Michigan State University to resume classes after school shooting: NPR

People attend a candlelight vigil, for the victims of a shooting at Michigan State University, February 16. Classes should resume a few days later.

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

People attend a candlelight vigil, for the victims of a shooting at Michigan State University, February 16. Classes should resume a few days later.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Michigan State University will resume classes on Monday, a week after a gunman killed three people and injured five others on campus.

“Nobody thinks we’re going back to a normal week,” Thomas D. Jeitschko, the university’s acting provost, said Sunday at a news conference. “Actually, this semester is not going to be normal.”

The resumption of classes comes as authorities continue to investigate the motive for the attack. The suspect, Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, fled the scene after opening fire on the sprawling campus in East Lansing, Michigan, and was found dead several hours later from a self-inflicted gunshot wound .

Two students were found dead inside Berkey Hall, while another student died at the MSU Student Union, the building next door. On Sunday, the university said it was moving hundreds of classes that previously took place in the two buildings to other locations for the remainder of the school year.

The university police department identified the victims as second Brian Fraser and juniors Arielle Anderson and Alexandria Verner.

Fraser, of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, studied commerce and was the chapter president of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, according to state news, the university’s school newspaper. Anderson, also from Grosse Point, intended to graduate early to become a surgeon, according to state news. Verner, of Clawson, Michigan, studied biology and was an all-state league MVP in basketball, volleyball and softball.

“We need more time to process without a class to fear,” The State News editorial board wrote in an op-ed Thursday. “MSU needs to extend the break they gave us so we can decide how we need to proceed to feel safe.

Nearly 23,000 people have also signed an online petition calling for classes to continue entirely online, or follow a hybrid schedule.

“As Michigan State University is a public campus and an ongoing investigation, it is believed to be in the best interest of students to receive a call to action to move the school year forward,” the petition reads.

At the press conference, Jeitschko said the faculty will rework the curriculum for the remainder of the school year, including a lighter course load during the first week of resumed classes. Students will also be able to choose the “one credit/no credit” option for their courses at the end of the semester.

“There are a lot of different things students need, and I can’t talk about all of them here,” Jo Kovach, the university’s student body president, said at the press conference. “But know that administrators, faculty, and staff are listening. This is our campus, and we’re not letting anyone take that from us.”