It’s the third anniversary of the shooting that killed three Michigan State University students — Arielle Anderson, Brian Fraser and Alexandria Verner — and injured five others.
Alongside multiple campus-hosted events taking place throughout the day, the student body is taking the time to memorialize the tragedy.
Bouquets of fresh flowers cover the feet of the Spartan statue outside Spartan Stadium, left by students paying their respects.
Bella Short is one of the students who brought flowers to Sparty this morning. She said that, for her, today is about appreciating the people you have in your life.
“I'm just gonna hang out with some close friends today,” Short said. “And I called my mom and told her I loved her.”
Students who were freshmen in the 2022-23 academic year, making this the last year that any MSU students on a four-year track were in attendance at the time of the shooting.
Short was a freshman in 2023.
“My friend and I were talking about how our freshman year there were flowers covered, like you would not be able to walk up behind the steps,” she said, talking about the Spartan statue. “And there's not a lot today, which you know that means that there's a lot of people who weren't here for it, or just aren't thinking about it, but it's just something that I'll never forget.”
Short said that she thinks the student body is healing, and she credits that partially to the campus community.
This story will be updated throughout the day.
Campus Events
- 12-3:30 p.m.: Indoor support spaces — Breslin Center’s Hall of History (1-3 p.m.) and MSU Alumni Chapel (12:30-3:30 p.m.), both staffed with volunteers for resources and support. Keyboard students from the College of Music perform on the Red Cedar Organ in the chapel (sponsored by organist Hae Won Jang).
- 1-3 p.m.: Service and advocacy “Caring Through Service" in Breslin Center Hall of History, hosted by the Center for Community Engaged Learning. Participants build community, support mental health initiatives, make connections, and give back, with food available.
- 4-8 p.m.: Resource and support tent — Heated tent at West Circle Drive and East Circle Drive corner (near Grand River Ramp). Staffed volunteers offer navigation help, bottled water, hot cocoa, luminary kits (white paper bags with green electric tea lights for later use) and QR codes for support resources.
- 8:10-8:30 p.m.: Beaumont Tower remembrance — Music, moment of silence and bell ringing at Beaumont Tower. Beaumont Tower, MSU Union and Berkey Hall light green from dusk Friday to dawn Saturday. Livestream starts at 8 p.m. on spartanstogether.msu.edu (near top of "Plans for Feb. 13, 2026" page).
