Friday, April 17, marks one year since the mass shooting on the campus of Florida State University.
Two people were killed, and half a dozen were injured. The suspect was shot by police and is awaiting trial.
Campus security has been bolstered, items gathered from pop up memorials on campus are being archived and preserved, and students and staff have sought help for grief and trauma.
The FSU shooting is the topic of a special extended episode of Speaking Of.
“I try to keep it out of my mind, but yeah, I still think about it here and there, and it still is in the back of my mind,” says Cecilia Eberly, a junior who was at an off-campus building when the shooting happened. She wears a necklace in memory of that awful day and the victims.
“I think there's a really heavy air just lingering around campus," says Ava Osborne, a junior at FSU who shared her feelings about being on campus this week. "It's scary to think that it's been almost a year now, and I know it impacts everyone so much, and it just makes me nervous heading into the anniversary."
FSU police chief Jason Trumbower had been in his new leadership role for a week and a half when the shooting happened. He says locking mechanisms have been tweaked on hundreds of doors and police now have a few thousand camera views across campus.
"There's been a significant investment in some AI technology and things for weapon detection that I don't want to get too far into because it's tools and things that we use for intel. But it's been a big help since April 17th," Trumbower says.
He is doing his best to assure an uneasy campus community that security has been heightened, especially this week. He says more resources will be available and police will be prominently seen at buildings campuswide.
"It's okay to be nervous and emotional. That was an emotional day and it's been emotional every since," Trumbower says. "But know that our police department, we are always fully committed to the safety and security of our faculty, staff, and students. That's our mission."
School safety has been top of mind in the last year for Florida lawmakers, who passed legislation that includes an expansion of the guardian program from public K-12 schools into state colleges and universities. The program enables higher ed institutions to opt into the program, allowing certain faculty and staff to carry firearms on campus.
The Florida Board of Governors, which oversees state universities, took up school safety at their meeting in late March.
"We've added full-time staff that are strictly focused on making sure that the technology works, it's routinely tested, and that we are maintaining it in proper and good working order," said FSU Senior Vice President for Finance & Administration Kyle Clark.
He told the board that many safety initiatives were in the works prior to last year’s shooting, and he noted there have been upgrades and resources added for safety.
"We also hired an outside consultant to review all of the technology that our public safety department uses to make sure that we had the latest and greatest tools available to them," Clark told the board.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has announced an investigation into OpenAI and its product ChatGPT. That comes after news that the accused gunman, Phoenix Ikner, used the AI chatbot to plan last year’s shooting.
The family of Robert Morales, one of the victims who was killed, says they plan to sue OpenAI and ChatGPT. Court filings show that Ikner is accused of entering more than 200 prompts into ChatGPT just ahead of the attack.
Ikner’s trial is scheduled for October. He’s charged with two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder.
The university knows this first anniversary will be hard for a lot of folks. So at noon on April 17th, the university says the sound of bells will be heard around campus, then the bells will be followed by a moment of silence.
The Student Government Association has created a space for reflection on the Legacy Walk between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Also, the unconquered statue at the stadium will be lit all day as a symbol of remembrance and resilience.
Memorials popped up with cards, stuffed animals, and more near the shooting site and other places around campus. Those items are being archived and preserved.
For those having flashbacks or general unease this week, Dr. Sally Karioth says "trauma comes back as a reaction, not a memory" and can include symptoms like a headache or stomach discomfort.
Karioth is an FSU professor who deals with trauma, grief, and loss. She’s been on the faculty since 1970.
She says talking through these feelings is crucial. "If you don't let your brain talk about it or think about it, it will try to do it anyway."
Karioth notes that one person may handle this kind of tragedy very differently from another.
"What you say to yourself is 'I deserve to manage this and to have someone help me do it. I don't have to just get over it,'" Karioth says, strongly encouraging "self care."
"The rule has to be — don't give a lecture to someone that needs a hug."
Click LISTEN above to hear the full show.
