“September 27, 2001-- Many scientists who study risk would remind us that the chances of a terrorist attack are extraordinarily small. They would argue that in figuring out how to respond to terrorism, that we should be rational and compare it against the risks that are more likely and invest our resources where they’ll do the most good. They might point out that heart disease will kill 120 times more Americans this year than died in the worst terrorist attack in history. Such talk is nonsense. Risk is a matter of emotion, not just a fact. Yes, we can and should do everything that makes us physically safe, but we must also recognize the risk that terrorism poses to our psyches, to our general sense of well-being and what that damage does to the way we live our lives. Right now we run the very real risk that it will take too long to laugh again.... We feel in a daze because the attack destroyed more than lives and buildings. It took away our right to feel any positive emotion.”

-David Ropeik, Director of the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis

“When Princeton University was looking for meaningful ways to assist in New York’s recovery and renewal following the tragic events of September 11, we created Arts Alive! This program provided cultural experiences in New York City for more than 10,000 schoolchildren in communities that had been especially affected, with our own students offering workshops for the schoolchildren and sharing these life shaping cultural experiences with them. The program turned out to be a great success, but only because we chose just the right partner. HAI not only identified the schools, obtained the tickets and made the arrangements, but provided training, guidance, support and inspiration to the hundreds of Princeton students who ended up participating. The thousands of schoolchildren, hundreds of Princeton students, and array of cultural institutions who benefited from this program owe HAI enormous thanks for the skill, sensitivity, resourcefulness and determination that turned a promising idea into a reality whose impact will be felt for many years and in many lives.”

-Bob Durkee, Vice President for Public Affairs, Princeton University