Bomb Threat Photos

A faint "LIBRARY" scrawled in pen above the BUILDING CLOSED sign on the SAC doors leading across the courtyard to the library.











The DePaul library remains shuttered after a bomb threat at 11:30 A.M. this morning.

No Alerts for DePaul Students

If there is a bomb on my campus, I want to know - so I can make sure not to GO to campus and get myself bombed. Makes sense, right?

So where was DePaul's message alert system during Thursday's bomb threat? We were supposed to receive phone, text message, and e-mail alerts if something major happened on campus - a bomb threat seems major to me.

We also have the message boards in all the classrooms - why didn't those go off, telling us to evacuate?

Public Safety is keeping quiet as the case is still under investigation.

At 12:50 P.M. a Public Safety nameless spokesperson told me that it was Media Relations decision not to utilize the service. When I called Denise Mattson, head of PR, she told me that they had used the electronic message board system. Because the threat was relatively small, - no classes in the building, only one building, and because Public Safety and the CPD were there to personally help people leave the library. The DPU Alert system alerts 30,000 people simultaneously - DePaul tries to only use that service in life-threatening situations, like the gas leak down in the Loop. For that, the People's Gas and Public Safety people needed time to understand how it was going to impact the campus. The leak began at 5 A.M., and at 7 A.M., the departments decided to shut down the buildings - namely the DePaul Center and CDM, becuase 1,000s of people would have been in the area, and that could have been a life threatening situation.

The contrast to the library is that there was a smaller population at risk and the CPD and Public Safety were personally on hand, said Mattson.

Library evacuated due to bomb threat

As of 11:30 A.M. on Thursday, Feb. 19, the Richardson Library on DePaul's Lincoln Park campus was evacuated due to a bomb threat.

A news release posted on the University Web site said the following:

DePaul’s Richardson Library Evacuated




Chicago Police and DePaul University Public Safety officers began a precautionary evacuation of DePaul’s Richardson Library, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., at 11:30 a.m. today in response to a bomb threat. The Police Bomb and Arson Unit and Public Safety are searching the building, which is expected to be closed until at least mid-afternoon.

At this time no other buildings are affected and classes and activities in all other Lincoln Park facilities will continue as scheduled.

For updates, check DePaul’s home page at http://depaul.edu.

Members of the DePaul community are advised not to call the university operator or other DePaul offices for information. All updates will be posted on the Web.


The threat is still under investigation, so no details have been released at this point. I will attempt to update this post as I get them.

Stay Safe at DePaul!

The DePaul Public Safety office has recently published a list of tips to help students stay safe on and off campus. They've posted the bright blue flyers on dorm and library doors, and encourage students to take notice. Some of the tips include:

• When jogging, have a route already planned out so you know where you're going and how to get back. Stay on well-lit streets.


• When shopping, keep your wallet or pocketbook in your pocket. Carry only the cash or credit cards you need.


• Utilize the escort service between 6 P.M. and 6 A.M. if you are travelling between buildings on the Lincoln Park campus


• Travel in groups.


• Be aware of your surroundings

A full list of tips can be found on the flyers around campus - check it out so you know how to stay safe - some of the tips may be information you haven't encountered before.

Read those Safety Alerts!

The image you see above is a Safety Alert - issued by Public Safety when a crime happens on campus. They're posted on all the dorms and buildings on campus so that students will see and read them. Normally, they are very brightly colored - neon blue, yellow, pink, the particular safety alert above, when posted on campus, is actually blue, but Public Safety could not release the blue form to me (they only had one copy, so the officer just copied this one on white paper for me.) I could've stolen one from the library or U-Hall doors, but that would have been, yep, a crime.
The Safety Alerts are part of Public Safety’s “Protection, Prevention, Education” model to make students aware of crimes on campus. The crime reports list the what, where, and when of a crime (i.e. assault, robbery,) and give information on who to contact if you have any information about the crime – either the Chicago Police Department at 311 or the DePaul Public Safety office at 773-325-7777.The crime on this report was a hate crime that took place in the 2100 block of N. Kenmore at 4:00 A.M. on February 3, 2009. The alert was posted on Feb. 6.A man was attacked by three “unknown individuals,” and during the attack, the men made comments about the victim’s sexual orientation – making it a hate crime.The three-day delay in between the incident and the report concerns me. I think it shows us that we need to instantly report something when crimes happen to us or someone we know, so that other students or DePaul community members are not harmed. So, like the Chicago Transit Authority’s slogan, “if you see something, say something.” It’ll keep us all safe.

So, what do you think of Public Safety?

This interview was done as a project for Professor Tracy Samatha Schmidt's Online Journalism 1 course. I interviewed Heidi, a junior journalism student, and Brendan, a junior digital cinema student, about their views on the Public Safety department at DePaul University. Based on their experiences - Brendan has used the department's car escort service in freezing temperatures and while intoxicated; and Heidi has used it for rides home after night class and for help when a friend was attacked - the two had a lot of interesting things to say regarding the department, but no real ideas on how to improve the department or its alerts so that more students would pay attention.

Here's the YouTube link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id7TBD9TEuI

Meet Maureen Greene

Maureen Greene has worked at DePaul University for 16 years. For 13 of those years, she has worked as the head sergeant of crime prevention on campus. She's the face you meet during the safety presentation at orientation (where yes, they tell you they will pick you up and drive you back to your dorm when you are intoxicated,) and often, she is the woman who answers the phone at the Lincoln Park campus hotline, 773.325.7777.

"The most rewarding part is helping new freshman make the transition to college," says Greene. "But when they have a hard transition, or their parents have a hard time, then it becomes a problem."

Greene recalled a memorable moment on campus where she really felt she made a difference at DePaul. "The most memorable day was 9-11, trying to help students, parents and my own family in a very difficult moment of this country.  We had students from New York who were worried about their families and like everyone

else Public Safety is the 24 hour hub for information."

Greene had some interesting points about what Public Safety has done well and has not done well. "I think are personal interest and commitment to each individual student is very important to parents and students and we do this well.  I alsofeel our Escort Service is very unique in regards to other universities," referring to the escort car service that the department provides. I think in every job there is always room for improvement it is
sometimes difficult to get people to think in a different way, and still
try to keep the same services," says Greene.

For the number one thing students should know about Public Safety, it is that Public Safety is available to help DePaul students 24/7.