The Criminal Justice Club partnered with Adult Education to bring Jeffery Norwitz on campus. Mr. Norwitz, an experienced law enforcement official, came to the campus to discuss the War on Terror. Now a professor at the Naval War College, Mr. Norwitz teaches the only terrorism class at the War College.

Mr. Norwitz grew up in Hartford, Connecticut. He always had a passion for looking for the truth. At the age of 8 he knew he wanted to go into law enforcement because of a television show, Ranger Andy.

Mr. Norwitz was first in the military where he served time in Vietnam. After his service in the military, Mr. Norwitz joined a police force in Colorado Springs. For seven years, he was apart of the SWAT team. Following SWAT, he was recruited into the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). For 22 years he was involved in crime, terrorism, and intelligence investigation.

In 2001, Mr. Norwitz was asked to teach courses concerning the nature of terrorism, at the Naval War College. The Naval War College is designed as a masters program for soon–to-be generals. These generals are taught strategic studies for national security. The college is a way to prepare the senior officers for the decisions they will eventually have to make as leaders.

Mr. Norwitz did several presentations on campus durimng his visit to Ferrum College. All of the presentations were centered on terrorism and led to intense and heated discussion and debate. Mr. Norwitz gave several presentations on campus during his visit. Mr. Norwitz also introduced the community to the types of terrorism that have been in existence for many years, such as the extremist group The Black Panthers and Red Army Fashion.

The most recent terrorist attacks that the world has faced have a new element to which we as Americans have not been exposed. Mr. Norwitz claimed that it felt new because the attack was directed at such a large group and because of the media attention that was received. This new feeling appeared because of the uncertainty as to whether or not the attacks should be viewed as a crime or an act of war.

The main event was “Is the War on Terror a World War.” The title alone caught the interest of many students, faculty, and community members. The presentation started by playing on the audience’s emotions by showing a slideshow of the 9/11 attacks.

Following the emotional slideshow, Mr. Norwitz presented information on terrorism, the goal of which was to spark a gripping discussion. The main theme of his presentation was “Are We in World War III?” Reflection on the past World Wars, Mr. Norwitz explained, is the concept behind the idea of ideological struggles and global concerns.

The discussion following his main presentation lasted longer then the audience expected. Mr. Norwitz did a first-rate job of answering the questions to the best of his abilities. The truth is that some of these questions had answers that no one really knew.

The night was interesting and provoked thinking after 5 PM which is a goal of the Adult Education Program. The Criminal Justice Club and Adult Education were happy with the success of the program and that it generated feedback among students.

Tesia Zajac '07