Amy Genova has confirmed that NIU has agreed to preserve Cole Hall and is looking for suggestions from students on Cole’s new layout.
Students can go to www.niu.edu/colehallsurvey and choose from several options.
More information in the coming days.
Sorry there was a long hiatus but I think many of us got burnt out on covering a terrible event and needed to start to move on.
Posts will be limited to once a week from now on and will focus more on local politics and interesting local news. We will still be committed to covering events and and updating readers on changes due to the NIU tragedy but it will no longer be our sole intent. Thank you for visiting our site.
Dear Colleagues and Students,
I write to you today to provide updates on our continuing recovery from the events of February 14th. Last week marked the one-month anniversary of the tragedy. Each new day brings different emotions and new challenges, yet I sense throughout our campus community a strengthened resolve and deepened commitment to each other and to the mission of Northern Illinois University.
(more…)
The following is a Facebook message from NIU graduate student Amy Genova to NIU students wanting to save Cole Hall.
“The following are open discussion dates for students to discuss their ideas regarding the future of Cole Hall. I hope all of you can make it so you can voice your opinions and be heard in this open forum. The meetings are sponsored by NIU’s Student Association:
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Holmes Student Center Regency Room
Time: 7:00 pm
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Campus Life Building, Rm 100
Time: 7:00 pm
Friday, March 21, 2008
Holmes Student Center Regency Room
Time: 7:00 pm
On a great side note: If you have not checked back with the group here is a brief update regarding the Cole Hall petition. The petition with 1,333 signatories was presented last Thursday to Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Brian Hemphill. Our voices have been heard, and we will now be able to move “Forward, TOGETHER, Forward” once again.”
Steven Kazmierczak lost his grip with right and wrong at some point before he died. He spent almost all of his life being a law-abiding citizen. His girlfriend has yet to discover when the break occurred. “He was NEVER EVER violent or aggressive,” Jessica Baty said.
In the small amount of interaction I had with Steve as a classmate, he hardly seemed like the violent type. He was tall and rail thin. His voice was small, sort of whinny. He was not very assertive when stronger personalities like myself spoke up. When he did speak though, his intelligence was evident in his comments.
Though most people didn’t see Steve’s potential for violence, there were signs of a potential violent outbreak.
(more…)
The NIU community has stepped up to halt the proposed Memorial Hall project.
NIU Graduate Student in anthropology Amy Genova is one of several students fighting for their right to comment on whether to demolish Cole Hall.
A Facebook group she started called “Preserve NIU’s Cole Hall” has grown in membership and a petition has been started. This petition has amassed more than 700 signatures by reaching out to students through Facebook and then getting signatures at the MLK Commons. The petition seeks to give students a right to have a say in the outcome of Cole.
“This is just to make sure that we have that community forum in order to discuss why Cole Hall should or shouldn’t be demolished.” said Genova.
Last week my aunt had a car fall from the sky onto her car while she was driving down I-90.
The incident has made me think about random crime and how people are supposed to cope with a situation that one can’t really prepare for. The quest for a motive has forced police to explore Kazmierczak’s recent changes.
More information continues to surface about looking at Cole Hall and its targeting.
I don’t offer Sam’s harrowing perspective, just my own. I am an NIU alum, with plans to return, eventually. I once worked at the Northern Star, I, like most NIU students, have been in and out of Cole Hall for various reasons during my tenure here. I still live in DeKalb, close to campus. But, truthfully, I felt a little bit outside of the Huskie community until this happened.
By Michael and Andy
Should we get rid of a otherwise perfectly useful building while others nearby continue to be horrifically out of date?
Now, we know that the plan is to raze Cole Hall and build a new classroom building, Memorial Hall. This raises more questions than it provides answers. Come now, “just because we’re bereaved, doesn’t mean we’re saps.”
Yes, NIU needs answers, wants answers. As we continue to struggle toward answering the most clichéd of all questions, “why”, we have witnessed an outpouring of emotion from everyone in the community.