It is because of his pain and grief that professor Marco Díaz-Muñoz returned to class. He said he felt lost and he realized that he needed to see his students. He compared them to a wooden board floating in the ocean that he had to hold to stop from drowning.
Though professors recognized that administration was put in an “impossible situation,” and “did the best they could,” the circumstances pushed more work onto faculty. Not only did they reorganize their courses, but they also provided emotional support for students.
Typically, the 100th bill in each Associated Students of MSU session is looked at as more of a light topic. But it was different this year. Bill 59-100 proposed that ASMSU use its funds to build a bench memorial honoring the lives of the victims of the tragic events of Feb. 13.
Cissne no longer thinks of class lessons as important. Instead, she views them as a checklist of tasks to complete before summer so she can finally cope with her feelings during break.“I shouldn’t have to wait to have to comprehend my feelings,” Cissne said. “I should have been able to have that time (now).”
Seeing news of more incidents of gun violence can be triggering for MSU students who are still trying to heal after the tragedy, like social relations policy and international relations freshman Khushi Gooroochurn."Now that it has happened, it’s as though it cannot stop happening.”
On April 3, 2023, the MSU Union officially opened its doors to welcome students and community members back into its building. Countless student workers began preparing for their shift to see familiar faces and student customers, while students prepare to enter the building again after almost two months.
Teaching assistants are tasked with finding a balance between grieving as students and managing classrooms following the events of February 13th.
MSU, you can’t give students their sense of security back. But you can help us help keep our community safe.
The audio files obtained by The State News depict callers hearing gunshots from nearby rooms, students inside the terrorized classroom attempting to aid victims and students trying to navigate doors that don’t lock to keep themselves barricaded.
Several education majors who interviewed with The State News shared a consensus: they aren't changing their minds about spending everyday of their career in a classroom, but they wish for change to make schools a safer environment.
At the event, volunteers handed out index cards for students to write down their experiences, which will later be given to the MSU Museum and saved in the MSU Archives.
“There’s nothing else I could do except give it time because it’s not like I can erase the events that happened,” human biology sophomore Heaven King said. “I think that’s what we all need to do though. I’m not forcing anything, I’m just getting back into things slowly.”
One of the eight victims of the Feb. 13 Michigan State University shooting is improving in the hospital but additional surgeries will be required, according to an update posted by family members.
“If people want to get things that are going to make their community feel more like a community again, then we are 100% here for that and wanting to help in any way we can,” Kovach said.
"The bottom line for us is that we just want everybody to know that we're here for you," Assistant provost and executive director Alexis Travis said. "We have an array of services and are committed to listening and continuing to meet the needs of Spartans now and also in the future.”
Flowers from the memorials will be used in mulch for a memorial tree outside of Berkey Hall. Other items will be preserved in MSU Archives and the MSU Museum.
Arielle Anderson, Brian Fraser and Alexandria Verner will be awarded honorary bachelor's degrees by MSU.
Following the tragedy that occurred on Michigan State University's campus on Monday, Feb. 13, students are have turned to a wide variety of measures to help cope. Exercising and going to the gym is just one of these strategies.
"I took a bullet to my chest, had a brush with death, and almost didn’t make it if it weren’t for the incredible doctors who saved my life in emergency surgery that night," Forbush wrote.
Following Monday's mass shooting, students returned to a somber campus. While professors are offering accommodations, this week of classes left classrooms empty and quiet. “I still hear laughing, but it stands out more,” political science-prelaw sophomore Alex Chalom said.
In an interview with The State News, Woodruff opened up about her thoughts on campus security and student advocacy, thoughts on MSU’s return to in-person activities, as well as her processing of the shooting.
How do you effectively lead a newsroom through an event like Feb. 13? You don't. At least not effectively.
The State News offers our sincerest condolences and the most comfort that we can provide during this difficult time to those most affected, including the loved ones of Brian, Alexandria and Arielle.
