Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB) is known for being a quiet campus, but what happens when the quiet is disturbed? Earlier this semester, CSUMB administration had to utilize emergency procedures when the campus library received a bomb threat to the library.
The threat was called in Feb. 19 and sparked speculation across campus. No bomb was found, but reflecting on the threat two months later, the events of the evening illustrate what happens on campus when there is an emergency.
The call is received
A student assistant managing the front desk of the Tanimura and Antle Family Library received the phone call saying a bomb was in the library around 9:20 p.m. and relayed the message to the on-duty community service officer, second-year kinesiology major Mahiro Morohoshi shortly after. Community service officers are CSUMB student employees who support campus police Morohoshi does so by providing library security.
Morohoshi said, “I was surprised when I first heard about it, but I immediately went to the library supervisor to talk to her. I then informed the dispatch center via police radio that there was a bomb threat and requested other officers to come to the library.”
Library supervisor Jesse Valasquez then used the building’s public address system to announce the library would be evacuated. By the time campus police were notified, the front desk received a follow-up call from the same number containing the same threat.
Evacuation
Madelyn Binaski, library front desk assistant and second-year psychology major, aided in moving people out of the library. In hindsight, she believes the evacuation went swiftly despite complications.
“The study rooms are not equipped with speakers,” Binaski said. “As a result, the community service officer on duty that night was prompted to clear the study rooms.”
Upon notification, the University Police Department’s priority was evacuating student residential halls near the library. Interim Police Chief Yvonne Gordon says the usual evacuation point in case of emergencies is the Kelp Bed, the gym located on the northwest end of campus. However, campus police decided a location change was necessary.
“[The OSU] was far enough away but not so far that it [wasn’t] really displacing students. It was really fortunate that the OSU was open and available for us to use,” Gordon said.
OSU building manager and third-year environmental science student Max Staudenmaier was near the end of his shift when he was notified that a large number of students were headed toward the building. “Most of the students coming in were in their PJs and some brought blankets,” said Staudenmaier.
“I came down[stairs] to evaluate the situation. It was unusual given that there are typically only a handful of students remaining in the building that late,” he said. “We were told by the students that there was a situation at the library and they had been instructed to vacate their buildings and go to the OSU.”
Communication
A similar email message was sent out via OtterAlert, CSUMB’s emergency alert system managed by campus police Emergency Manager Ken Folsom. The first message was sent out at 10:05 p.m., stating “an emergency has occurred at {the library}, police officers are responding. Library has been evacuated. Stay Clear of the area.”
According to Gordon, initial messaging sent through OtterAlerts is intentionally non-specific to make the campus community aware of the issue, while avoiding inciting panic.
“We kind of have to manage that to make sure that we’re conscientious of, you know, everybody’s different levels of and abilities to handle certain information,” said Gordon.
Searching the building
After the library was evacuated, university police and other local law enforcement conducted a search of the building. The Explosives K-9 team of the Sheriff’s Office was on site and expedited the process of determining if a bomb was present. Considering students who evacuated had to leave behind their belongings, without the dog, officers would have had to search every bag individually.
While waiting for the bomb-sniffing dog to arrive, perimeter searches of the building were conducted with drones. This search helped officers locate any suspicious boxes or bags left in stairwells or outside the library.
In addition to the Sheriff’s Office, coming to the aid of campus police were the Marina Police Department, the California Highway Patrol and the FBI, according to Walter Ryce, university spokesperson.
In the time between the first Otter Alert and the second one sent out at 12:22 a.m., confirming the bomb threat and its investigation, the desire for more information grew – causing rumors to spread quickly across the campus community.
Binsaki said, “While we waited outside [the library], several students approached me and my coworker with questions, hoping for clarity about the situation. However, we chose not to disclose any information, as it was unclear whether we were authorized to do so.”
There was also a rumor that “a student had unleashed a swarm of thousands of bees in the library,” said Staudenmaier, listening to students in the OSU talk about what could’ve happened. “I appreciate whoever spread the bees rumor because it certainly improved the mood.”
While students displaced from their housing waited for more information, the OSU remained open until almost 1 a.m. when the all clear was issued. Building staff had opened The Rookery and several conference rooms upon realizing students would be there longer than anticipated.
Speed vs. accuracy in communication
Reflecting on campus communication that night, Gordon found herself conflicted between delivering information quickly while also providing accuracy.
“It’s frustrating for students, I know, because those things take time to get those resources in place and they’re just like, ‘Well, what are you doing?’” said Gordon. “Everything is just so instant, and so minutes seem like it’s hours, right? And as we’re doing our work, it seems like the minutes are going by so fast.”
Gordon explained that there is a balance between conducting an investigation and determining what information is factual and able to go out to the campus community. The next day, around 11 a.m., the university sent out an email to explain what happened at the library.
A message was not initially going to be sent out, according to Ryce. “The University Police Department worked with University Communications on drafting a media holding statement in preparation for media inquiries, but this was not intended to be a campus communication,” he said. “The leadership team approved a message to go out the morning following the incident to alert the community that no threat was found and to share support services, if needed.”
“[University Communications] took our statement that we had prepped and used, and just you know, they did a little more crafting to it, [wanting] to include some of the help information and things like that,” said Folsom.
As for the investigation of the threat, Gordon said, “The investigation is progressing and there may be a resolution to it in the near future, hopefully.” The FBI is actively involved in the investigation due to the phone number used in the threat being used in a few other parts of the country.
Gordon’s main priorities have been bridging the gap of communication between campus police and students as well as increasing campus awareness of emergency protocol. The department plans on doing so by displaying flip charts across the university detailing important information in case of an emergency. Gordon also wants to create an app that would make it easier for students to communicate with campus police.
Gordon said, “I think that if we could have something that students are able to report to us information that would maybe pinpoint something, I think that would be really awesome.”