St. Xavier to reopen Wednesday

CHICAGO (AP) _ St. Xavier University will reopen Wednesday after law enforcement officials determined there is no continuing threat from violent graffiti that shut down the school last week, according to university administrators.

Graffiti found Thursday in a St. Xavier bathroom read "Be prepared to die on 4/14," and caused the Catholic liberal arts college to shut down indefinitely Friday.

Late Tuesday, South Suburban College in South Holland announced on its Web site that its campuses would close after receive a threat of violence on our campus.

"We have conducted a search of the building and are continuing to investigate the threat with the help of local and federal authorities," the statement said.

The college said its main campus and two satellites would reopen Thursday morning.

While a multiagency investigation into who wrote the graffiti continues, and a heightened level of police presence will remain on campus, university and law enforcement officials don't believe the threat poses "an immediate and present danger," said school spokesman Joe Moore.

"The passage of the day cited in the threatening graffiti was critical," Moore said.

Moore said investigators "feel very strongly that they are in fact pursuing people who may be involved with this," but said he could not release any further details.

Authorities have talked to several people, but no one is in custody, no one has been identified as a suspect and there is no known motive, said Chicago police spokeswoman JoAnn Taylor.

Graduate classes will resume Wednesday night and undergraduate classes will start up again Thursday morning, but the university won't penalize academically students who can't return to class before Monday, officials said.

During the shutdown, some students were able to stay with their families in the area, but the university helped others with transportation costs home and put up about a dozen at hotels.

The specific nature of the threat at St. Xavier prompted four nearby elementary and high schools to cancel classes Monday, just two days before the anniversary of the Virginia Tech killings. All resumed their normal schedules Tuesday.

Also Monday, Malcolm X College in Chicago canceled its daytime classes and evacuated campus after a threat was discovered in a bathroom. Malcolm X resumed evening classes Monday night.

Michigan's Oakland University also resumed classes Tuesday after closing for a day because of threatening graffiti mentioning April 14.

At St. Xavier, university president Judith A. Dwyer said she felt the school handled the matter properly.

"I am deeply proud of the judgment and actions of our university community during this challenging period," she said in a statement. "I could not imagine a more dedicated commitment to students. Students and parents can rest assured that in times of emergency this university acts with decisiveness and coordination to ensure safety of everyone."