The Paper Trail

'Zombie Feeling' Settles Over Campus After Minnesota Bridge Collapse

August 3, 2007 RSS Feed Print

While the Interstate 35 bridge collapse has wounded the nation, it cut a little deeper for the students at the University of Minnesota. The disaster, only five blocks away from the school's Twin Cities campus, has led the university to provide walk-in counseling and advice for stunned students, reports the Minnesota Daily.

As the days pass, some students are finding the edge wearing off, but certain memories are playing on repeat. One student described it sounding as if "a plane was flying overhead too closely," while the pandemonium reminded one local of the 2003 hockey riots.

The paper highlighted the silent heroism (a bystander directing traffic until help arrived was "just a normal guy with a backpack" telling everyone where to go), but shock and awe suffused the mood. "It was like a zombie feeling," said a nearby bartender. "Everyone was just zoned out." —Jackie Mantey

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University of Minnesota

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