Students have a week before class resumes at NIU

Is a week off too much for Northern Illinois University students?

The school canceled classes this week for its 25,000 students so they'd have time to absorb the events of the past few days, mourn the students who were killed and begin the healing process.

However, the weeklong break also leaves NIU students with a lot of free time that they're not quite sure how to fill.

Freshman Paulina Kozuch of Homer Glen plans to spend the week hanging out with friends, doing a little studying and attending one of the victim's funerals.

She said she'd have preferred if classes were only canceled for a few days rather than the whole week.

"It might be a little bit too much time off," Kozuch said. "Most of us have no work and no school, so we don't know what to do with our time."

Students with on-campus jobs can't work. Mattie Conger, a senior from Aurora, works as a tutor. But with no students around, she's left with little to do other than hang out at her off-campus apartment, said her mother, Patsy.

"A lot of students are going to welcome the time off … but I think a lot of students are going to be at loose ends," said Patsy Conger. "I can understand (the decision), though. I can understand why some people need this time."

Grief counselors regularly preach that one of the best ways to move on is to return to your routine. Routine keeps people from withdrawing in sadness or anger, said Michael Flora, CEO of the Ben Gordon Health Center in DeKalb.

However, Flora supports the university's decision to cancel classes for the week because he said the administration needs time to get the resources and support in place that will be necessary in the coming months.

"Some folks may even need more time than one week. No one reacts to anything like this the same," he said. "As they transition back, they can gradually return to their normal routine. It gets folks back into thinking about the future."

On Tuesday, NIU teachers will return to campus and be trained on how to identify students who need help, and how to help them -- and themselves -- deal with the fallout from the shootings.

Many logistic issues also loom, since the classes taught at Cole Hall will now have to be moved elsewhere.

Teaching assistant Laura Raymond said students and teachers are still too shell-shocked to resume normal activities.

"A week was probably a good idea. Going back too soon, people wouldn't be able to function," she said. "I couldn't go back yet."

NIU's canceled classes will bump graduation back from May 10 to May 17, disrupting some families' pre-arranged plans.

Virginia Tech also canceled classes for a week following the shootings there in 2007.