Terrorism has no place in the world. It is caused by hate. We as a community must not allow the hate possessed by the murderers of thousands of people to infiltrate Penn State.

The government believes the heinous acts committed Tuesday were done by Middle Eastern people. That does not mean, however, that we must vilify all people of that persuasion. The actions of certain individuals must not cloud our country's judgment of an entire group of people. Students of that background should not be eyed suspiciously or be ostracized because of their lineage.

There are many students here at University Park who come from that area of the world.

They do not condone these actions, and most, if not all, were horrified that any person could do what was done only a couple of days ago. They attended the vigils; they cried along side of us.

The television news programs showed Palestinians celebrating in our moment of sorrow. Those depicted on the television were certainly out of line. However, do not attribute those images to the whole Palestinian nation.

Do not attribute the gross insensitivity of those on the cameras to Middle Eastern students here.

Penn State admirably answered the call by the American Red Cross. Students of all faiths and races donated their blood. They knew the severity of the situation. They were motivated by love and compassion. We must not allow hate to consume the campus. Hate is what motivated this attack and other vicious crimes. We do not need that here.

History has showed what hate and prejudice can do. During World War II, Japanese-Americans were sent to internment camps, due to the anti-Japanese fervor in this nation. Many of these people volunteered for the armed forces. They were proud to be Americans. They did not deserve to be looked upon as evil people.

Vietnamese-Americans suffered greatly in this country. They were blamed for the war and the pain it caused. They faced great prejudice and resentment here for many years.

Our hearts are filled with sorrow. There is anger that thousands of innocent lives were snuffed out by a group of fanatics. We must not allow that anger to guide us.

We have classes with Arab and Muslim students. We dine with them, and converse with them.

They did not commit those awful suicide attacks. Let us not change our opinion of these students because they happen to look like or because they share a religion with those who may have perpetrated what happened in New York and Washington.

Hate has divided the world, it must not be allowed to do the same to our campus.