Open Letter to President Bush and our Representatives in Congress from the undersigned faculty and staff of Elon University

With people around the world, we mourn for the lives lost to acts of terror on September 11th. Our hearts and spirits grieve with those whose loved ones were taken from them.

As our nation copes with its shock and grief, let us remain faithful to our core values-respecting innocent lives and the human rights of all people.

We urge our leaders to pursue the terrorists and bring them to justice according to international law.

Courts are designed to prevent endless cycles of vigilantism and revenge; we want to prevent this conflict from becoming a war against Islam.

We need to focus our actions on those responsible and not launch military attacks against innocent people. Killing innocents is a terrorist's tactic; it should not be ours. Rather than military strikes on already oppressed people, we need to bring those responsible to justice.

We must vigilantly protect our constitutional rights and civil liberties. Effective security measures can be developed within the limits of the rights that it has taken us centuries to secure.

We need to reach out to Muslims and Arab-Americans who mourn with us. The terrorists behind the September 11th atrocities do not represent Islam or any country.

Even as we feel threatened, we can acknowledge that some of our foreign policies harm innocent people.

We should participate fully in international forums for the airing of grievances and ensure that our foreign policies foster peaceful coexistence.

As we have come together in grief, let us come together to work for justice, healing, and an end to violence in all its forms.

Anne Cassebaum
Nim Batchelor
Richard McBride
Jim Pickens
Anthony Weston
Ann Cahill