Two more evening threats empty Union, University Club

Campus Buildings were again the target of general bomb threats, as 15 buildings were evacuated… Campus Buildings were again the target of general bomb threats, as 15 buildings were evacuated Thursday.

Morning threats emptied Litchfield Towers, Bruce Hall, Lothrop Hall, Sutherland Hall and Pennsylvania Hall, running up the number of evacuations this semester due to bomb threats to 118. The count surpassed the century mark on Wednesday, after a day that saw 12 threats.

On April 5, a threat to Litchfield Towers alone took around three hours to clear, while on April 11, threats to five other campus residence hall were threatened simultaneously, it took two and a half hours to clear all five buildings.

Freshman Justin Clagg, a resident at Sutherland Hall, stayed up late studying for a physics test. When the alarms sounded around 8 a.m., his sleep schedule was thrown off.

“I only got three hours of sleep because of it,” Clagg said. “I was planning on waking up around twelve.”

The dorms were able to be re-occupied just after 9 a.m., about one hour after the Emergency Notification System Alert went out.

Just before 2 p.m., another ENS alert went out informing campus of a threat to Alumni Hall, which was cleared about an hour later.

Because of the threat to Alumni Hall, Clagg’s physics test was cancelled.

Again at 4:30 p.m., another set of bomb threats were received for five more academic buildings, the Cathedral of Learning, Chevron Science Center, Barco Law School, Posvar Hall, and Benedum Hall.

The afternoon threats brought the total number of threats to Pitt buildings this semester to 124.

Shortly after 6:30 two more threats to the William Pitt Union and the University Club emptied both buildings, raising the number of threats to 126.

Kenyon Bonner, the director of student life and associate dean of students, stood outside of the William Pitt Union after a bomb threat evacuated him from his office. He said that in light of finals, students need to remain prepared for further threats.

“I think students have been resourceful,” Bonner said. “They need to continue to have plans in place. If they are concerned with finals, they need to talk to their professors.”

Student Government Board member Natalie Rothenberger joined Bonner outside. She too offered advice for students.

“At this point, I think it’s important for everyone to stay optimistic,” Rothenberger said. “If we keep working together, we’ll get through this.”