“I know at some point we’re going to have to move forward, but it seems like it would be easier for the freshmen,” Coey said.

Despite her preference to stay away from Berkey, she is unopposed to the building reopening. Coey imagines she will feel more comfortable entering the building in future school years.

“We gotta heal and move forward and take that power back,” Coey said. “I talked to my roommate, and she was saying that, with other shootings, they don’t take down the building. Things reopen and a sense of normalcy is brought back.”

Human biology and Spanish junior Jolee Northup was taking Spanish in Berkey last spring when the class was moved to Wells Hall after the shooting. None of Northup’s classes will be in Berkey this spring, but she still supports reopening the building.

“It’s an old, historic building on campus,” Northup said. “Because Berkey has such a historical impact, and so many people have had classes there for so long … we should definitely reopen.”

However, Northup believes the university should create a permanent memorial for the three students who died on Feb. 13 so as to not erase that day’s impact. MSU has planted a memorial tree outside of Berkey Hall and has announced plans to create a memorial, though it is unclear what that will consist of. 

Northup said as long as there's a plan for a memorial in place, she would be OK with Berkey reopening. 

Biochemistry and molecular biotechnology junior Alex Krauss said he was glad Berkey didn’t hold classes this fall, but he feels ready for its reopening next semester. 

“I’m glad they aren’t making kids who were there on that day go in,” Kraus said. “(You) have time to prepare and pick your classes accordingly, if you want to.” 

Kraus hopes that MSU will hold remembrance vigils every year and implement more security measures on campus. 

“I think you should have to have an ID to walk in any building,” Kraus said. “Even if it’s your dorm hall, I think you should have to scan in every time … (We should) also have more working cameras.” 

Marketing sophomore Jon Nelson works security for games on campus and said he has already noticed vast improvements to MSU’s safety since Feb. 13, such as new metal detectors in certain venues. As for Berkey, he believes it’s time for the building to open again, even if things might not feel “normal” at first. 

Nelson believes MSU is “trying to go back and move on.”

“Repainting The Rock after the incident really broke a barrier,” Nelson said. “After the building opens, it will be in the past. For most people, it will be an incident they survived.”