By M.R.C. Greenwood

Like all of you, I was shocked and saddened by the events of September 11. These many months later, it is still difficult to fathom the scale of the attacks and the devastating loss of life. As the crisis unfolded, the questions being asked at UCSC were being asked everywhere: What had motivated the terrorists to inflict such damage? How could people decide to end the lives of so many innocent civilians in the name of their cause? What should this country's response be, and would it prompt future attacks? On campus, those mid-September days were made all the more challenging by our academic calendar: In just a few short days after the attacks, we would be welcoming new and returning students to UCSC for the start of fall quarter. As chancellor, I asked our faculty and staff to work together to help our students get through this difficult time. As it turned out, my colleagues' overwhelming response to the crisis aided more than our students: It proved to be the balm that enabled the entire campus community to begin the process of healing. The UCSC Responds to Sept. 11 article describes only a few of those post- September 11 activities; the counseling and other support services that helped our students cope with the disbelief and disorientation that were understandable after the attacks;	Photo: r. r. jones	the creatively organized lectures, discussion groups, and other activities that shed light on the many aspects of this complicated crisis; and the utter generosity that supported people whose suffering was far greater than ours. One of the New York victims was Atsushi Shiratori, a 1989 graduate of our Merrill College, who lost his life in the New York City attacks; Atsushi worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, which had offices on the top floors of the World Trade Center. We also soon learned that another member of the UCSC family, Catherine Tenorio Miller (Kresge College '92), suffered a tremendous loss on September 11. She and her husband David's 21-year-old daughter, Nicole Carol Miller, was on the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania. This issue's cover story features UCSC alumnus Kent Nagano (Porter College '74), whose debut as principal conductor of the Los Angeles Opera came only days after the terrorist attacks. With airlines temporarily grounded, Kent was barely able to make it to L.A. in time to conduct the long-scheduled performance of Lohengrin. Those in attendance that day were thankful he had made it. A moment of silence for the victims and a moving rendition of our national anthem left no eyes dry in the opera house. And, in the wake of September 11, the artistry of Lohengrin was an important reminder that so much about the human spirit is still worth celebrating.   M.R.C. Greenwood Chancellor
	I asked our faculty and staff to work together to help our students get through this difficult time. My colleagues' overwhelming response to the crisis proved to be the balm that enabled the entire campus community to begin the process of healing.