NIU Needs Answers

This message was sent out to student’s emails on Friday afternoon. The NIU administration never thought they would have to deal with a situation like this. The community has united.

Dear Students and Colleagues,

Just one week ago, a brief but horrifying outburst of violence plunged our campus into the greatest turmoil most of us have ever experienced. Since that awful day, we have also witnessed the greatest outpouring of compassion and concern we could possibly imagine. Across campus, throughout our country and around the world, people are reaching out to NIU and to each other with support of every conceivable type.

Even as we mourn the loss of five wonderful students and the incalculable damage done to dozens more, the NIU family is working hard to prepare for our return to the business of teaching and learning. I am particularly grateful to faculty and staff who participated in sessions that prepared them to help students in the days and weeks ahead. As many of you know, we will have trained counselors in every classroom on Monday and throughout next week to provide on-site assistance for students. We know that healing takes time, and that the grieving process is different for everyone. We will continue to focus our efforts on support for all members of the NIU campus community, in whatever form is needed.
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