MOSCOW, Idaho — After the King Road home where four University of Idaho students were killed was torn down in December, the university is looking to the future with progress on the Vandal Healing Garden and Memorial.
Ryan Lorensen, an architecture student at the university speaks to the importance of the project by saying “Hearing their vulnerability and emotion really opened my eyes to how important this memorial is.”
The project is being taken on by 11 architecture students and 7 landscape students that recently have completed the design stage.
The university is proud that the memorial project team is comprised of students and noted that they have the heart of the university in their hands and to treat it carefully.
To capture the essence of the students being memorialized, the late students’ families met with the team to learn more about the students and how important this is to them.
Madailein McLenna, a student on the team, said “We know this memorial won’t make everybody happy. But for some people, it’s going to mean everything.”
The garden does not have an official resting place yet, as two locations are still being decided on, but the MacLean field is the area the university is hoping to plant roots.
Different sections of the field are being looked at, both located on campus between the College of Education and Health and Human Services building.
The team of students will continue fine-tuning the design in the spring semester and hope to have a final approval later this summer.
