2008 Woodie Awards
ISU receives two bomb threats in one week
Catherine Roberts
Issue date: 9/12/07 Section: News
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On Tuesday, Sept. 4, a campus wide e-mail was sent informing ISU faculty and students that a bomb threat had been posed to both the Pocatello and Idaho Falls campuses, namely the Tingey building in Idaho Falls and the Administration building in Pocatello. According to Steve Chatterton, Director of Public Safety, the e-mailed threat had been sent the Sunday before and was not discovered until Tuesday. Chatterton noted that the threat was, "something that was expected and had been occurring all over the U.S."
He went on to say also that the Pocatello and Idaho Falls Police Departments were "already alerted that this could occur," and that no one in particular was threatened.
A student that was at the Idaho Falls campus during the evacuation of the Tingey building and wished to remain anonymous, was critical of the way the threat was handled by ISU officials.
"It felt like it wasn't taken serious," stated the student. "They had janitors telling people not to go in the building, (and) the head of maintenance had to tell people to go away… (and) only that there had been an emergency in the building."
The Public Safety officer on duty would not comment on the University's response to the threat at that time.
Chatterton, however, insisted that he "watched the activities on closed circuit TV," where he was able to "look at cameras on both facilities" while issuing instructions via cell phone and radio to the Public Safety officer. Chatterton said that procedures "depend on the circumstances" and that this circumstance in particular "involved a bomb threat made only to one building".
He noted that the situation was, "handled the way it should be."
"The entire lower campus in Pocatello should have been evacuated," commented ISU student Autumn Banks. "It was upsetting to discover evacuation procedures had been ongoing for a bomb threat while I was in class and not notified".
Another student, Brian Fletcher, said, however, that it is a "double edged sword… if you don't tell us we'll be angry, if you do we'll panic."
He went on to say also that the Pocatello and Idaho Falls Police Departments were "already alerted that this could occur," and that no one in particular was threatened.
A student that was at the Idaho Falls campus during the evacuation of the Tingey building and wished to remain anonymous, was critical of the way the threat was handled by ISU officials.
"It felt like it wasn't taken serious," stated the student. "They had janitors telling people not to go in the building, (and) the head of maintenance had to tell people to go away… (and) only that there had been an emergency in the building."
The Public Safety officer on duty would not comment on the University's response to the threat at that time.
Chatterton, however, insisted that he "watched the activities on closed circuit TV," where he was able to "look at cameras on both facilities" while issuing instructions via cell phone and radio to the Public Safety officer. Chatterton said that procedures "depend on the circumstances" and that this circumstance in particular "involved a bomb threat made only to one building".
He noted that the situation was, "handled the way it should be."
"The entire lower campus in Pocatello should have been evacuated," commented ISU student Autumn Banks. "It was upsetting to discover evacuation procedures had been ongoing for a bomb threat while I was in class and not notified".
Another student, Brian Fletcher, said, however, that it is a "double edged sword… if you don't tell us we'll be angry, if you do we'll panic."
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