EAST LANSING, Mich. — Classes at Michigan State University are set to resume Monday, but students have mixed feelings about returning to campus after a mass shooting that killed three students and hospitalized five others.
Thousands of students have signed a petition calling for hybrid or online class options for those who don't feel safe returning to classes so soon after the tragedy at the university of about 50,000 students. Other students say they don't want to go back to the era of the pandemic, when the COVID-19 virus shut down the college experience, and argue being together will help the MSU community to heal.
MSU interim President Teresa Woodruff has said officials were discussing return plans. She also said classes in Berkey Hall, where two students were killed Monday and several others were injured, will move to a different location since the building will be closed for the rest of the semester.
No decision has been made about reopening the MSU Union, as its condition is still being evaluated, Woodruff said. One student was killed at the Union and at least one other was injured.
"We have been talking about places and space and where education will continue," Woodruff said.
In a letter to faculty late Friday, interim Provost Thomas Jeitschko argued there was a value to resuming classes as he laid out options for professors to consider.
"Experts note the distinct value of returning to common spaces and practices as a helpful way to find perspective and regain a sense of self and community," Jeitschko wrote. "To make this happen, we all have to work together, with trauma-informed perspectives and actions.
This comes as more than 20,000 have signed a change.org petition calling for "hybrid or online options for students and parents who are uncomfortable with returning to campus with such haste."
"After the tragic mass shooting on Michigan State University’s campus ... students are ill at ease with returning to a campus that is not fully equipped to fulfill their safety concerns," the petition said. "Returning one week after a mass shooting has left many unsettled."
Classes were canceled late last Monday for the rest of the week after police said 43-year-old Anthony McRae killed three students and wounded five others before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The university operated with essential personnel Tuesday and Wednesday, but university offices reopened Thursday.
A decision has not been made yet about if there will be options for students who do not feel ready to return to campus or classes, said MSU spokesperson Dan Olsen. University leaders are talking things through and "weighing all the options," he said.
"Of course we know trauma impacts individuals differently across the community," Olsen said. "We are evaluating today in leadership communities what may be best for impacted students."
Credit/no credit grading
In his letter, the interim provost said the university will be offering a credit/no credit grade reporting option for all undergraduate courses for the entire semester. "Students will have the entire semester to make that selection," wrote Jeitschko, adding that more details would be released soon to help students make "an informed decision."
The interim provost also urged faculty to be flexible in adjusting course expectations, tests and assignments.
"Please extend as much grace and flexibility as you are able with individual students, now and in the coming weeks, for example by recording a lecture or adjusting a student’s deadline. If you have extenuating circumstances, please discuss them with your chair or dean," wrote Jeitschko, adding that accreditation requirements "must be honored."
What Spartans are saying
Raimi Soerries wrote in the comments section of the petition: "I don't feel safe to go back on campus. My desk was used as shelter instead of what it was made for. My room is no longer my safe space where I can go to reduce stress and anxiety, it is now the cause of it all."
But some students argued that it is time to return to campus and restart courses in person.
Victoria Schmitz, a 21-year-old MSU senior studying political science, said she is nervous about going back to classes but is "sure everything will be fine." She added that she doesn't think classes should go online.
"That's like going back to COVID days," said Schmitz, referring to the pandemic that shut down college classes across the state for more than a year. "No one wants to go back into social isolation. At the vigil the other night, we talked about how it's so important to talk to people and join together in community."
Prabu David, dean of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, said Wednesday his college is considering hybrid and alternative options, as students may not be able to concentrate. Many department chairs are also offering listening sessions to students, he said.
"People know you can't just go through something like this alone; you need community," David said. "In every way possible we're trying to foster that."
Faculty expressed concerns during a ComArts leadership meeting Wednesday morning about ensuring safety in the classrooms, he said, with some even suggesting the use of bungee cords to bind doors from the inside. Before COVID-19, campus police facilitated training on how to respond to such situations; now, he said, the university has to double down on that.
"Our heart goes out to Brian, Arielle, Alexandria and their families, but we cannot let this define us," David said about Brian Fraser of Grosse Pointe, Arielle Anderson of Harper Woods and Alexandria Verner of Clawson, the three slain students. "We have to move forward and do better than this."
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