Exams, classes and meetings usually crowd the minds of University students on Monday mornings, but traffic, a closed campus and uncertainty replaced routine this week after a bomb was reported on campus.
An emergency text message informing students, faculty and staff of a reported bomb on campus and ordering an immediate evacuation lit up phones at 11:32 a.m. on Monday.
But an explosive was never found, according to Capt. Cory Lalonde, LSU Police Department spokesman.
It wasn’t until around 11 p.m. that campus was deemed safe to return to normal operations and reopened to all students, faculty and staff.
The investigation is still ongoing, but no new information was available as of Tuesday, Lalonde said. The original threat was reported to the East Baton Rouge Parish 911 Call Center.
Students began pouring out of classes, and while some were able to get away quickly, many were stuck in a campus-wide traffic gridlock.
Many faulted the initial text message as being too ambiguous about whether buildings or the entire campus should be evacuated.
As University personnel and students left, confusion ensued, according to business management sophomore Jessie Cline.
“I sat down to eat lunch and within five minutes there were tons of students and cars going by. I stayed near campus just in case classes weren’t canceled.”
Not everyone left campus immediately. Chemical engineering sophomore Tiffany Lyan finished her in-class assignments before evacuating.
“My professor said we could leave if we wanted to, but also said we could stay to finish our lab,” she explained. “About half of the students stayed to finish titrations.”
By midafternoon, campus was empty and bomb squads began searching buildings. At 2 p.m., it was announced that all scheduled campus activities including classes were canceled for the remainder of the day.
It is not yet known if classes missed on Monday will require a make-up day, said Director of Media Relations Ernie Ballard.
But as some students fled campus in the wake of the bomb threat, those living on campus were left in a confused limbo, said Cason Reeder, political science freshman.
Students living on campus were not allowed to return to their rooms and apartments until seven hours after the ordered evacuation.
“It kinda sucked,” Reeder said. “I was stuck for almost seven hours with nothing to do. I just wanted to go to sleep.”
Aside from the initial warning, Reeder said he didn’t receive any instructions. He left his room in Herget Hall immediately after the 11:32 a.m. warning.
“I didn’t really know what to do,” he said.
Reeder wasn’t alone in his frustration. Taylor Hart, business freshman, spent several hours in Highland Coffees watching Netflix until students were allowed back on campus.
“They were going to make us go to Evangeline Hall and just chill there until they decided that it really was a hoax,” Hart said. “The whole situation was just bad. Why is the University going to keep students on campus, where the bomb is?”
Mass communication professor Rosanne Scholl also questioned the evacuation procedure. Many students were able to find space on a Tiger Trails bus, but were stuck in traffic for hours.
“Imagine if this were real,” Scholl said. “What would have happened if a bomb went off with traffic backed up around campus?”
News Editor Brian Sibille, Staff Writers Joshua Bergeron and Chris Grillot, and Senior Contributing Writer Wilborn Nobles contributed to this report.
