Impacted Spaces

On Feb. 13, 2023, the MSU community experienced violence at two campus locations, Berkey Hall and the MSU Union. Three students lost their lives and five more were critically injured. In the immediate aftermath, both locations were closed to the public.

The MSU Union re-opened in April 2023 and Berkey Hall opened its doors to faculty and staff in Fall 2023. The spaces where violence actually took place became available in Fall 2024. In both locations, MSU’s design teams worked closely with trauma-informed experts as part of the planning process, and most importantly, directly impacted families and individuals were provided opportunities to review plans, tour the spaces and offer feedback.

Berkey Hall, except for the first-floor classrooms in the north wing, reopened in Fall 2023. In Spring 2024, classroom instruction returned to Berkey Hall, and near the end of semester, renovation of the north wing began. In summer 2024, the building was closed for classes and events as work continued. The first floor, which now no longer houses classroom spaces, was fully reopened on the first day of fall classes on Aug. 26, 2024.

The work on north wing floor included the reconfiguration of the impacted and surrounding classrooms into an open space for individuals to gather and engage, as well as the addition of small-group meeting rooms, a reflection room, single-occupant accessible restrooms and a personal health room in adjacent spaces on the floor. The remaining classrooms were repurposed to serve as space for the College of Social Science Scholars program and as administrative offices for student services for the College of Social Science.

Renovations to other academic spaces in Berkey Hall, planned prior to Feb. 13, 2023, were completed during summer 2024 as well.

The MSU Union re-opened in April 2023, though the former food court area has remained closed.

With input from a broad range of stakeholders, plans were developed to modernize the public area of the food court while maintaining a space that provides a peaceful setting for individuals to gather, engage, relax, study or socialize. The area was walled off in spring and has remained so throughout construction.

It opened to guests on Sept. 5, 2024. There is no academic programming currently planned for the renovated space. There will be no dining options available at this time.

At both Berkey Hall and the MSU Union, Community Creation exhibits are currently on display. The project began on the one-year remembrance gathering on Feb. 13, 2024. Community members were invited to write anonymous and private notes of remembrance, emotion and reflection and then place them into one of two acrylic display cases that were custom built by Infrastructure, Planning and Facilities (IPF) Carpentry Shop specifically for this project.

The shared creation of this art provides community members an outlet of expression in a manner that protected their individual sentiments from public scrutiny, research, or other potentially intrusive purposes. This art showcases how individual ideas, feelings, and thoughts can be combined to create or reflect a sense of community.

Additionally, the Office for Resource Support and Coordination is in discussions with the families of the students lost regarding how they want their loved ones memorialized in these spaces. More information will be available when ready.