There are times when the actions of students on this campus cannot be explained. License plates are stolen and switched, fire alarms are repeatedly pulled, and laptop computers are used as stereos in the Commons Dining Hall. However, none of these inane actions comes close to those of students on the night of September 20. At 9 pm, President George Bush addressed members of Congress and the general public. In his speech, he outlined America’s objectives and plans for responding to the terrorist attacks of September 11.

Before a single word was uttered, it was clear that this speech would have far-reaching effects that no person can hope to predict. The leaders of every country in the world were glued to their television sets to see how America was going to react to the criminal acts that have cut so deeply into the very cultural thread of our nation. Would America back off the hard-line approach that had been reported? Would America make concessions to avoid shedding more blood? What was America going to do? This was on the hearts and minds of millions of people across the world. It was clear that President Bush’s speech was going to set off a series of events which would alter the world we live in forever.

However, as I listened to our President speak, all I could hear in the background were the sounds of the video game Quake. A response is being given to the deadliest terrorist attack in history. An ultimatum is being given that causes all other things to pale in comparison. A declaration of war is being issued, and yet here at RPI students play Quake and shout at each other. In what is one of the most sobering presidential addresses, RPI students play Quake.

It does not matter if you do not like our government. It does not matter if you voted for Al Gore because you think George Bush is not fit to be president. It does not matter if you didn’t vote at all. What we are faced with as members of this society is an evil that transcends any such differences we may have. How are we going to fight an enemy who is so entrenched that we cannot even find him in our own midst? How long is our war against terrorism going to last? How many men will be committed to this fight?

It is our generation who is going to bear the brunt of the consequences resulting from President Bush’s words. It is our children who will see the world we create for them. So, while the world goes about trying to pick up the shards from our glass house of safety so recently shattered, RPI students play Quake.

I understand that this is not true of all RPI students. However, to those "esteemed colleagues" of mine who felt it necessary to take aim at one another over their computer screens, think of this. Tomorrow, in some far off country, a real person may look through a real rifle, pull a real trigger, and kill a real person so that you may live in safety and play Quake. Your arrogant, unreflecting attitude does nothing but propagate American ignorance on a subject we must be keenly aware of. Students like you make me ashamed to count myself among the ranks of students who call RPI home for four years.

Richard DiDomizio