Keep and remodel. Do not raze.

That was the general consensus regarding the future Cole Hall, from a discussion group that met within the conference room of the NIU Physical Plant on Tuesday. Although the discussion was open to everyone in the NIU community, those who participated were architects, engineers and other vital operating staff.

Several participants were very critical of destroying Cole Hall. Linda Larsen, Materials Management stores manager, called the idea ridiculous, adding that other schools where shootings have ocurred did not tear down buildings.

Larsen said that as time goes on and students come and go, the stigma will fade.

“Anyone else who comes here will have no idea, no connection to what happened in that building,” Larsen said.

Mary Schlagel, asbestos program coordinator with Environmental Health and Safety, said the heavy equipment needed for a demolition in such a high area of traffic area could be a liability for the university.

Simultaneously, different members of the group emphasized time as the key element.

“The longer you keep it closed, the harder it is to get people in there,” said Jay Garman, heating plan stationary engineer .

Schlagel added that the two lecture halls in Cole Hall are too valuable to close forever.

“We need two 500-seat auditoriums. We have 10 locations to cover two rooms,” Schlagel said. “We can’t close it down.”

Just as everyone present at the discussion group voiced to keep Cole Hall, everyone also agreed with the idea of remodeling Cole Hall to memorialize the tragedy.

Larsen suggested turning the central hallway of Cole Hall into a peace area, while Garman said that changing the appearance of the rooms is a possibility.

Mechanical engineer Atique Ahmed said the best memorial would be one that allows students to get an education.

“That is the best memory we can give to people,” Ahmed said.

However, as described by architecture engineering draftsman John Moluf, funding might be the key factor in the future of Cole Hall.

“A lot of it depends on funding,” Moluf said. “If we don’t get it, we really don’t have much of a choice.”

Jay Monteiro, operating staff council president and the chair of the discussion group, said these recommendations will be forwarded to NIU President John Peters at the end of the week.

On March 31, Peters announced that a decision regarding the future of Cole Hall will be reached by May 1.