Wooden Huskie cutouts continue to stand in front of Cole Hall as a memorial to the victims of the Feb. 14 shootings.

Just as the memorial is representative of NIU’s own pride and respect, its creator is also NIU’s very own Bianca McGraw.

Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, McGraw is a graduate art student who received her bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Francis in Joliet. She is enrolled in NIU’s master’s program studying sculpture but describes herself as a “multimedia artist.”

McGraw first came upon the idea of creating the Huskie cutouts when she was reminded during a Student Affairs meeting that not everyone is of Christian faith.

“The crosses represent a certain kind of belief structure that may not be one that everyone can connect with or find comforting,” McGraw said. “I chose to do Huskies because of their communal connection with the university and the DeKalb community.”

Before making the cutouts, McGraw called Lowe’s home improvement store, explained her project and was able get a discount on the plywood, as paid for by Roseann Feldmann, program coordinator for the Honors Program. McGraw had also enlisted the help of fellow Resource Center staff members to paint and another artist, Bradley Cahill, to cut out the figures.

After taking two days to make them, the cutouts were then placed in front of Cole Hall on Feb. 21.

As an artist, McGraw is familiar with controversial subjects and has addressed cultural, domestic and racial issues through her art. When making the Huskie cutouts, she was unafraid to include a sixth.

“He [Steve Kazmierczak] was just as much a Huskie as the rest of us,” McGraw said. “Many of us choose the wrong path and I think he can be seen as a stray.”

As for the much-talked-about topic of what will be done with Cole Hall, McGraw believes it should not be torn down.

“I think building it up is better than just tearing it down and erasing it because, ultimately, improvement is what society’s about and what NIU should be about,” McGraw said.

McGraw said she plans to remove the cutouts by Wednesday to preserve and eventually contribute them to the university archives for posterity. She will replace them with a photo banner depicting them how they once were.