As I leave my classroom on a Wednesday in December 2025 to refill my water bottle, I am gradually greeted by multiple dogs and a pony. I stop by to pet them and spend some time with them as I always do. While doing so I always feel really safe and calm, as if all of the worries I had minutes before just left. I say “hi” not only to them but also to the therapists who are accompanying them. They say they will not be able to be here much longer, that the funding for them is ending very soon and this is one of the last chances to meet them.

While I am sad that they are leaving, I also feel like the need for them to be present is no longer as urgent, that we are somewhat gradually reaching the point of being healed and more bonded as a community.

It is not very usual to have animals at your university, so why did they join students especially at our faculty building?

Every Thursday my classmates and I would wait for a seminar in the halls of the main building of the Faculty of Arts at Jan Palach Square. Except for one – the ill-fated afternoon of December 21^st, 2023. The only day I missed class that semester.

Being late for class because of missing my bus I opened my phone to check my notifications just to find very fragmented messages from my classmates about events at the building I was heading to. I started feeling lightheaded. My thoughts started running in all possible directions. It was the building where my boyfriend, friends and classmates were present. I was supposed to be there with them. As I went through all the phases of shock, I opened Instagram, just for it to confirm my worst fears about what was truly happening – that there was an active shooter at our faculty. Only a floor above our classroom. I could not even start to imagine how anyone who was in the building, injured or who lost a loved one felt. I was waiting for what felt like hours to get another message from my friends letting me know at least they were okay. The evening after we were still in disbelief about what had happened. But does the experience of someone who wasn’t there at the moment matter?

we were in shock

we felt utter desperation

we were shattered

The following morning the whole community spontaneously came to the rectorate building and brought candles. But it wasn’t only the students, teachers and devastated families. There were a lot of people who were affected by what had happened. Not from the community but from the public. The whole nation was shaken by the event.

The somber atmosphere was being interrupted by a lot of reporters aggressively filming us to have something to report about in the evening even filming interviews with some of the shaken students. I vividly remember the feeling of disgust I felt about the reporter’s actions. Many of us may have been okay physically but the same could not have been said about our internal state. Nevertheless, at least the light of the candles brought some warmth to our shattered souls. This marked the beginning of the “Month for our faculty”.

Especially during the hug of the faculty, I really felt connected to the community. I remember holding the hands of those around me and seeing a lot of people I barely knew among my friends. It was at that moment, I realized we are all in this together and will eventually overcome it as a community. Even though it was quite cold outside in the Prague January weather, the hands of those around me and their presence as such made me warm.

Afterwards, a temporary flame was established using the candles the Czech society brought to the rectorate since the day of the event. Students of the Faculty took turns guarding the flame for a month even during nights.

In the middle of the Month for our Faculty, a month after the event, on January 21^st the faculty was partially opened, and students were able to visit a part of the first floor for the first time since the event. The building suddenly felt so cold and hollow, not like the place that once felt so welcoming during our lectures and exams. The hallways, elevators and staircase were closed off with black fabric. It felt almost hostile, as if the building itself did not want us to return yet. The Czech society responded with overwhelming solidarity. Many people donated to support the survivors and families of victims raising millions of Czech Crowns (CZK) an expression of solidarity.

The spectacle the Czech media made of the whole situation was overwhelming. Since my boyfriend at the time was an eyewitness of the tragedy, he was contacted by various media and still does not feel comfortable with his interview being on national TV the day after the attack. Every now and then an article comes out in the Czech media blaming the police for what could have been done better. I am grateful they got there in time to prevent further casualties.

I was really glad our faculty organized not only the canis- and equitherapy but also organized individual psychological help for everyone who needed it. We were also able to participate in various workshops – including EDMR, First Aid, Relaxation, Prevention of Burn Out, Self-Defense Courses, Artetherapy and others. I felt a sense of belonging and togetherness during the events I participated in. I think this also helped foster community healing. Attending these events, I really feel I can say the solutions our faculty chose worked well. I could sense the support by our university throughout the healing process – they were forthcoming and organized a lot of psychological support for everyone who acknowledged they needed it. Every event was well organized. and I am truly grateful to them for making our healing as a community possible. More than two years later I feel like it has mostly worked. The black fabric is gone, the halls are full again, and even though we are changed, we are whole.