As they readily admit, school officials face a delicate balancing act. They want it to be a normal school again, a familiar place of learning and sanctuary and everyday teenage experience for Columbine students. Their old school. At the same time, they are acutely aware of the obvious need not only to remove all signs of the carnage that took place here, but also to change enough of the physical plant so that it is a different place, one that does not echo so loudly with painful reminders. You have to do it with real reverence.
Bullet holes mar metal door frames.
Walls are pockmarked with dozens of small shrapnel holes. The library where 10 students were slain and where the two gunmen laughed and reveled in the slaughter remains sealed off, police tape barring entry. It will remain an active crime scene for at least two more weeks. Directly across from the library is a dark blue locker, like hundreds of others. But this one, No. 837, stands out.