Another student who was critically injured during the Feb. 13 shooting on MSU's campus has been discharged from Sparrow Hospital, according to a tweet posted by MSU Police and Public Safety's Twitter account. The student released was previously listed as being in fair condition.
Following the shooting that took place in the Union on Feb. 13, the Union has been closed indefinitely, displacing the many students workers who worked at Spartan Spirit Shop, the Sparty's Cafe and the Roost, the Union's cafeteria.
Nate Statly’s family started a GoFundMe to support his path towards recovery following a shooting that took place on Michigan State University’s campus on Monday, Feb. 13. Statly has been in critical condition since the shooting according to the GoFundMe written by his older brother, Josh Statly.“He’s the light in our family and never stops making us laugh, and he is loved by so many,” the GoFundMe bio says.
One victim who was critically injured after last week’s mass shooting at Michigan State University was upgraded to ‘serious but stable’ condition this morning, Sparrow Hospital Media Relations Director John Foren confirmed.“Right now, we have one in fair (condition), three in serious but stable (condition) and one in critical, which means one of the students had been in critical and he’s been upgraded to serious but stable,” Foren said.
A basketball game may have been what some fans needed as a distraction from the tragic events that struck the East Lansing campus last week.
Students and representatives were given the chance to speak on public safety, academic support, mental health and counseling in an open forum about any and all feelings they might have.
"I just want to give back to the community, support my Spartans and really just care for anybody, whether they were a friend visiting a student, faculty, anything," alumna Lily Rzepmowski said. "I really want to be part of the reason why we can overcome this.”
MSU students gathered at The Rock Tuesday evening to mourn classmates killed in a mass shooting last week and support each other as the university resumes classes and activities.
"Putting a timeline on someone's grief isn't appropriate at all." Students gathered at the Capitol to protest gun violence as well as heading back into classes one week after the MSU shooting.
As students return to class, members of the Union of Non-Tenured Faculty said received concrete guidance from the administration on how to teach after the shooting, but nothing is mandatory. This leaves faculty to decide what they should be doing for each individual class.
“I am the proud resident assistant to 87 students. After the events on Monday night, I am an RA to 86.”
International students at Michigan State University could not go home following the Feb. 13 mass shooting on campus. Some, housed by their friends and roommates, were able to escape elsewhere.
Broaddus, a CNN correspondent based in Chicago, came back to the place she calls home at 2 a.m. on Tuesday to report on the mass shooting on MSU's campus shooting. The task, she said, has been incredibly difficult.
“This is not something that (we) should be dealing with, nobody is sure how to approach it, and I think the best way is to be in conversation with students and understand what they need,” Spanish assistant professor Alejandra Márquez said.
“It's nice to see a community come together after something so tragic,” Bonczynski said. “To know that there is this presence here — good times, bad times, anytime — it's encouraging and it does provide a lot of hope that we can heal in the future.”
Ink Therapy offered pre-selected tattoo options centered around MSU. Each tattoo was $40 and half of the proceeds went to the victims’ families to help cover their expenses. 500 people had lined up by the time the shop opened and the line wrapped around the block.
Of the five students originally in critical condition in Sparrow Hospital after the shooting on Michigan State University's campus on Monday, Feb. 13 three students' conditions have improved and two remain in critical condition.
MSU alumna Carol Love created a letter-writing initiative where alumni are sending love letters to their old East Lansing addresses.
Almost a week after the tragedy at MSU on Monday, fans came together to share their feelings in midst of a rivalry matchup in Ann Arbor Saturday night.
Each person grieves and handles grief differently. And that’s ok. Whether it’s finding solace in friends or peace in isolation, there isn’t a right or wrong way for people to cope. For Michigan State’s basketball team and its head coach, basketball has been an essential part of the healing process.
It was a somber Saturday evening in Chicago, Ill., nearly one week after the mass shooting on Michigan State University's campus on Monday, Feb. 13. MSU alumni north of Michigan gathered for a candlelight vigil in memory of Brian Fraser, Alexandria Verner, Arielle Anderson, the five students injured and those who survived.
