Stop senseless shootings and terror

We have had heavy hearts in East Lansing. This is the community my children have grown up in, I went to college, and where my daughter currently attends. Our lives have been enriched and intertwined with Michigan State University for so long. Yes, we are Spartan Strong and will go on, but we will never recover. Never recover from the night thousands of students lived in terror as they were barricaded in rooms, hiding in bathrooms, and jumping out windows to safety, my daughter and friends included. We will never recover the three young, bright lives that were lost. We will never recover from the nightmare parents and loved ones lived through, waiting to hear if their students were safe and talking them through hours of panic and anxiety. We will never recover the countless shed tears that keep coming. We will never recover the feeling of safety at a place of education. I will never recover from hugging my daughter so tight in the early hours of the morning and her saying through tears, “I didn’t think this could happen.” Let me repeat what I told her. THIS CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE When is it enough? How many people must be terrified and killed before there is real change? Will I ever be able to answer my children with, THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN That night as I was waiting to see if my daughter, university, and community were safe. Lawmakers were already producing statements about sending prayers to MSU, and how saddened they were by the events. Don’t be sad and in disbelief when you have the power to stop this from happening. Empty words mean nothing to East Lansing and all the other communities that will never recover.