Just one year ago, we were left shaken after a senseless shooting at Northern Illinois University, which left five students dead and a nation in mourning.

Memories of what happened at Virginia Tech less than a year earlier immediately flashed before our eyes.

It was doubtful anybody at Kent State knew any of the slain students, but the terror sank into our bones as we watched the news unfold on the television. We couldn’t help but feel the pain swelling through a campus 429 miles away.

Looking back at the pictures one of our photographers took at the NIU campus just hours after the shooting, it’s easy to see the similarities between Kent State and NIU. After all, we’re both Mid-American Conference schools with relatively the same number of students.

As 20-somethings, we tend to focus on what makes us different rather than what unites us. We dwell on petty differences and rivalries that divide us.

But at the end of the day, we’re all college students. We all experience the hardships of growing up. But on Feb. 14, 2008, we were more than college students – we were Huskies.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.