NIU Needs Answers

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.
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It’s weird. Today when walking to classes I had a hard time believing something so tragic ever happened here. Security has been minimized, the counselors are out of classrooms, the dogs aren’t walking around campus . Yes; It’s a good thing that some form of ‘normalcy’ is coming back, but the one thing that continues to puzzle me is the debate over Cole Hall.

Looking at it, you would never think something so horrific occurred inside. It looks deserted and untouched. When President Peters asked me what I thought should be done to it, I told him I simply just didn’t know. Part of me feels as if it’d be best to just tear it down. I, for one, know I could never sit in that lecture hall ever again.
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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.”

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Note to readers: The reason for me actively writing blogs is for people to know they aren’t alone. My way of expressing my emotions is through writing, and through this I just want people to see that maybe what they feel or question is the same thing I do as well. It’s nice to know you aren’t the only one…

I was extremely nervous going into class on Monday. I didn’t know what to expect. Would my professors know I was in that class? What were the counselors going to do? Would we return to learning? Luckily, that first class went alright. The counselor didn’t even talk too much. It even turned out that a few students had read my column about my experience that was published in the Northern Star that day. I got a lot of support from those who read it which was comforting and made class a lot easier for me to get through.

The first time I had class in a lecture hall was nerve-racking. I could not sit still the entire class. I kept staring at the doors to make sure security guards were there watching them. It felt so weird being in a new lecture hall; what made the class worse was that we were in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium which was where they took witnesses to talk to the police after the shooting. So continually though out the class I kept having flashbacks of that nightmare of Valentine’s Day, when the auditorium was filled with shook-up students.
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