An Open Letter to the Community

Dear Members of the DeKalb/Sycamore Community: On behalf of the students, faculty and staff of Northern Illinois University, I want to say thank you. Perhaps only in the darkest times do we see the true meaning of what surrounds us. We have seen that dark time. And as we have mourned those NIU students we have lost, and those who were wounded in body and spirit, we have witnessed something else. We have seen the kind of caring that can only come from a good and whole community. We have seen the courage and excellence of the community's first responders and caretakers - the police, fire, emergency medical personnel, the hospital, and many others. So many have come to our aid, and all in different ways. Each kind word, each offer of encourag