This past week, the Star has examined five separate fears that stem from the Sept. 11 attacks. The issues that we addressed — flying, bioterrorism, the draft, American vulnerability and World War III — are topics that have been getting a lot of attention by national news sources and by people in general.

The series finishes up today, and through it, the community has perhaps a broader understanding of the issues at hand. By no means did we do the series for shock value or to scare people into reading the paper, but it was emphasized because the issues, as much as we don’t want to talk about them, are still the issues that the community and the nation must deal with.

The series opened with a piece on a new fear of flying. The article explored the different reasons why people may be concerned about flying again. However, as the article stated, President Bush already has implemented a new airport security plan that he outlined recently at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. Part of that plan will consist of trained air marshals and an additional $500 million to modify planes.

The second part of the series was about bioterrorism. The threat of germ warfare has been the cover story of Time and Newsweek, and television news stations have had updates on the threat since the attack. However, while it is possible that chemical warfare could be used, students like Gini Martin, a senior political science major, think that there isn’t that big of a threat.

Part three examined whether or not the draft could be implemented. Considering there is no true war yet, the possibilities are very, very slim. Even the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld doesn’t expect the draft any time soon. And from the looks of things, it could stay that way for a long time, which is a good thing to know.

Part four emphasized the need for Americans to regroup and go on with our lives. Despite a slowing economy and the emotional pangs, America, and especially the NIU community, have continued with life. That’s a good sign. Soon things likely will be back to normal and maybe we will see a Student Association scandal and a CAB concert.

These issues, along with today’s final installation on the possibilities of a third World War, hopefully helped shed light on these subjects while at the same time alleviating some of the worry associated with them.

Within the coming month as more events unfold, the Star will continue to examine the stories that students are thinking about, but perhaps we we’ll get lucky and this predicted long war on terrorism will be shorter than we thought.