CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — I flew into Boston this morning, for an occasion entirely unrelated to my day job, expecting to step into the daily tumult of America’s most venerable city, or at least a subdued version thereof. Instead, I met with a ghost town, immobilized and silenced by two (now one) of the more unwelcome passengers on this vast planet of ours.
I am now on lockdown at my hotel while law enforcement officers bring this senseless tragedy to a close.
One of the many fears that crossed my mind on Monday afternoon was that the the act of ignorance and depravity, which we now know was perpetrated by the Tsarnaev brothers, would make Boston seem a dangerous and unwelcoming place. This stain would be tragic, especially for the hundreds of thousands of students who swell the city’s population from August through May each year.
When I was part of that population, as graduate school in Cambridge, I lived literally five blocks from the 7-11 that they ripped off last night, and 10 blocks from the spot where the MIT security guard was killed. I have friends who were in harm’s way, both on Monday and last night. From more placid times here, I know how wondrous the academic community in Boston can be. It is not known as the education capital of the United States (“the Athens of America”) for nothing.
The city’s 50-plus colleges and universities rightfully draw students not only from around America, but indeed from around the world. In my travels for ArborBridge, overseas college counselors tell me–nearly without exception–that Boston is the number-one destination for their students who go to U.S. colleges. That trend holds true everywhere from Kuala Lumpur to Sao Paulo to Riyadh. (It remains to be confirmed whether the Tsarnaev brothers were themselves students.)
For all the chaos and sadness of the past five days, nothing should unseat Boston’s status or stem the tide of students from all corners of the globe. This week’s unrest is momentary. The city will right itself. The colleges will reopen on Monday, and marathon will run again next year. The eerie emptiness of Harvard Square, around the corner from my hotel, will vanish. And students’ minds will continue to fill with ideas that even the most bloodthirsty act could never suppress.
For all the high school students overseas who may be reconsidering Boston, of the U.S., I say simply this: keep the faith, realize your ambitions, and do not for a minute be afraid to join an extraordinary community of scholars.
This act of terrorism, like all others, offers the finest reason imaginable to seek education–and to seek it in a diverse, welcoming place. While Tsarnaev brothers clearly missed the memo, education remains the greatest force for combating violence, ignorance, and hatred that this world will ever know. Indeed, it is the only force that can do so.
Boston does not, of course, have a monopoly on education. All you need is an open conversation, or a good book. But it’s all the more exciting when you can read, discuss, discover, and excel in a place like this.
I packed plenty of good books into my luggage. I may try to read a few pages, between news updates, while I’m on lockdown. Then tomorrow I’m going to wake up, and I–like the millions of residents and hundreds of thousands of students in this city–will look forward to once again talking about how to make this world a better place.
