CNN
—
Three students injured in a deadly shooting last week at Michigan State University remain in critical condition on Sunday, according to university police.
The university community was paralyzed by the mass shooting which left three students dead and five others injured. One of the injured students who was previously listed in critical condition was in serious condition on Sunday and the fifth person was in fair condition, university police said in a tweet.
Classes are set to resume on Monday, a week after a 43-year-old gunman opened fire on two parts of campus, but no classes will take place in rooms where students have been shot or killed, said MSU Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Thomas Jeitschko.
Those two parts of campus will remain closed for at least the rest of the semester, Jeitschko said at a news conference Sunday.
“We have decided to return to campus, both in terms of classroom setting and regular work, tomorrow,” Jeitschko said. “I want to emphasize that no one thinks we are going back to a normal week. In fact, this semester is not going to be normal.
According to Jeitschko, about 300 scheduled classes have been moved to other areas of the university, including areas formerly used to host lunches and seminars.
It remains unclear why the shooter — a man with no known connection to MSU — targeted the university. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said, and had a note that threatened more shootings hundreds of miles away in New Jersey.
The funerals of two of the victims, Brian Fraser and Alexandria Verner, were held on Saturday, and the funeral of the third, Arielle Anderson, will take place in a few days, MSU Acting President Teresa Woodruff said.
“We continue as a community to keep the families in our hearts as they remember and celebrate the loss of their loved ones and mourn that loss,” Woodruff said.
“We are grateful to our faculty, staff and academic and support staff, and to our students, for their grace and dignity over the past week,” she said. .
University officials said they hope students can manage their return to school with support from staff and the community.
Getting back together “is something that will help us,” Jeitschko said. “We are a community that was shaped around the interest of discovery and learning, and it is as a community that we will heal.”
For employees and faculty, the university has an employee assistance program, and for students, there are counseling and psychiatric services.
Advisors will consider “extenuating circumstances” where students are unable to attend class and faculty can work with their department chairs or principals, as well as their deans, Jeitschko said. .
The university has made arrangements to cover funeral costs for those killed and will also pay hospital bills for injured students, Woodruff said. One fund has so far raised more than $250,000, with around 2,000 students donating in just days.
The fund will be used to meet the “continuing needs of those most affected,” Woodruff said, and will also go toward counseling for students, faculty and staff, and “improving campus safety.” .
“We all share the grief and loss and we know we need to replace the chaos of last Monday with the possibility of change in our world, with compassion for all, collaboration and educational continuity,” Woodruff said.
Michigan State University has nearly 50,000 students and 15,000 faculty and staff, Woodruff said. “We are a strong community. Not as a reaction, but as a statement of intent and principle.
cnn
Don’t miss interesting posts on Famousbio
