Reactions on campus muted

Deirdre Newman

NEWPORT BEACH -- At 5:45 a.m. Tuesday morning, Newport Harbor High

School teacher Phil D’Agostino’s lesson plan for his U.S. history classes

imploded in a cloud of smoke.

Instead of discussing the settlement of colonial America, D’Agostino

spent the day with his classes watching history unfold and discussing the

dramatic and unprecedented terrorist attacks in New York City and

Washington, D.C., that have left an indelible imprint on the minds of

Americans everywhere.

“I think it’s going to be memorable for a long time, like the Oklahoma

City bombing,” junior Edaena Negrete said.

D’Agostino took a three-prong approach to the discussion by trying to

explain why the terrorist attacks took place, where U.S. foreign policy

is going from here and what it means to the students close to home.

For Edaena and her classmates, the discussion provided therapy in

dealing with their questions and concerns. Most of the discussion

revolved around retaliation options and if they would provoke further

attacks.

At the beginning of school, Principal Michael Vossen declared a minute

of silence and lowered the school’s flag tohalf-mast. Vossen said he

encouraged teachers to let students express their feelings about tragic

events such as the terrorist attacks Tuesday morning.

In D’Agostino’s classroom, backpacks quickly became armrests and

binders remained unopened as the somber students stared intently at a

television in the back of the classroom for the first part of class,

engrossed in the endless review of the devastating events.

To start the discussion, D’Agostino asked his students how they were

dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy.

“It’s just a blown-away moment that it’s just a regular Tuesday and

this could happen,” said one student.

D’Agostino also recounted his own reaction to witnessing the attacks.

“Usually before work, I go into my children’s rooms and give them a

kiss on the forehead. Today I thought about how weird it is that their

world will be so different from what it was yesterday. Your world will be

different too,”’ he said.

D’Agostino then talked about American foreign policy and the way the

United States is perceived abroad, explaining that some view the United

States as a rogue state similar to “woolly mammoths in a china shop.”

“While the United Sates continues to be the envy of the global

community, it is increasingly a target for hostilityand aggression,” he

said. “Clearly the message is ‘we can get you if we don’t agree with

you.”’

The United States will probably employ a multilateralresponse that

includes finding out who is responsible for the terrorist attacks, taking

a tough stand publicly and engaging in covert operations as well,

D’Agostino explained.

Junior Dan Noriega, who describes himself as a nonviolent person, said

he is worried the attacks will evoke a knee-jerk militaristic reaction.

“I hate the mentality: ‘Let’s go bomb, let’s go kill,”’ he said. “I

felt alleviated when the teacher and some students agreed with me.”

D’Agostino emphasized that the attacks are a wake-up call for the

country that will hopefully lead to more dialogue to bridge the gaps

between the United States and groups with different opinions and beliefs.

Because of so much uncertainty about today’s events and their

repercussions, D’Agostino discouraged students from rushing to judgment.

“Let’s not forget our personal values and see if they’rereinforced or

undermined by what we’re seeing,” D’Agostino said.