LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is home to roughly 30,000 students. Many live on campus. But a lot has changed after Wednesday’s deadly shooting.
"No part of this feels real. The fact that anyone would try and hurt us like that is monstrous. It's pathetic really," said UNLV sophomore Emily Rubalcava. "Many of us live on campus. Some of us work on campus. Our entire lives are on campus. For me, this is my home, my whole world."
When I approached Rubalcava, she was huddled in a group with two other UNLV students, days after the shooting.
"We know that we will have to come back eventually," Rubalcava said. "We’re trying to confront our fears and become more comfortable with returning to campus because for us, this is our home."
Her two friends didn’t want to go on camera. However, Rubalcava said she wanted to share her story.
"I was hiding where I'm not sure I was even supposed to be and I don't want to show you because god forbid this happens again, but it was kind of under a building."
Standing just steps away from Beam Hall, where three UNLV professors lost their lives, Rubalcava said she can’t fathom how she and other students and staff will return to the building.
"I was talking to my friends earlier. I wonder if they’re going to demolish it and build a new building. I'm wondering if they will rebrand it," Rubalcava said. "I don't know. Part of me feels like I'd like to walk around the building and put my feelings to rest but I don't know if anyone would feel comfortable in that building again."
Right now, an investigation into the shooting continues and plans have yet to be announced about the future of this now taped-off crime scene. But students like Rubalcava said they hope the discussion is one students and staff and are a part of:
"You have to remember we have a right to have a voice about this. We have a right to be heard about this. It's important to listen to us and our voice."
