It’s been over two months since the tragedy on Feb. 13 when MSU students lost three of their peers in a school shooting.
“I feel like it was yesterday,” Anna Piper said. “I almost feel like people are forgetting about it.”
The MSU administration has released resources and ways to help students express their feelings. There have been vigils, memorials and efforts to remember the ones we lost. Students are still feeling lost and confused. Nobody was prepared for what happened that night and everyone involved has realized they were not prepared for the grief and trauma that followed.
“I think everyone on campus is trying to do their best with their emotions and how to move forward,” Zoe Miklosovic said.
Students have expressed their concerns about how to move on with school work and some professors have made accommodations for their worries.
“I think everyone has come together in a sense. My professors have been very supportive and understanding of our feelings and slow re-entry back into school work and classes,” Miklosovic said.
Others have struggled more with their living arrangements, especially in the dorms on campus.
“I definitely have noticed I’ve been going home more on the weekends and when I can,” Tara Morren said. “I have less want to stay in my dorm room.”
Getting back to a routine was one of the biggest challenges for some students and staff. MSU provided a week off from classes to process what had happened which was not enough for many. Finishing the second semester off strong was a challenge, Miklosovic said.
“I found that my anxiety got much worse which I wasn’t surprised by,” she said. “It made it harder for me to go to my in-person classes.”
The MSU Union reopened on April 13. A building that provides study areas, food for students and a general area for the community was tainted. Students that live in North neighborhood now had the decision to re-enter the building. Staff had to begin work again in that building.
“I went inside because I knew I would have to at some point, but it was a strange feeling. The first thing I saw was the food court blocked off,” Piper said.
Others weren’t comfortable enough to go back into the building.
“I have not been back in the Union nor do I want to,” Morren said. “I think that would be a lot of emotions that I don’t care to tap into right now.”
Now the question is how this will affect everyone involved for the rest of their college career?
“It’s made me look over my shoulder more, wonder about why a non-student is walking around campus and honestly just made me hyper aware moving forward,” Morren said.