Public Safety Director Dan Meuwissen and Karen Lange, vice president of student affairs, spoke to TommieMedia Tuesday afternoon about the recent bomb threats at the University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus. (Maxwell Collier/TommieMedia)
Following Tuesday morning’s bomb threat, Karen Lange, vice president of student affairs, said St. Thomas students need to develop personal safety plans that could include leaving class or campus in the event of a crisis.
“You need to develop your personal safety plan whenever there is a crisis on campus. We will continue to push that with students and continue to communicate with students and develop resources for students,” Lange said.
Students should consider their environment and identify safe temporary locations they can go if an emergency occurs on campus, according to the University Action Response Team.
TommieMedia Reporters Emilie Cleveland and Rachel Torralba went around campus Tuesday afternoon to hear student responses.
Public Safety Director Dan Meuwissen reiterated that the university takes safety very seriously.
Public Safety is providing information to St. Paul Police and the FBI, the organizations handling Tuesday’s bomb threat investigation. The April and August incidents remain open investigations.
“They are still diligently working on it,” Meuwissen said. “We do have ongoing investigations and hope at some point they are successful.”
President Julie Sullivan sent an email to the St. Thomas community after an all-clear was issued.
“This morning’s bomb threat was both frightening and frustrating. It is frightening any time the safety of our students, faculty and staff is threatened. And it’s frustrating because this is the third bomb threat our university has received since April,” Sullivan wrote. “Each of these threats interferes with our students’ learning experiences and disrupts our operations.”
Normal activities resumed after no suspicious objects were found. The safety of students is a top priority, according to Sullivan’s email.
Additional campus resources are available, including campus ministry and the Counseling and Psychological Services Center.
“It’s very disruptive. You’re here to get an education and get involved in the co-curricular life of the university so when things like this happen, it’s really jarring.” Lange said. “I’m proud of our students who take care of each other, who step up and share information if they have that. As frustrating as it is, it’s still a time where I think our community comes together.”
Samantha HoangLong, Carly Noble, Rachel Torralba, Kayla Mayer, Emilie Cleveland, True Dabill, Maxwell Collier, Owen Landrud and Jack Stanek contributed to this report.