Wesleyan Copes in Wake of Violent Death

Life on the Wesleyan University campus is getting back to normal, slowly. Hundreds were out to see senior thesis films but the mood remains somber for most.

It's time for finals at Wesleyan then it's off to enjoy summer break, but there doesn't seem to be a sense of relief on campus.

Students filing into the film studies center for the film festival over the weekend were quiet. Most just kept to themselves.

“People are starting to come out of the woodwork. Starting to celebrate end of the year things ... in a more subdued way. It’s still really quiet,” Alex Footman, a Wesleyan senior, said.

Life at the university was disrupted last Wednesday when police say Stephen Morgan shot and killed 21-year-old student Johanna Justin-Jinich.

Students were told to stay indoors during the two days police searched for the gunman. Entries in Morgan's journal caused even more panic. They read, in part "I think it okay to kill Jews and go on a killing spree at this school."

Footman was one of the many students who left campus after shooting. 

Then, the 29-year-old accused gunman turned himself in. He appeared in court on Friday.

Now, even as calm returns to the campus Wesleyan's president said in a letter to students "feelings of sorrow, anger and bewilderment still make it hard to focus."

Students see it too.

“It’s tough, you know, a lot of people are not taking tests, not writing papers,” Footman said.

The school is being flexible with students who are still grieving. Friday has been designated as a make up day for finals.

Wesleyan is also planning another memorial is for Johanna. It'll be a celebration of her life and is being organized by her closest friends.
 

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