MSU trustees face student backlash over Berkey Hall reopening

Michigan State University's decision to reopen Berkey Hall less than a year after a deadly mass shooting is drawing backlash from some students who say it's too soon and want to see more accommodations for those who feel unsafe or uncomfortable returning to class there.

Berkey Hall is expected to reopen next semester, which starts Jan. 8. But at least seven students spoke out at Friday morning's MSU Board of Trustees meeting held on Zoom, some of whom said it's too soon to reopen Berkey.

"It is too much and it is too soon. Again, people were murdered there. Murdered just 10 months ago," said Charlotte Plotzke, an MSU student and member of March for Our Lives at MSU, a group committed to ending gun violence. "There are ways to allocate and to accommodate your students. Your students are begging you to do this. So please, please do not force kids to go to class in Berkey Hall."

Three students were killed in the Feb. 13 campus shooting after a gunman opened fire in two buildings: Arielle Anderson, 19, of Harper Woods; Brian Fraser, 20, of Grosse Pointe; and Alexandria Verner, 20, of Clawson. Verner and Fraser were shot in a Berkey Hall classroom and Anderson at the student union. The union reopened seven weeks after the shooting.

The university announced in August that academic classes would return to Berkey in the spring 2024 semester, although the building was open to faculty, academic and support staff and graduate students with office spaces in it this fall. University officials also said no classes will be held on first anniversary of the shooting.

Plotzke was one of several students who addressed the board during the meeting's public comment period. Student government president Emily Hoyumpa also addressed the issue before the board.

"Reopening Berkey Hall without any support for people who’re not ready is not only a glaring accessibility issue but a clear and present risk to the safety and well-being of the university as a whole," said Hoyumpa, a senior.

While Berkey Hall was the site of MSU Senior Taylor Greeson's first class at the university and once held fond memories, the shooting changed everything.

"Berkey Hall was my home and notice how I said was as it is not anymore. Nowadays I spend just as much time if not more avoiding that building," Greeson said. "I don’t see that building as a place where I met some of my closest friends. I see that as a building they barricaded themselves in. ... I look at that building as a place where two beautiful people were murdered."

She questioned why the building is reopening in January, less than one year after the shooting, and if the renovations planned by the university were appropriate.

"Every day since Feb. 13 I have felt like this school has put a timeline on my grief," Greeson said. "Let us heal without a countdown. Let us decide when and if we ever want classes to resume in that building."

Renovations to Berkey Hall include installing new door locks, new furnishings and new technology, the school said. No classes will be held in rooms directly impacted by the violence on Feb. 13, 2023.

"Conversations are continuing about those spaces moving forward, though there are no plans to hold classes there in the future," officials said in October.

MSU encouraged students to be mindful of locations when signing up for classes, according to a news release from the Office of Resource and Support Coordination. Students were encouraged to work with their advisers to find alternate classes if they had concerns about returning to Berkey Hall.

Organizers with Students Demand Action at MSU, an organization dedicated to ending gun violence, also called on the trustees to consult with the student body more before reopening Berkey Hall.

"Decisions like these should be rooted in the experiences of survivors and those affected. While some students have expressed they are ready for the building to reopen for healing, many of the students also indicated that returning to Berkey Hall should be a choice," said MSU junior Saylor Reinders to the MSU Board. "Healing does not look the same for everyone and the university should be supportive."

Reinders referenced Virginia Tech University, which waited two years before fully reopening Norris Hall, the site of another mass shooting in 2007 in which 30 people were killed.

"I think we can look to other schools for guidance," Reinders said. "I believe our university should take a similar approach and way to reopen the building while renovating it in the process.”

Several students, including Amber Olguin, questioned why students who feel unsafe returning to Berkey Hall couldn't be offered online or hybrid options for classes there.

"I have faced panic attacks and trauma responses in response to the shooting on February 13 and do not think that it will be conducive to learning for it (Berkey Hall) to open," Olguin said. "I understand that there’s logistical problems with it being closed but we are not ready. We might be Spartan strong but that does not mean we are unbreakable."

If students are expected to return to classes in Berkey Hall, the university needs to be equipped to handle mental health concerns.

"We are still processing; we are still healing. Some are just starting to heal," MSU student Cassidy Howard said. "I cannot stress enough that we are not getting the support needed as it is, let alone the support that would be needed when the hall reopens."

The university plans to offer increased support, including available counselors in Berkey Hall, during the first week of classes next semester.

hmackay@detroitnews.com