Apr 16, 2008 11:08 am US/Central
St. Xavier Reopens, But Many Still On Edge
Grad Students Resume Classes Wednesday, Undergrads Thursday
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Students at St. Xavier University are back on campus Wednesday, five days after both of the school's campuses were shut down due to a written threat discovered in a restroom.
As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, students at St. Xavier are free to return to residence halls starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Graduate students resume classes on Wednesday night, while undergraduates get back to class on Thursday.
Officials stress the campus is safe, and a person of interest is being questioned in connection with the threats found in a restroom at Regina Hall, a co-ed freshman dorm at the Chicago campus. The latter of two graffiti threats posted in April read: "Be prepared to die on 4/14."
The threats closed the campus on Friday night. Students were ordered off campus until they were notified by text, e-mail and phone to return.
But not everyone is fully convinced of their safety now.
"Actually, I'm nervous," said graduate student and teaching assistant Nicole Petrauskas.
Petrauskas will try to make students comfortable returning to St. Xavier, but she is guarded about attending class herself.
"If someone comes in here, what are we going to do? So I know that that's what I'll be thinking, and a lot of students will be thinking," she said.
Chicago Police used handwriting samples and other analysis to draw conclusions about who wrote the violent threats at the dormitory. They are now trying to gather enough evidence so a suspect can be charged.
Since St. Xavier shut down, patrol cars have been highly visible on campus.
"We have our own sworn police force that is operating at a very heightened sense of alert," said university spokesman Joe Moore. "The Chicago Police Department, as you've seen, continues to patrol the area with great vigor. We are pursuing this investigation."
Assistant Provost Dale Fast said there were benefits to the time during which the campus was evacuated.
"It's been a time of thoughtful reflection, a time to figure out how we can do this responsibly and deal with the safety issues for our students," Fast said.
Staff members said they are glad to be back at work, even if the mood has not yet returned to normal.
"Security is already in place, and we are able to come back to work, and we're supposed to be safe," said office manager Catalina Ayala.
The disruption in classes will not add to the length of the school year. Graduation is scheduled for May 17, and university officials just want students to return by Monday without penalty.
Meanwhile, South Suburban College in South Holland announced it received threats of violence, but further information was not specified.
Local police and the FBI are investigating. Officials say they have conducted a search of a campus building.
South Suburban, which enrolls about 17,000 students, is expected to reopen Thursday morning.
CBS 2's Joanie Lum and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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