What MSU students can expect in class this week

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - One week after the mass shooting on the Michigan State Universities campus, students are back in class. Although classes look much different than they used to. Throughout the week, professors said classes are less focused on curriculum, and more focused on just being together.

Related: Calls for gun reform laws grow after Michigan State University mass shooting

As many of you might know, the campus was nearly empty last week as most people spent time with their loved ones. There was a decent amount of students out and about Monday. As they headed back to class, students were greeted with chalk art, positive signs, free stuffed animals, pizza, wings and snacks. The list goes on and on.

News 10 spoke with one professor who wasn’t quite ready to be back on campus yet, but she wanted to be there for her students. Her class spent the day making a shared playlist of their favorite songs, and writing letters to their future selves

While there are normally about 150 students in her class, there were about 35 Monday, with some on Zoom and some left in the first 15 minutes.

She said her amazing students are the reason she wanted to be there Monday.

“I hate that we’re here. It’s been a week, it’s the same day of the week. It feels really fresh. Earlier, a colleague of mine shut a door fast, and a facilities person thought it was another kind of sound and started hysterically crying.” said Stephanie Jordan, MSU Professor.

Most students attended their first class since the shooting Monday, so she wanted to provide a space for processing and togetherness.

While many students didn’t feel comfortable going to class, the students who did said the nurturing environment made a huge difference.

Professors and faculty members are supporting themselves and their students however they can. Support for the Spartan community is still going strong, and it was evident today.

At the Communications Arts and Sciences building, students were greeted at every entrance with something to make them smile. Multiple boards were set up for students to draw and paint on. Staff and alumni were passing out flowers, and talking to everyone as they walked in. Coffee, snacks, pizza, wings, candy and more were all provided for free. MSU staff also passed out about two hundred free Squishmallows (if you’re unfamiliar, Squishmallows are a popular stuffed animal among young people).

While many students didn’t feel comfortable going to class, the students who did said the nurturing environment made a huge difference.

“It really makes me think that, you know we’re gonna re-construct faith in the school in this difficult time. So, it was just beautiful to see everyone smiling and just so much positivity being construed around the building because that’s exactly what we need right now in these negative times. I just know that we’re gonna continue to be Spartan strong.” said Brandon Foster, MSU Student and Employee.

As everyone is still healing, and the trauma is still very fresh, MSU staff said they are doing what they can to support as they go. While professors anticipate that this type of environment will continue throughout the week, it varies slightly depending on the building and the professors.

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