It was made official yesterday... Cole Hall, site of the murders on the NIU campus on Valentine's Day, is going to be torn down. In its place they will construct a new academic building to be named Memorial Hall. This project is going to be funded by the State of Illinois because Governor Rod Blagojevich thinks it's the best way to move on.
I have mixed emotions about this decision.
On one hand, I realize that many students are not going to want to see this building ever again, let alone enter it for a class. And, if you're an NIU student, you will have at least one class in here during your tenure at the university. It's a given considering it contains two of the largest lecture halls on campus. For some of the students to return to the building would be difficult.
Also, it's an old building and one that should either be severely renovated or rebuilt in the next decade anyway. So receiving funding from the state for the project is a good excuse to get moving.
However, on the other hand, it's hard to let go. This building holds a bit of history for everyone on campus. As big a lecture hall as it is, you could get away with a lot of shit in classes that were held there and, as a result, I have a lot of great memories from the building.
Plus, I feel almost as though they're punishing the building for something it had no control over. Did Virginia Tech tear down the building where the shootings happened last year? No (granted their building has a load of expensive equipment they were afraid of damaging during a move). Okay, yes, they did tear down the library at Columbine High School. But the school was already undergoing massive renovations as it was.
I also worry about where the money is really coming from. Yeah, the state is paying, but from what fund? We are having a tough enough time keeping the state's mass transit system afloat, which I find to be of much greater importance to the state's infrastructure than spending $40 million we don't have to tear down Cole and build Memorial on the taxpayer's dime.
I hate to sound so cold and callous because I love my alma mater and hate to see the campus, students, and faculty/employees suffer, but I just don't know that tearing it down is the answer.
I also hate to pander for comments here, but what do you think? If this happened at a place you know and love, what would you suggest to help rectify the situation, ex post facto?
