MPR: Students urge Wellstone not to endorse hasty response

Students urge Wellstone not to endorse hasty response
By Tim Pugmire
Minnesota Public Radio
September 17, 2001

Students at St. Paul's Como Park Senior High School say they want the federal government to track down those responsible for last's week's terrorist attacks on the East Coast, but they don't want to see a hasty military response. About 200 students shared their concerns Monday about the new war on terrorism during a discussion with U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone.

Student Maggie Stern advised the senator about her concerns with the lapses in national security that allowed suspected terrorists to train for the attacks in the United States. "I feel safe in this country, but knowing that there's people here for years planning to bomb our cities, that doesn't make me feel that safe," she said.
(MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire)

Minnesota's senior U.S. senator has made a habit of visiting a public school every couple of weeks since he took office a decade ago. Wellstone says whenever the nation faces a crisis, or he has to make a tough decision, he'll turned to students for advice. "This is the best thing I ever did; to come here. Because the points that are really complicated thinking on your part," Wellstone told students.

Student Maggie Stern advised the senator about her concerns with the lapses in national security that allowed suspected terrorists to train for the attacks in the United States. "I feel safe in this country, but knowing that there's people here for years planning to bomb our cities, that doesn't make me feel that safe," she said.

With the initial shock and disbelief fading, these students, like members of the Congress, are now thinking hard about the next step.

Brad Rezny told Wellstone he definitely wants to see the nation retaliate some way. "I'm not exactly sure what we should do to retaliate. We need to show we're not going to take it. Otherwise, I don't know, I think it's smart to plan out what we're going to do first, make a plan that we won't make a mistake, that we won't be able to take back," Rezny said.

Student Gordon Chehoski also wants the country to fight hard back against terrorists, but he's looking for swift justice. "We should hire more spies to infiltrate their nations and find out who it is that did this, and then kill the perpetrators."

Chehoski's call for revenge won a round of applause from his classmates. But the vast majority of the students assembled in the school's auditorium for this discussion urged a more cautious approach.

"What if we find out who it is and it's not that right person?" asked Darin Edwards. "Are you all going to bomb him instead of just looking for the right people? And what if you don't find that right person and we never find out who it is?"

Como Park Senior High, like most St. Paul public schools, has a lot of racial and ethnic diversity among the student body, which includes many recent immigrants. Sympathies run high for the people of other countries.

Sen. Wellstone told the students he agreed with much of what they said, but he stressed the need for some kind of American response. He described such a response as strong and unified, but also consistent with American values. (MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire)

Kiki Mentan says she's opposed to the U.S. military bombing another nation in hopes of hitting suspected terrorists. "I think they should try to find out from the hijackers what they were after and why they had to do it. And I also think they shouldn't bomb because of America's place in the world, because America is the top country in the whole world," Mentan said.

Sen. Wellstone told the students he agreed with much of what they said, but he stressed the need for some kind of American response. He described such a response as strong and unified, but also consistent with American values.

"What we saw happen in our country was just the slaughter, indiscriminate slaughter of innocent people, including little kids. That's not the United States of America, that's not what we'll do. When we respond. it needs to be targeted on those who are actually responsible for this act. That's the way we proceed as a nation," Wellstone said.

After the hour-long discussion, Wellstone said he was moved and inspired by the students' opinions. The senator returns to Washington this week to continue congressional discussions on the nation's possible response. He'll also consider legislation to help investigators better track suspected terrorists and to provide some assistance to the nation's airline industry. Tim Pugmire covers education for Minnesota Public Radio. Reach him via e-mail at tpugmire@mpr.org,

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