Officials urge students to be calm, vigilant as NIU reopens after threats

Northern Illinois University reopened today and resumed its final exam schedule, a day after campus was closed in part because threats and racial slurs were found in a student dormitory.

The threats, found late Saturday in a women's restroom in the Grant Towers complex, referenced the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech, officials said Monday.

One message read "Things will change most hastily" in the final days of the semester, according to the university's Web site.

Final exams set for Monday were rescheduled to Friday, when the semester ends. The graffiti is under investigation, but campus police no longer think there is an imminent threat, said Melanie Magara, a university spokeswoman.

"We're still certainly under a vigilant level of security," Magara said. "But it's a lesser concern than it was today … We're just trying to get back to normal."

The decision to close the DeKalb campus was made earlier Monday, also in part because of icy weather. Officials first began to alert students and faculty Sunday night via e-mail and the college's Web site.

The threats were found by a student in a bathroom stall in Grant Towers' D building, on the west edge of campus.

One threat in black ink included a racial slur and read "ME/OUT ... Die Sem Burr 10th … Hmz Sdn Cr," which officials think are references to Dec. 10 and the Holmes Student Center. Underlined letters also spell out the word "WATCH."

Another message, in different handwriting, read "What time? The VA tech shooters messed up w/ having only one shooter …"

In April, 32 students and faculty at Virginia Tech were gunned down by another student, who also fatally shot himself, in the worst massacre at a school in U.S. history. The university was later criticized for its initial handling of the shooting.

In DeKalb, university police were visible Monday but with students and staff on the streets, the campus did not appear to be under siege.

Julian Jackson, a 20-year-old junior majoring in sociology, lives on the sixth floor of the 13-story tower where the graffiti was found and said the incident is the second in his residence hall this year.

"I was kind of creeped out," said Jackson, who is black, about the weekend threats. He added he intends to "stay cautious and watch myself."

Reaction from other students ranged from worried to frustrated.

"I hope it's just a hoax," Mike Speek, 19, a sophomore history student said.

Melanie Skocy, an English major, had been gearing up for two finals Monday, which were postponed until the end of the week.

"The plus is study longer, the downside is I don't get to go home on Wednesday," the 19-year-old sophomore said.

In a statement, NIU President John Peters asked students and staff to remain "calm but vigilant," which did not soothe fear among some black students.

On Monday, a large group met with Peters at the nearby New Hope Missionary Baptist Church to talk about the university's reaction to the threats.

Sam Davis, president of the black student union, said the threats "left a psychological imprint" on several students, now too concerned for their safety to study for finals, according to video taken by the student-run newspaper, the Northern Star.

Peters denied claims of racial tension at NIU.

"We're a very diverse campus and obviously we're a reflection of society, so we do have issues," Peters said on the video. "We really do live in a crazy period right now."

Information about final exams can be found at www.niu.edu.

Several hotlines have been established to field questions and address concerns. Those number are (815) 753-1573, (815) 753-6257 and (815) 753-1574.

Anyone with information about the threats can contact the NIU Tipline at (815) 753-TIPS, or the local Crimestoppers or police.

Justin Smith, the Northern Star's online editor, said the shooting threat caught him and other students off guard.

"You see this stuff on the news and everybody says 'It couldn't happen here,'" said the 21-year-old journalism major. "The situation has sort of made it very real in everybody's mind."