Cole Hall shouldn't be left closed
The closing of Northern Illinois University's Cole Hall, the site of the high-profile Valentine's Day shooting that left five dead plus the gunman, has caused administrators at the DeKalb campus to scramble to find enough well-equipped classrooms to meet its needs.
The reshuffling has impacted more than 150 classes and 10,000 students. It also has been expensive, as alternative classrooms have been upgraded.
Our question is simple: Why is it important that Cole Hall be closed at all?
Let us be clear.
We decry the violence inflicted by Steven Kazmierczak.
We sympathize with the families of those who were killed.
We hope for full recoveries for those who were wounded or traumatized.
Yet, in considering how to best use the site of the killings, should irrationality, emotionalism and denial be substituted for sound, logical thinking?
No.
When someone dies in a home, should no one ever enter the home again?
When someone is killed in a traffic accident, should no one ever use that stretch of highway again?
When someone dies in a hospital, should no one ever use that room again?
The answer to these questions is obvious, as is the answer regarding the use of Cole Hall.
Just as NIU looked evil in the face in February, Sauk Valley residents were forced to deal with evil acts this summer. Eight people, including four in Rock Falls and one in Sterling, were brutally beaten to death. A local man is charged or suspected in the crimes.
Were there calls to tear down buildings, close facilities and otherwise spend millions in response?
No.
People came together, mourned, dealt with the tragedies as best they could, and tried to move on.
NIU's initial response was to ask for $40 million in tax dollars to tear down Cole Hall and rebuild it. That plan met with an unfriendly public response.
A revised plan calls for spending $7.7 million. Cole Hall would be allowed to reopen, but Room 101 - the lecture hall where the shootings took place - would be remodeled to non-classroom uses, along with other interior and exterior upgrades. To replace Room 101, a new 400-seat lecture hall building would be constructed.
This plan has gone nowhere because of the Legislature's failure to pass a capital construction bill.
So, Cole Hall sits unused - inconveniencing scores of classes and thousands of students.
Perhaps college officials believe they are doing something positive by trying to spend money to solve this dilemma. They should face reality instead.
What happened at Cole Hall doesn't change its viability. It should be used for the purpose for which it was built 40 years ago.
If Cole Hall isn't restored to its full use, the argument could be made that the shooter has triumphed. No one wants that.
NIU should reopen Cole Hall and, in the process, set an example for the type of rational response that is needed in the face of irrational violence.
