Weekend threats bring count to 92

The number of bomb threats for the semester reached 92 this weekend, but Pitt is telling… The number of bomb threats for the semester reached 92 this weekend, but Pitt is telling students to carry on.

The University evacuated seven dormitories — Litchfield Towers and Panther, Pennsylvania, Bruce and Lothrop halls — Saturday morning after receiving threats.

An Emergency Notification System alert sent at 5:30 a.m. advised students to evacuate the buildings, and the University allowed students to re-enter about two hours later.

The day before, Pitt received five bomb threats early Friday morning at Sennott Square, Benedum Hall, Mervis Hall, Alumni Hall and Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall.

An ENS message alerted campus to the threats just after 5 a.m., and the buildings were cleared after 7 a.m.

Vice Provost and Dean of Students Kathy Humphrey sent out an email to students Friday afternoon praising Pitt’s spirit in the face of the bomb threats and notifying them of new information related to University policy.

Humphrey said that if a final exam is interrupted by an ENS notification, the faculty member will provide instructions for students on where to go and what to do. She also said that the deadline to change the grading option for classes from a letter grade to satisfactory/no credit has been extended to the end of this week, and students on probation for academic reasons will not be suspended this term.

“The person(s) responsible for this are trying to divide us and take away something very precious, something very important to all of us, something that dwells deep within all of us. That is our Pitt community and our Pitt spirit,” Humphrey said in the email. “Yet they have failed — for we are carrying on.”