For many, the NIU slogan, “Forward, Together, Forward” may serve as a reminder of community togetherness during a time of tragedy.

But students Amy Genova and Victoria Boland say that without students’ voices being heard in the final decision on Cole Hall, NIU will only be moving “Forward, Forward.”

This week, Genova and Boland are collecting signatures for a petition to be signed by NIU students, staff, faculty and the community. The petition advocates for a general assembly conference so all groups have a voice in the discussion regarding Cole Hall, Genova said.

“We don’t think it’s very fair for [legislators] to decide without us,” Boland, a sophomore art major, said. “It’s not even taking the students’ thoughts and feelings into consideration.”

Following the forming of the petition group, the university announced Tuesday that it was taking a step back and will include more opinions from the campus community on what to do with Cole.

Through the Facebook group, “Preserve NIU’s Cole Hall,” students have voiced their opinions ranging from preserving it to tearing it down.

“A lot of [students] suggested really interesting things, like making it into a museum or to put a memorial in the building,” Boland said. “Some have suggested just to completely reconstruct the inside. A lot of the consensus has said to keep Cole Hall as it remains.”

Boland said she even heard some suggestions of turning Cole Hall into a place of worship.

“There are also thousands of artifacts within that basement from the anthropology department that would not be able to be moved by April,” Genova said. “That’s one big issue that not a lot of people are aware of.”

Boland and Genova said they are not trying to be insensitive to people’s losses, but think all students have been deeply affected by this. Genova said it is very important to get a community consensus before the final decision is made.

With the e-mail announcement from NIU President John Peters on Monday, the steps to include the campus response have been set in motion.

Salvador Hernandez, a junior marketing major said he was in the geology class in Cole Hall where the Feb. 14 shootings took place. Hernandez said that whatever decision is made on the building, it should be specifically orientated toward the people who died and the people who were there.

“I know a lot of people were affected, but not everyone was affected directly,” he said. “I think people should remember that. You don’t know who among you was in that room. Our voices should be heard.”