EAST LANSING (WWJ) Michigan State University (MSU) officials are promising an abundance of support and “grace” as they resume classes Monday for the first time since last week's mass shooting killed three students. Five students were injured.
“We have nearly 50,000 students here at MSU,” MSU President Theresa Woodruff said in a press conference held Sunday. “And they may need 50,000 unique ways and approaches to support them. Same is true for our 15,000 faculty and staff.”
University officials said they will do all they can to meet the individual needs of each student, faculty and staff member; but staying apart was not the answer.
“Know that you are coming back in to a community. You are coming back to a community that has been shattered and all of us have these feelings. All of us are grieving. All of us are standing by one another,” Provost Thomas Jeitschko said.
“This is not a resumption of normal operations,” he explained, “but a coming together”
Jeitschko said professors have been directed that there will be “no heavy lifts” as far as school work is concerned or “attempts to make up for lost time.”
Jeitschko said all professors took the request to heart.
“…What was our syllabus coming into this term is not going to be our syllabus coming out of it,” he said.
The university is providing a number of academic accommodations for students who need them.
Attendance was a bit lite lite for some Monday AM classes, with one student telling WWJ's Charlie Langton that only about half of his classmates showed up for his freshmen writing class.
"That was definitely a little unusually," said Brandon Sim. "I could tell that they were a little hesitant to come back."
He called it "a tough situation."
A Credit/No Credit option will be offered for all 100 to 400 level undergraduate classes. Students will be given the rest of the semester to switch over to the Pass/Fail option.
“Let the semester play out, try to heal and then try to make the academic decision,” Jeitschko said.
MSU has provided faculty with a live webinar about how to teach after trauma, resources about what to say to students; crisis and emergency support; and information on how to change their syllabus.
Advisors will be available to work with students who are “really struggling,” Jeitschko said. Faculty will also have the opportunity to work with their department chairs and deans.
MSU officials said students who do not feel safe sitting inside a classroom should talk to their professor about possible remote options.
For those who no longer want to attend the University, they can contact the office of Student Support and Accountability to discuss options.
All classes in Berkey and the Union have been relocated.
In addition to academic accommodations, mental health care will be available for students and faculty.
See complete list of counseling resources here.
Alexis Travis, Provost of Health and Wellbeing at MSU, said over 200 counselors from the community have volunteered their time to talk to students; and all outreach requests for counselors have been fulfilled.
She said the Spartan community may experience depression, anger, sadness, shock and PTSD in the coming days.
The goal is to “help people to enhance (our) resiliency and coping skills,” she said. She emphasized community members should prioritize self care like healthy eating, exercising, personal hygiene, doing what they enjoy and surrounding themselves with people they love.
Counseling services will be available to all community members at the Hannah Community Center from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday, February 20th through the same time Thursday, February 23rd. CAPS is providing 24/7 virtual crisis counseling for the time being. Students can call CAPS at (517) 355-8270 and press “1.”
MSU Healthcare Psychiatry will be providing free counseling to students. Students can also use the ThrivingCampus website to be matched with psychologists near them.
Officials said "a team" is working with the students who were "in close proximity to the gunman" to provide extra support.
Jeitschko added everyone must give each other grace: “We know that everybody heals at their own pace, in their own manner, so getting it exactly right will not be possible."
President Woodruff announced the university will cover the costs of the hospital bills for the injured and the funerals for Alexandria, Arielle and Brian.
She said the Spartan Strong fund has received more than $250,000 in donations in the past few days. The money will be used for security enhancements, helping “those most impacted", and to provide additional counseling resources, Woodruff said.
“The heartfelt humanity (we received) is not something we must only cherish, but we must foster,” Woodruff said.
In her speech, she uplifted the message on a piece of artwork chalked on campus in the wake of the shooting: “May love be what you remember most.”
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