boston-New York-Washington, D.C. corridor or have relatives or friends who live in that region. More than 1,000 of our alumni work in the New York area; almost 600 work in or near Washington, D.C.

One of our students lost her brother in the World Trade Center bombing, and one of our adjunct faculty members lost his cousin who was trying to rescue people in the World Trade buildings. The pain of those tragic events could not have come much closer.

And Professor Emeritus Hugh Cunningham turned 80 on Sept. 11. It was nowhere near a happy birthday. (We tried to change that with the College’s birthday celebration for “Mr. C.,” that, guided by some angel of Hugh’s, had been planned for Oct. 4.)

Like U.S. citizens elsewhere, we are slowly reconstructing what it means to live “normally” in the aftermath of terror at home.

As you will see throughout this issue, communigator reflects some of the many ways in which the College was touched by the tragedy and also how the College and its people--our alumni, current students, faculty, staff and friends--continue to use their talents and expertise to sort out the events around us, determine the meaning of those events, and incorporate that meaning into how they live their lives and perform their jobs.

On their-and our-best days, the performance continues to be extraordinary and at the highest levels of professional standards. That’s still our goal. But I think we aim to achieve our goals now with a stronger sense of how precious each moment is and how important it is to cherish the people who make each moment worthwhile.

—Terry Hynes