“Pass fail is great, but … there was a petition to have Zoom, and over 10,000 people signed it,” Cabrera said. “It just doesn’t feel like we’re being heard. You can’t pay me to go back to campus right now.”
International student John Hao is one of the students who was critically injured during the Feb. 13 mass shooting. A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up, which says that Hao has been paralyzed from the waist down.
For most people the shelter-in-place lockdown ended around 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 13, but the feelings are still with them.
“I’ll try to arrange (the flowers) in a way that's beautiful,” collections assistant Matt Chansler said. “Because once they're dry, they hold their shape like that forever … so that people will forever know what happened.”
An MSU parent's association is planning to hold a support booth for students on Monday featuring snacks, drinks and merchandise donated from across the state. "We're rooting for them as they bravely come back on campus," MSU parent Heather Sertic said.
“Right now, my legs are wobbly … because it feels empty and even though I (was) not here during the shooting itself, it feels wrong,” Sparty's Refresh worker Nurha Lim said. “No one's here to tell you that it's going to be fine because it's not going to be fine.”
Gless went on foot to get her friend – she was told to drive her car or not go at all, but she couldn’t leave her friend alone.Shock ran through her body, she said.
One critically injured victim from Monday night's mass shooting on Michigan State University's campus has been upgraded to stable condition, Board of Trustees Chair Rema Vassar said in a Thursday morning press conference.
When asked about the petition at a media conference Thursday morning, MSU Interim President Teresa Woodruff said, “we’re considering all options for the manner in which we continue education and research.”
On Feb.15, MSU students attended a rally at the Capitol, where they recounted their experiences from the Feb.13 mass shooting on MSU's campus. Students described feelings of horror, helplessness and anger.
Jack Harrell heard the gunshots. His first reaction was to run away as fast as he could. "It was just human nature," he said.
“I think the parents need to remember they need time to heal too,” MSU parent Eric Swanson said. “This was the biggest panic attack most of us have ever had. I've told friends that I’ve never felt as scared and helpless in my entire life as I did during those hours, and as much as we need to be there for our kids, we need to heal too.”
“I’m just trying to be the adult that I needed when I was a kid,” Reser said. “I know what it’s like to be a student that just wants to go home.”
When Groeller heard about the new message that had been painted on the rock, her first thought that was the vigil that will be held Tuesday afternoon in front of it. "I thought to myself, 'who's gonna paint this over?'" Groller said. "And well, why not me?"
The family of Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez, who was hospitalized for an injury she suffered in Monday's mass shooting, is asking for donations to cover medical costs and other expenses.
Students arrived on campus on Feb. 14, 2023, bouquets in hand - but the flowers weren’t for their valentines. This Valentine’s Day there was no sense of normalcy. The streets on campus were quiet and the majority of the cars were media outlets or police vehicles. The flowers? For Brian Fraser, Alexandria Verner and Arielle Anderson, the three students who were killed, and the five unnamed students who were seriously injured, in the mass shooting at Michigan State University the night before.
“I’m just leaving because I just don't feel safe right now,” Madison Krull said. “Especially with the Union right there.”
Following the mass shooting on Michigan State University’s campus, MSU community leadership sent out statements showing their support for students.
Alexandria Verner, from Clawson, was a junior studying biology. Verner played volleyball, basketball and softball.Brian Fraser, from Grosse Pointe, was a sophomore studying business. Fraser was the Chapter President of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at MSU. Arielle Anderson, a junior at MSU, was from Grosse Pointe.
“We were just kind of laying there, it was kind of just a strange feeling because we were told everything was ok but it didn’t really feel like it,” journalism freshman Ava Moschete said.
Jack Harrison's first instinct was to get into a car and get as far from campus as possible.
On how the Oxford community has moved on from its mass shooting, if there’s a timeline for when normalcy will resume, Haden said “it’s impossible to truly heal from something like this.”
Du escaped Michigan State University's mass shooting on Feb. 13. The shooting left three dead and at least five injured.
MSU students describe their experience of being on campus during a shooting at multiple locations.
