Published 2011-11-30T12:06:00Z”/>
Andre Byik
After a bomb scare came and left Chico State Nov. 30, a few lessons have been learned while some questions have been raised.
The bomb threat, which was called in to the Wildcat Recreation Center about 7 a.m., forced the closure of the Student Services Center and the Bell Memorial Union for most of the morning. Students began receiving emergency notification texts, emails and phone calls about 7:30 a.m. warning them to “stay away from the immediate area.”
Kathryn Hines, who works the front desk at the WREC, fielded the called-in threat, she said. The caller, who sounded like a male with a deep voice, said, “There’s going to be a bomb at the Student Services Center.”
Officials are continuing their investigation to identify the caller, said Joe Wills, director of Public Affairs and Publications. Calling in a bomb threat is a felony.
University Police cordoned off the SSC, the SSC plaza and the BMU as a bomb squad, which includes agencies from around the county, was called in to investigate, Wills said. About 11 a.m., the SSC and BMU were opened after the bomb squad checked the SSC and found nothing.
Classes were held as scheduled throughout the morning, raising questions about the validity of the threat as well as the handling of the scare.
“I think someone was just trying to get out of a test,” said Tatum Megli, a senior recreation administration major. While not canceling classes was “fine,” that decision contradicted notifications warning students to stay away from parts of campus.
While the bomb threat was called in to the SSC, there’s no way to know how big a bomb could be, or if it’s in the threatened building at all, said Roger Thor, a second-year applied computer graphics major. Thor was on his way to Meriam Library when notifications were being sent out.
Classes should have been canceled for the day, Thor said.
Because of where the caller said the bomb was, the SSC, it seemed that it would not necessitate closing campus or having students not come to class, Wills said.
“I mean, going to class is why we’re here,” he said.
Bomb threats are handled on a case-by-case basis, Wills said.
“There is no set, pre-planned response to any one bomb threat or any one emergency,” he said.
University Police called in the bomb squad and deemed that this threat did not warrant a campus-wide closure, Wills said. Faculty, staff and students who were inconvenienced seem to understand that it was to keep them safe.
The initial aftermath of the scare has raised some ideas to tweak the school’s emergency notification system, he said. This includes sending notifications to media, parents and others in the community that would be served by the emergency system.
“The thing abut an emergency is that time is of the essence,” Wills said. “When every minute counts you try and strive to be accurate. At the same time, if you take too long, then you’re not getting it out soon enough.”
Overall, Chico State responded well to the threat, he said.
During the hectic morning, Butte Hall was evacuated about 10 a.m. for an unrelated heat sensor alarm, University Police Capt. Robyn Hearne said. Students were allowed back in 15 minutes later.
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<em><strong>Andre Byik can be reached at</strong>
[email protected]</em>
