Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/tag/spartan-strong/page/3/)
Commentary and reporting related to Feb. 13, 2023, at Michigan State University from the journalists of the Spartan Newsroom.
“How am I supposed to take a test with the same pencils I gripped in my hand in a desperate attempt to fight back against an intruder at my dorm where I am supposed to feel safe?” asked Asha Denny, a student studying Psychology at Michigan State University.
“One of the hardest parts of sitting in that room was having the realization that I could die tonight, having it be a possible thing that could take place and it was out of my control,” said Julia Krantz, a junior at MSU.
Where are you? Are the doors locked? Are you safe? I love you. On Feb. 13, these were the types of texts I received from friends and family during the shooting on campus.
On the night of Monday, Feb. 13, I had just gotten out of a late class at Michigan State University and stopped at Raising Cane’s on Grand River Avenue. The plan was to get a bite to eat before going home and talking to some of my friends on the phone back in Chicago. Instead, I spent the next four hours in the dark restaurant, peering out the window.
It was customary for the crew to clap when the filming finished. But when I started to clap this time, it sounded like almost no one was joining in. I hadn’t looked at my phone for the last 30 minutes. Everyone else, it seemed, knew something that I didn’t. A message from the MSU alert system told of an active shooter on campus.
At 8:35 p.m. I received the first email. A Michigan State University alert notification stated, “MSU Police report shots fired incident occurring on or near the East Lansing campus.” I found it incredible how fast the word spread to people who live miles and miles away.