New gun safety laws in Michigan are among many key pieces of legislation which passed last year and take effect this week as students, faculty and staff at Michigan State University are set to mark one year since a lone gunman opened fire on campus, killing three and terrorizing thousands.

All Feb. 13 classes were canceled at MSU for events planned to reflect, connect and honor three students murdered one year ago: Alexandria Verner, a 2020 graduate of Clawson High and daughter of an MEA member, and two 2021 graduates from Grosse Pointe schools, Arielle Anderson and Brian Fraser.

MSU Spartans across the globe are invited to join a ceremony of remembrance being held on campus by lighting a luminary from

wherever they are at 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday. Find information on that and other planned events.

Throughout the past year, the three promising MSU students lost to violence have been commemorated and honored on campus and in their home communities. Meanwhile, grief and anger also translated into action with a new state Legislature seated in Lansing.

Democratic majorities in the House and Senate passed and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — an MSU alum — signed into law several commonsense measures to promote gun safety.

The new laws, which take effect on Feb. 13, include requirements for safe weapon storage and universal background checks for gun purchases, and allow extreme risk protection orders to prevent gun purchases by those deemed a threat.

The horrific events on MSU’s campus, carried out by a troubled loner who later killed himself, came 15 months after a deadly attack at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021. Four students were killed when a 15-year-old student rampaged through the building with a gun his parents bought him.

Communities are devastated by the tremendous loss and trauma experienced in mass shootings for long after particular instances fade from the headlines — as in Oxford and now Michigan State. Many turn to activism and service, in addition to seeking counseling and community.

Tina Timm, an associate professor in the MSU School of Social Work, told the Lansing State Journal in this moving one-year-later feature, that the sound of sirens can take her and students back to that night. Timm was teaching in Berkey Hall where the first of two campus shootings took place.

Timm said she discusses those situations with students as they present teachable moments. “The research does show that an important part of healing is to be in community and in groups talking about those experiences,” she said. “You have better outcomes than if you try to do that on your own.”

Leaders at MSU are encouraging students and staff to seek help if they are struggling to cope with continuing effects of trauma.