Chancellor John Wiley,

I am horrified and appalled at the mass e-mail you sent to your students. Perhaps written in haste, it seemed terribly short and cold. As a person from New Jersey who sits staring at the TV, praying that my friends who are still missing are okay, I needed more.

I needed to know from the chancellor of my school that I have enough intelligence and good judgment to decide, along with guidance from my professors, if I should return to class. Instead, I felt your e-mail was very condescending and seemed to assume students would take advantage of this disaster to skip classes. The reality is this is tragic history and we should be home consoling each other and glued to the television.

I just hope those whose parents, siblings, and friends are now dead avoided checking their e-mail and did not have to experience the sadness I felt when I read that since Madison is safe, there is no need to worry – business as usual.

But none of us are safe; we all need to worry and nothing will ever be usual again. Your students deserve more consideration, keeping in mind the extremely high percentage who lost those they love the most. Tonight I will spend my time praying for my lost friends, not worried about my absences.