On Feb. 13, a gunman broke into two buildings at Michigan State University (MSU) — Berkey Hall and the MSU Union building. The attack — which spanned from 8:18 to 11:35 p.m. — left three students dead, five injured and the MSU student body grappling with the aftermath of yet another deadly mass shooting in the United States. 

Three students were murdered that Monday night, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the infamous Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla. The Old Gold & Black would like to use this space to remember each of these students and to offer our sincere condolences to the loved ones of those who were killed and to those who grieve the victims of gun violence across the nation. We stand in solidarity with student protestors and echo their calls to action. Grief is not linear, and we encourage the MSU administration to give students the time and space they need to grieve this colossal loss. We also encourage politicians and legislators to uphold their promises for gun control reform. 

Arielle “Arie” Anderson was a sophomore from Harper Woods, Mich. She planned to graduate early and become a surgeon and was remembered as kind and caring. Her great aunt Kimella Spivey described her smile as “so infectious that it poured over into the lives of everyone that she encountered.”

“Arie gave a piece of herself to everyone she met and when she departed from her earthly home, she left a piece of herself with everyone that she left,” Spivey said in a tribute at Anderson’s Feb. 21 memorial service. 

Alexandria “Alex” Verner, a junior from Clawson, Mich., studied integrated biology and anthropology, with dreams of becoming a forensic scientist. Friends and family remember her as a role model who was “loved by everybody” and “exemplified kindness every day of her life.”

“Anytime you were feeling down, Alex was there to make your day feel better and she would never fail to put a smile on your face … If anyone would’ve made a change to this world, it would’ve been Alex Verner,” Verner’s friend Alliyah Ocampo wrote. 

Brian Fraser was a sophomore from Grosse Pointe, Mich. and the president of the Beta chapter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Brian is remembered by his fraternity brothers as charismatic, caring and loyal. 

“Brian showed me what true brotherhood was,” one of his fraternity brothers wrote in an anonymous post. “He was always there for me and willing to talk.”

Anderson, Verner and Fraser lost their lives too soon to senseless gun violence, and five other students have maintained injuries. We pray that those who have been injured have a safe recovery and are able to heal both emotionally and physically. We wish the victims’ friends, families and communities peace and healing in this time and hope that they can find comfort in each other.