EAST LANSING, Mich. – A Michigan State University academic building known as Berkey Hall -- where two students were killed and five others were wounded in the 2023 mass shooting -- reopened to the campus on Monday almost one year after the massacre.
The building was one of two on the East Lansing campus in which a gunman entered, fired, and fled on Feb. 13, 2023. The gunman, who shot and killed himself hours later, shot at a classroom of students in Berkey Hall before moving onto the MSU Union, where another student was shot and killed.
Both buildings had closed following the mass shooting, but the Union -- a building that serves as a student hub, among other things -- reopened to the public in April 2023. Berkey Hall, however, was ordered to remain closed until the start of the 2024 spring semester, which began on Monday, Jan. 8.
The university has faced some backlash over its decision to reopen the academic building so soon after the 2023 shootings killed Arielle Anderson, Brian Fraser and Alexandria Verner. Some students and faculty say it’s too soon to reopen the building that remains a major source of pain and trauma for many.
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While being closed, Berkey Hall underwent some renovations and was made available for faculty, academic staff, graduate students, and support staff with existing offices there. The university previously said that any students or staff who don’t want to enter Berkey Hall during the fall semester were “not required to do so.”
That’s not the case for 2024, however. Classes have been scheduled inside Berkey Hall, and students who don’t want to go in the building are being encouraged to meet with their academic advisors to consider taking a different class, or to consider waiting until they’re ready to enter the building to take the course.
The closure of the buildings did affect class schedules and locations in the months that followed it. Some classes traditionally held in Berkey Hall moved to other locations, while others moved online. For the 2024 semesters, the university is not planning to make all Berkey Hall classes available online for those who prefer it.
The Berkey Hall classroom and any other rooms connected with the gun violence nearly one year ago will not be reopening this semester. In fact, officials said the lecture hall in which two students were killed and five were injured will never again be used as a classroom.
MSU officials said the building was reopened in a phased approach, as students had encouraged, and that the school was working with trauma experts on the building’s reopening. Inside the hall on Jan. 8 were therapy dogs and snacks to help ease the transition.
Since the fatal shootings, the university has installed key card access to on-campus buildings in an effort to increase security. Some buildings are now also closed on the weekends.
In August, the university announced that classes and exams will be paused on Feb. 13, 2024, the one-year anniversary of the tragedy. A remembrance event will be held, instead, on that Tuesday. The university will remain open for students and staff, including dining halls, mental health support services, recreational facilities, and the bus system.
More details: Michigan State University to pause classes, exams on 1-year anniversary of mass shooting