A University of Illinois Springfield professor living in Paris said Friday's coordinated terrorist attacks were an assault on the European and French culture that may be the beginning of things to come.
Rosina Neginsky, an associate professor of interdisciplinary studies and comparative literature and art history, is on sabbatical from UIS and is doing research for a new book she is writing. She is set to return to Springfield in August.
Neginsky was attending a concert on des Champs-Elysees with a friend the day of the attacks. A relative of Neginsky's friend called her to tell her about the events and that they should avoid certain areas of the city.
Neginsky said she was able to return to her home in La Butte aux Cailles, in the southern part of Paris and away from Friday's violence, without incident. She later saw some of the events unfold on her computer and by listening to the radio.
"Here, it's an attack on French values and European values, the joy of life and freedom," said Neginsky, reached in Paris by phone Monday. "Those values are extremely important here."
Neginsky was profiled by The State Journal-Register on November 17, 2015.
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