I wasn’t in the room at Cole Hall last week. I didn’t have a friend injured or killed. I wasn’t locked down on campus and I was able to get in touch with everyone I cared about. But still, the tragedy two weeks ago affected me greatly.

Last year, I wrote my senior thesis on why NIU is located in DeKalb. Through many hours of research, I found that many great people fought to bring such a prestigious institution to the city of DeKalb. Now, after three years here at NIU, I feel very connected to not only the university, but the town and the people who live here. Knowing how hard people fought for this school and how easily one man took the gift of education away from five incredible students broke my heart. Knowing that thousands of students work very hard to make their way to NIU each year but one man changed their entire outlook on life in an instant made me cry that day.

The last two weeks have shown me that this school still means a great deal to the students that attend NIU. The dreams of the founders of Northern Illinois State Normal School have not died. Those dreams have multiplied and grown from a few hundred to 25,000. The students at this school will continue to fight for their education. I truly hope this tragedy does not cause new students to shy away from NIU. NIU has lost five of its classmates, but it has not lost any of its energy, passion and love for the university.

Sandi Roznovsky
Senior, history

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