Michigan State University will not be holding classes on the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting on campus. That's as the school plans an event to honor those impacted by the violence.
In an email sent out Tuesday to MSU community members, Interim President Teresa Woodruff said the university is telling instructors to cancel their classes on Feb. 13 next year. Classes will resume the following day on Feb. 14, but students will not have any assignments or exams due that day either.
Officials are organizing a community event to observe the one-year anniversary of the shooting and remember the victims of the violence on campus.
"The university is planning a remembrance event for this day that will incorporate input and feedback from the Spartan community, including those who were most directly impacted," Woodruff wrote. "While classes will not meet, the university will remain open on this day to support students and our community."
MSU spokesperson Dan Olsen says the school wanted students and instructors to be aware of the plan well in advance.
“We wanted to make sure that we're sharing that intention out with our campus community, so they can know what to expect for this next year," Olsen said. "And we've done so after having thoughtful conversations, both with our trauma informed experts, as well as, as a leadership team about how we can best support our campus during this period.”
Olsen said the school expects the vast majority of faculty and staff will act "with grace and empathy" with assignments and exams around the one-year anniversary of the incident. He added students who need additional support or who are experiencing issues with instructors can reach out to school deans as well as the Office of the University Ombudsperson.
As part of the announcement, Woodruff shared one of the sites of the shooting will reopen to some community members this fall.
Classes will not resume at Berkey Hall until next spring. But MSU students, staff and faculty who have offices in the building will regain access during the upcoming fall semester.
Berkey Hall has been closed to the public since the incident earlier this year.
Olsen said community members had asked to have the option to re-enter the space.
"What we know from our trauma experts is that choice is helpful in that healing process," he said. "And so making the space available to those who have offices is a way to come together in community, but also to aid in that healing process.”
A group of MSU community members are also working with the school to create a memorial for those impacted by the shooting.
