Library closed after bomb threat

Portland State evacuated the Branford P. Millar Library yesterday at about 11:15 a.m. because of a threat claiming that a bomb would go off in the library at noon.

At noon, after Campus Public Safety had taped off the area around the library and PSU sent warning messages to the campus community through the new PSU Alert system, nothing happened. The building was reopened at 4 p.m. after Public Safety searched the library and found nothing.

This was the first opportunity the university had to use PSU Alert, the campus emergency notification system implemented this term. Scott Gallagher, director of University Communications, said PSU will evaluate the effectiveness of the system after the events of yesterday are cleared up, just like they evaluate their processes after each emergency.

To receive emergency notifications from PSU Alert, which is run through the National Notification Network, or 3N, students and staff must opt in through banweb.pdx.edu.

Some students who opted in say they received their emergency messages hours after the building was evacuated, while others say they received them immediately after the threat was reported.

Cherie Nguyen, who works for the Early Childhood Training Center in the Graduate School of Education, said she was in cell phone reception all day and did not receive a text message alert until 1:28 p.m. She said she opted in to receive cell phone alerts rather than e-mail so the messages would come sooner, “But it doesn’t seem to work.”

Nguyen said she would like the university to look into how well the notification system works because getting a message two hours late would “be too late if that was a real bomb.”

Because the library was shut down during midterm week for most of the day, students outside the taped-off building were restless, unable to access the building to study for midterms or use the computer lab.

PSU student Yasmine Najmabadi said she was trying to get inside to use the computer lab, but was annoyed that she could not.

One person argued with an officer because he would not let her into the library. Another person ran under the yellow tape to retrieve her bike after being told she could not enter.

Concepcion Villarreal, a PSU student, said she was working on a midterm in the library, when a message was broadcast over the intercom at about 11:30 a.m. asking everyone to leave the library in a calm and orderly manner. She said the evacuation process went smoothly and everyone seemed calm as officers moved students away from the building to the east side of the Park Blocks.

This is the third reported bomb threat this school year. The latest came in the form of a note. It was found in a Neuberger Hall men’s restroom on Feb. 22 and shut down the building. In October, a bomb threat note was found and raised concerns among some at the university because Campus Public Safety did not evacuate any buildings in response.

Gallagher said the decision to close down a building on campus when there is an emergency depends on the specifics of the situation and said he cannot speculate whether it will happen each time the university receives a bomb threat. He said it was unfortunate that the threat occurred during midterms, adding that there is never a good time for a threat.

“Student, faculty and staff safety is our most important priority,” he said. “We’ll do everything we can to ensure that safety.”

According to Campus Public Safety Chief Michael Soto, the anonymous threat was originally called in to local television station KATU at about 11 a.m. The station then proceeded to inform the police, who in turn told Campus Public Safety.