Credible threat or cruel prank? Campus responds to May 9 incident  

Opening the lines of communication — with students, faculty, staff, parents and the media— helped the campus respond following the discovery of disturbing graffiti in Fanning Hall May 9. The graffiti, which referenced the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech, was written in chalk on the blackboard of a fourth floor classroom. The message read "VT I can kill more than that."

President Lee Higdon sent a broadcast e-mail to the entire campus shortly after the graffiti was discovered, letting the community know that the incident had taken place and was under investigation by the New London police. The police are continuing to work with Campus Safety on an investigation that has included questioning anyone known to be in the vicinity after hours. The Office of College Relations released information to the local and national media, and local television reported the story.

"Our best assessment continues to be that this was, indeed, an ill-advised prank," Higdon wrote in a follow-up e-mail to the community. Nonetheless, the College took measures to keep the campus safe in the days that followed. Additional Campus Safety officers were put on duty, especially around academic buildings.

The dean of student life distributed a flyer with safety reminders to students in the residence halls. Students were also reminded about the availability of Counseling Services to help any students who might be experiencing anxiety. On May 10 a College representative participated in Governor M. Jodi Rell's Campus Security Summit to review and improve security measures and response plans statewide.

"I firmly believe that we cannot let the individual who wrote this graffiti bring our educational process to a halt, or change the fundamentally open character of our campus community," Higdon wrote. President of the SGA Evan Piekara '07 sent a message to President Lee Higdon on behalf of the student body that thanked him for his handling of the situation. Piekara said that the response of most students to the graffiti was anger and disbelief. "We're a close-knit community and we feel very safe here," he said. "It's disheartening to think that anyone on our campus could do something like this."

The College recently contracted to buy a new communication system that will expand the options for emergency communications to staff, faculty, students and parents. The Connect-ED system can broadcast emergency e-mails, phone numbers and text messages to multiple phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Over the summer, the College will develop protocols for the use of the system and begin collecting emergency contact information from students. There will also be an emergency listserv to which parents can subscribe.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, the College is undertaking a complete review of its emergency response plan, which is posted on its internal Web site, CamelWeb. Similar reviews and some changes were made after 9/11 and in response to the avian flu threat.

As for the graffiti incident, although the investigation remains active, College officials acknowledge that there is a possibility that the perpetrator may never be identified. "This was a deplorable act," said Patricia M. Carey, vice president for college relations. "We are fortunate that it turned out not to be a real threat. But we took it very seriously, and the process of responding has helped us find ways of improving our communication systems."