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Rocori students make it through tough year
by Annie Baxter, Minnesota Public Radio
May 28, 2004

Rocori senior Brent Gregory, center, and his parents look through a collection of Brent's school writings. The family says the shooting at Rocori affected them, but eventually life returned to normal. (MPR Photo/Annie Baxter)

The graduation ceremony Saturday at Rocori High School in Cold Spring brings to a close to a rough year. Only a few weeks into the school year, two students were fatally shot on the school grounds. They were Seth Bartell, 14, and Aaron Rollins, 17. Rollins would have graduated this year. Everyone, including Aaron's parents, wanted the graduation ceremony to be as normal as possible. Keeping things "normal" was a goal for many students in the wake of the shooting. Rocori senior Brent Gregory reflects on what the past year was like.

Richmond, Minn. — Classes have ended, and Brent Gregory's mind is already turned to the next step of his life. A college writing book sits atop the kitchen table at his family's house in Richmond. He'll attend St. Cloud State in the fall.

Today, Brent's mom is checking out how he looks in his ruby red graduation gown.

"OK, Brent, let's try this gown on for graduation here," his mom says while helping him on with his gown. "Very nice on you, Brent!"

	Brent Gregory

As Brent fusses with his gown, he thinks back to the beginning of senior year. He had ordinary expectations -- he wanted to have fun with his friends, get good grades, and compete well in cross country.

No one's ever ready for violence. But Brent points out that it seemed especially unlikely in a place like Cold Spring.

"Just last year we had the world record for the biggest hug, and that was the biggest media thing that happened in a long time at our school," he says. "And then the school shooting happened."

Aaron Rollins and Seth Bartell were shot at school Sept. 24, 2003. When they both died, the community went into mourning.

Brent Gregory was friends with fellow senior Aaron Rollins. They played basketball together. Brent visited with the Rollins family a few times after Aaron's funeral. Kids gathered at the Rollins house on a weekly basis -- and still do.

Then Brent says he moved on. His parents spoke to him often about the shooting. And they advised him to keep up his homework and grades; routine would help him get past the trauma. His dad, Dennis Gregory, says for a while, that strategy seemed to work.

He's a part of everyone, he's in everyone's mind. We're all united that way. We're all together I guess. - Brent Gregory

"We thought that he had went through the process and was OK," Gregory explains. "And we were kind of surprised a month or so after the shooting, when he had written a story about the shooting, by how raw the feelings were."

As Brent recalls the account of the shooting he wrote for a school assignment, he stops making eye contact with everyone in the room, and looks off into a corner.

Brent says on the day of the shooting, the principal came over the intercom to announce a lockdown. His class then learned from the TV that there was a shooting in their school.

"We didn't know if the shooter was apprehended or how many there were," Brent recalls. "Then all of a sudden, after about 15 minutes or a half hour, there's a knock on our door. And it's a student. And he was just coming to school. We all said, 'Don't let him in!'"

The student at the door was innocently looking for a classroom to duck into. The next hour was filled with anxious moments like this. Brent continues to tell the story for several minutes in great detail. His mom, Barb Gregory, has been sitting next to him on the couch. She gets tears in her eyes and leaves the room.

	A shrine erected last fall

Brent's dad says this story gave a clear picture of what his son had gone through.

"We realized there was a whole angle we had missed. We realized that this whole thing wasn't about just losing a friend or classmate, it was about losing innocence."

For the Gregory family, the day of the shooting still bears a heavy emotional weight. But it exists in their minds alongside other days that are filled with happier memories.

"I put a picture book together for graduation, I think as everyone does," Brent's mom says as she thumbs through a photo album.

Barb Gregory points out pictures of her son at swimming meets and school dances.

Brent says as the school year went on, big school gatherings were no longer darkened by the loss of a classmate. They were just normal high school events. But Brent says Aaron's presence was still felt in more subtle ways.

"He's a part of everyone, he's in everyone's mind," Brent says. "We're all united that way. We're all together I guess. "

Aaron Rollins' name will be read from the roster at the commencement ceremony, and an empty chair will mark his place.

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