Editorial: Norwich strong

In the last two months, Norwich as a community has faced and remembered great loss.

The deaths of Brian Bill '01, Heath Kelly '98, and freshman Renee Robbins have all come as a shock to the Norwich community. The tragedy of their deaths is not easy to deal with, and all this comes on top of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Many students, faculty and staff lost loved ones on that fateful day in September 2001.

While Tropical Storm Irene did not result in any loss of life, many connected to Norwich lost possessions and homes.

Norwich has spent the last several weeks mourning. But Norwich is strong. The community will recover from these unfathomable tragedies. These events have brought together students from all walks of life. Corps, traditional students and commuters all honor and remember those lost in their own ways.

Not knowing the victims of these tragedies does not blunt the pain of their loss. Each loss is still a loss for the Norwich family and it is felt by that same family.

The wake for Renee was on Wednesday in Massachusetts. There will be another wake in Michigan on Friday. Her funeral will be on Saturday. Our prayers and thoughts go out to Renee and her family.

We wish everyone who was injured in the crash on Sunday morning a speedy recovery and we hope that they return to our community as soon as they are able.