NIU’s Cole Hall Won’t Be Torn Down

From wire reports
Published: April 30, 2008

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Plans to demolish the building where a gunman killed five Northern Illinois University students have been scrapped after the university community overwhelmingly opposed it, the school’s president said Tuesday. It was also apparent, however, that the community does not want Cole Hall to continue unaltered as an instructional facility, President John G. Peters said.
Officials collected thousands of opinions on Cole Hall’s future through e-mail, open forums and meetings. The building has remained empty since Valentine’s Day, when gunman Steven Kazmierczak burst into a lecture hall and killed five students before turning the gun on himself.
Amy Genova, a graduate student who helped organize the group Preserve NIU’s Cole Hall, said she was elated by the decision not to demolish the building.
“Honestly, I think the building represents more than the school realized initially. It represents hope and perseverance as well as sadness,” she said. “Many of us will need to return to that building in order to get some kind of closure.”
Genova said the auditorium where the shootings took place should be turned into a memorial, but she would be happy with any plan that preserves the building.
Peters initially proposed tearing down Cole, creating a memorial in its place and building a new $40 million structure. Gov. Rod Blagojevich endorsed the plan but Peters backed away when it was unpopular with the campus community and legislators.