Dr. Janice Crouse

Former presidential speechwriter Dr. Janice Crouse told Erskine College students to "train your mind, know your master, and find your mission," in an address entitled "Building a Slurry Wall," delivered on the second anniversary of the terrorist strikes that destroyed New York City's World Trade Center towers and damaged the Pentagon.

"On that day, in my office a block from the White House, I could see the smoke from the crash at the Pentagon," said Crouse, who has served as a United Nations delegate. "I pray that we will never forget the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives because of that horrendous act."

Focusing on what can be learned from the terrorist attacks, Crouse used the image of the "slurry wall," a steel-reinforced concrete wall, seven stories deep and three feet thick, anchored to bedrock, built to support the foundation of the World Trade Center Towers.

"I did not know until last year when I visited Ground Zero that deep in the pit there is a slurry wall, a gigantic bathtub-like structure," said Crouse. "This 'bathtub' wasn't designed to hold water in, but to keep water out — to keep the Hudson River out."

Crouse said the slurry wall, which survived the terrorist attacks, "was built to withstand incredible force, and it did." She told students they must understand the reality of pressures they will face throughout their lives and must build a slurry wall to protect what is precious to them.

In the Old Testament book of Haggai, God speaks to the people about rebuilding the Temple, and Crouse said she believes "If Haggai were here today, he would tell us to build an impermeable boundary around our Judeo-Christian values and priorities.

"First, you must train your mind," said Crouse. "The most important aspect of your intellectual training here at Erskine is for you to learn to think clearly and rationally. Information alone won't be enough for what you will face in the years ahead.

"The slurry wall at Ground Zero was solid concrete, but it had the reinforcement of steel rods," Crouse said. "Picture your logical processes as the steel rods that reinforce the concrete walls of solid information and data."

Crouse cited her experience as a delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women as an example of the importance of such clear thinking. The worldwide problem of sex trafficking, the forcing of women and children into prostitution, was the topic of the conference.

"The pivotal issue facing delegates was whether prostitution is inherently harmful to women," she said. "Most of the delegates argued that prostitution is just another career choice for liberated women, even though between 700,000 and 900,000 girls and women, most from third-world nations, are victims of sex trafficking."

Crouse also encouraged students to think clearly about sexual issues closer to home: cohabitation and the growth of single-parent families. She said statistics show that "If cohabiting couples do marry, they are more likely to end up divorced," and noted that careful research also points to the two-parent married couple family as the best environment for raising children. "These facts don't exactly fit with the vibe of today's MTV culture," Crouse said.

Telling students they must "get to know the Master," Crouse said each person's "personal slurry wall" needs strong anchors embedded in the foundation of basic Christian beliefs. "When we discard these beliefs, we have nothing more to rely on than our own intelligence," she said.

"There is remarkable variety in the way people succeed, but there is a distressing sameness in the ways they fail," said Crouse. "Inevitably, people fail because they are unwilling to 'bend the knee' in acknowledgement of God's authority and omnipotence."

Crouse challenged students fo find their own mission. She said the slurry wall beneath the World Trade Center towers "could not do everything we would have liked," but did well what it was designed to do. Similarly, each person has a unique purpose.

"Each of you is a potential leader, and as we commemorate 9/11, such a solemn day, I'd like you to turn your thoughts to what you can do with your life," Crouse said. "What is the challenge that is uniquely yours? Will you accept the challenge of living in thie momentous era of history?

"As I stand here this morning, looking out at you, I am even more convinced now, after 9/11, than I was before — you are the future of America."

Crouse, who lives in Washington, D.C., has served on task forces on sex trafficking, Afghan women, and Head Start and Welfare Reform reauthorizations. She has been published in Christianity Today and Touchstone magazines.