Campus security raised, and alerts go out to everyone on campus by e-mail, voice mail and fliers
By Alexa Aguilar | Tribune staff reporter
12:15 PM CST, December 10, 2007
Northern Illinois University in DeKalb is under a security alert through the end of the semester after police found threats on a bathroom wall that included a racial slur and references to the Virginia Tech shootings, a university spokeswoman said Sunday.
A statement on the school's Web site late Sunday said that "concerns and questions" related to the threats have in part prompted the cancellation of final exams scheduled for Monday. Icy conditions also factored into the decision to close the campus, officials said.
"Only essential service personnel should report to work on Monday," the statement read. University officials are going to meet at 2 p.m. to discuss how long the university will be closed and what they plan to do about final exams.
Campus police are investigating two separate messages found by a student Saturday night on a restroom wall in the Grant D Towers complex that read that "things will change most hastily" in the final days of the semester, which ends Friday, said Melanie Magara, a university spokeswoman.
Grant D Tower is one of four 13-story towers known collectively as Grant Towers. Grant D features all single rooms. Towers A, B and C have double rooms.
The first set of messages, found written in black ink in a women's restroom, includes a racial slur and reads "ME / OUT . . . Die Sem Burr 10th . . . Hmz Sdn Cr" in what officials believe are references to Dec. 10 and the Holmes Student Center. Underlined letters also spell out the word "WATCH."
The second entry, which appears to be in different handwriting, reads, "What time? The VA tech shooters messed up w/ having only one shooter . . ."
NIU officials increased campus security and notified people on campus about the threats by e-mail, voice mail and fliers, Magara said.
NIU President John Peters said officials are being especially cautious. "We will not tolerate threats against individuals or groups," Peters said in a statement. "Nor will we tolerate hate speech of any type on this campus."
Some students and parents said they were worried.
"I just don't think that they're doing enough. I think they should be canceling classes, or at least let them do their finals online, or something, because this should not be taken lightly," said Dianne Faulkner, who has a son and a niece that are NIU students. She said she is afraid for their safety, especially because the message appears to be targeting black people.
Anyone with information should call police.
NIU officials also have set up hot lines to answer concerns. Those numbers are 815-753-1573, 815-753-1585 and 815-753-6257.
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