It’s been a year now since the slaughter at Virginia Tech. Six and a half years have passed since 9/11. I rarely think anymore of that early morning at the radio station when two of my employees were standing in the middle of Main Street, butt naked, being hosed down by the fire department because of an anthrax scare. But it all came flooding back this week.

On Tuesday, I received an email notifying me (and all other faculty, students, and staff members) of a “water break” that caused classes to be cancelled in one building on campus. Because my class meets in the adjoining building, I wasn’t affected. We had class as usual.

Yesterday, I received another email from the college administration. Here’s part of it:

“In compliance with the ‘Timely Notice’ provisions of the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998, WVNCC is giving notice of a disturbing act reported to the Campus Service Center which occurred at the B&O Building.
REPORTED OFFENSE: During the afternoon hours, the College was made aware of a written threat discovered in the B&O Building.
RESULT: Law enforcement authorities immediately were called to the Wheeling Campus when the College learned of the threat, and the police searched the B&O Building. The police instructed the College that nothing was found during the search. The College is operating under a normal schedule.
The threat could not be verified, but it is the duty of the institution to warn of possible ‘dangerous conditions’ on or near its campus. All campus community members should now and always continue to be alert of their surroundings at all times and report any suspicious activity or items directly to the Campus Dean.”

Even if it was just a prank or even a big misunderstanding, this is hitting a little too close to home. Again. Terrorism sucks.