MSU reopens, renovates campus spaces closed after shooting
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Michigan State University reopened its campus today for the start of a new school year, and that includes spaces that have been closed for a year and a half.
MSU has been working for months to redesign spaces where students were hurt after a mass shooting that killed three people and injured five others in February of 2023. The administration wants to turn them into community gathering areas where students can feel safe again
That includes projects like re-working the floorplans and patching bullet marks.
Berkey Hall was where the worst of the shooting took place. This was where seven students were shot, two would later die of their injuries.
And now, university officials hope it can be a place of healing.
The first thing students notice when they walk into the new Berkey Hall is an open floor plan where a lecture hall used to be.
There, you can find comfortable seating where there used to be rows of desks that students used to take cover.
You’ll also find a lot of natural light flooding through the windows kids jumped out of when trying to get away.
As dozens of students came to use the space, they said they appreciated the chance to move forward.
“People are happy that it’s, you know, renovated,” said Kyle Cascar, a freshman history major. “We can move that past us and we can come back to Berkeley Hall and just get back to learning, but also remember those who died.”
Students who spend a lot of time in the building say that shutting down the space for more than a year was the right move.
“Yeah I was glad that it was closed,” said Jilian Barbour, a junior history major who has most of her classes in Berkey Hall. “I had class earlier in the day when that happened.”
But, they also say that walking in to see the new space has been a pleasant surprise, and they appreciate the university’s efforts to remember Arielle Anderson, Alex Verner, and Brian Fraser.
“I don’t know how to describe it but instead of being a place of sorrow it’s turning into a nice little remembrance,” Barbour said. “And the benches outside are really nice too.”
She went on to say that after all the hard work, university officials should feel proud of what they’ve been able to do.
“I’d give them a thumbs up, Barbour said. “I like the squirrels, and I like the art that’s around here, the chairs are comfy”
That’s a feeling also shared by others we spoke to.
“It’s very modern, very nice,” Cascar said. “I know it was made in the 40s but it doesn’t look like it was made in the 40s, it looks like it was actually renovated”
The university also plans to reopen what used to be the Student Union food court where another student was shot.
School officials say that’s also going to be a reflective space, and it should be open by next week.
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