Since Sept. 11, federal and state governments have worked hard to coordinate their efforts in the war against terrorism, said Clifford Ong, Indiana Counter-Terrorism coordinator.
As the first part of a lecture series on issues relating to Sept. 11, sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the history and political science departments, guest speaker Ong illustrated the process undergone to create the merging of these two forces in his lecture, "Homeland Security."
"It's a re-ordering of public safety (operations) and organizing their relationship and how they work together," Ong said.
Shortly after Sept. 11, government officials had to react quickly to the crisis before them.
One reaction was the creation of the Counter-Terrorism Security Council by Gov. Frank O'Bannon, Indiana's local liaison to the Department of Homeland Security.
It was the first step in linking federal and state functions, and the road has been a long and rocky one.
"We've never really had to meet to work together before," Ong said. "State police have the problem of not wanting to share information. Public health officials are not attuned to working with emergency situations, and emergency management officials have seldom gotten involved with the police."
Nonetheless, progress is being made.
Ong said the two entities are devising national strategies involving bio-terrorism, facility protection, emergency preparation and border security.
Joe Losco, chair of the political science department, believes that this lecture series aids in understanding the events that changed the nation after Sept. 11.
"9/11 was a major turning point for the nation," Losco said. "Just as at the national level we feel the need to reflect on that event, at the college level we feel the need to explore its causes and how it affects human relations in this interdependent world."
Losco said he hopes the series will get the brains of students working.
"We want students to think, reflect, and consider these events and their place in this world as it has changed since Sept. 11," he said.
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