President Peters announced Tuesday a “three phase-like” process to determine the fate of Cole Hall and plan for a memorial.

The first phase of brainstorming will come from a newly created Memorial Committee to be headed by Mike Malone, vice president of University Advancement and Development.

The committee will act as the voice of the NIU community, which includes “students, faculty, staff, families and alumni,” as said in Peters’ e-mail.

“This initial large group will be the top funnel of all ideas,” Malone said. “We want to be as open as possible to everyone’s ideas.”

The goal of the committee is to “find a very special place on campus for those killed and whose lives changed Feb. 14,” Malone said. “It’s not ‘neat,’ but it’s the way universities work.”

Malone stressed the patience that would be needed to complete the job of phase one.

“Hopefully, we will be able to pass on possible plans to a smaller group that will come up with a budget (phase two)”, Malone said.

In the end, Malone hopes to be able to judge success by his “10 years later” test.

“If someone could come back – anyone affected – five to six years from now and feel our decision made a statement, we’ll know we’ve succeeded,” he said.

The third phase would be the presentation of proposals to President Peters to approve.

Other university organizations will take a more “informal” role in the decision-making processes.

“We’re not taking a formal role in this,” said Paul Stoddard, executive secretary of University Council. “Everyone on campus has been invited to give input.”

Stoddard feels the three issues at hand are loss of class space, need for a memorial and what to do about Cole itself. The only actual issue University Council directly deals with is the loss of class space.

“I’ve been asked to help with the classroom aspect of things,” Stoddard said.

Another important contributor to the decision-making is the Student Association.

“The Student Association will be working to continue the discussion of the future of Cole Hall and how we move forward,” said Michael Johns, SA chief of staff.

“I think it’s a good idea to have a concentrated voice of all bodies on campus,” SA president Jarvis Purnell said.

The SA is asking students to participate in an open discussion about Cole after Spring Break.

“It’s important as students that our voices be heard and our opinions counted at the highest levels of the university,” Johns said.

Regardless of outside contributions from individuals such as the governor, Stoddard feels it is a good idea to step back and think a little more clearly. “I appreciate the governor’s help and support, but this is really a conversation we need to have on campus.”

The SA’s open discussions will be held at 7 p.m. on March 19 through March 21 in the Campus Life Building, Room 100.