South Campus psychology professor Charles Overstreet was engrossed with the news May 1.
Overstreet, who served two tours in Iraq as a stress management team leader, was as enthusiastic as the crowds cheering the reports of Osama bin Laden’s death.
“I’ve been glued to the news coverage,” he said. “I think they did a really good job of tracking him down. I’m glad the head’s cut off the snake, at least temporarily.”
Bin Laden’s death was special for many TCC students and faculty, like William Pearson, coordinator of the fire academy on NW Campus.
“Just because so many of our brothers [fellow firefighters] were killed by his actions, we’re happy that there’s some closure to that situation,” Pearson said.
SE English instructor Arlandis Jones spent six years in the Navy and left in 2007. He entered the military in 2001 after 9/11. During his time in the service, he was deployed for 17 months on various carriers, including the USS Abraham Lincoln. He said the death of bin Laden relieved lots of frustration.
“Finally!” he said. “It’s a sense of relief and accomplishment. Now, hopefully, we can send our troops home.”
Veteran and NW student Ryland Morigeau expressed his relief that bin Laden is gone but was concerned for the future.
“I’ve had friends who served in Afghanistan. They’ve hated it for a long time. A lot of people don’t understand — they first started receiving tips about this compound in 2007,” Morigeau said about where bin Laden was found. “Personally, I’m happy bin Laden’s dead. I’m happy Hussein is dead. But we’ve still got a lot of work to do. If there’s something that we learned from 9/11, it’s that we shouldn’t fear the man. We should fear the movement.”
SE student Victor Montalvo, who is Muslim, went further in saying Bin Laden’s death won’t alter much around the world. Last spring, Montalvo and a group of friends were walking to McDonalds when a truck pulled beside them. The people in the truck started to yell racial slurs, calling them “terrorists” and “towel heads.”
He said even though bin Laden is dead, incidents like his will still occur.
“I was shocked when I heard the news,” he said. “But somebody who’s crazier than him is going to take his place. This doesn’t change anything. Our troops are still going to be there. Muslims with long beards will still be stereotyped as the bad guy. I don’t see where we’ll go from here.”
[Corrected Sept. 2, 2015]
