Tuesday, when many students watched and wondered how we could go on, MSU President M. Peter McPherson decided we can and we must.

While the University of Michigan, Central Michigan University and other state universities closed their doors, this campus stayed open and held classes.

Some may have seen this decision as a threat to the safety of students and faculty or disgraceful to the memory of the countless victims of Tuesday’s blasts. But the simple fact is we must deal with this tragedy. The closing of the university could not have helped reconstruct the World Trade Center, nor can it ease the pain of so many mourning victims.

What would have happened if we had all stayed home from classes? What could we have done in our dorms and apartments? Blood drives were overwhelmed and grief for the fallen was displayed even without the closing of campus.

Instead, those of us who could went to classes, allowing professors and students to face their emotions and fears. It allowed comfort for those who needed. It allowed all of us to start a dialogue to better understand the impact this moment in history has had on our lives.

The decision to keep classes in session was not a disregard of the sorrow of millions. It was a challenge to rise above the tragedy and work as a campus to understand it.

We, as humans, are social beasts. We have never solved any of our political or social woes by shutting ourselves in a room. We must pull together, console each other and work toward healing our wounds.

In his address to the nation Tuesday night, President Bush said: “These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed.”

We can be proud our university exemplifies that.