[Untitled]
Item
-
Contributor
-
Michael Rossow
-
Creator
-
Michael Rossow
-
Online Submission
-
Yes
-
Submission Consent
-
Yes
-
Posting Consent
-
Yes
-
Contributor is Creator
-
Yes
-
content
-
On February 14, 2008 I was a teaching assistant assigned to an American history course in DuSable Hall just two buildings over from Cole Hall. The professor had just released our class for the day when students began receiving messages on their cell phones informing us of the shooting. The professor, a small group of students, and I waited in DuSable until the all clear was given, at which time the professor and I proceeded to the History Department in Zulauf Hall. I waited there with several colleagues for an hour or two as we tried to determine the true scope of the incident. After awhile we determined that staying on campus was not accomplishing anything so we all made our way home to follow the events on the local news.
As time passed I expected the incident to slowly pass from my mind. I had not been a victim. I didn’t know any of the victims personally. And I hadn’t been involved in caring for the wounded like some on campus had been. One sees tragedy every night on the evening news, this seemed like it was just a bit closer to home.
As classes resumed, however, I was surprised to find that the incident didn’t simply fade away. As I walked past Cole Hall on my way to class every day I felt violated somehow. I began to realize that this didn’t happen at Virginia Tech or Columbine, it happened at NIU. It happened at my school in a building where I had been a TA just the semester before. This feeling also felt inappropriate to me in some way. As I stated, I wasn’t a victim, and I didn’t know any of the victims personally. Surely they were the ones violated here, not me. I simply didn’t expect to feel like this, no other tragedy had affected me in such a personal way before.
I don’t think this odd feeling of violation faded until the following summer. As long as I was on campus there were constant reminders of the tragedy which brought back those feelings again. Although I believe that the University did all it could to help everyone cope, I think I needed some time away from the campus itself to finally have some sort of closure.
In the end, I guess what I remember most about Valentine’s Day 2008 is that the incident affected me more profoundly than I really expected it would. My thoughts and prayers still go out to all the victims and their families especially those of the five whose lives were senselessly cut short. It is also my most sincere hope that a tragedy like the one we all experienced at NIU on 2/14 never happens again to anyone, anywhere.
