VT ripples reach Tech

Mysterious letter in ROTC building shakes students, enforces need for safety measures.

As the Lode was being distributed last Wednesday, a disturbing e-mail appeared in the e-mail boxes of Michigan Tech students and faculty members. The spartan message, four sentences long, said simple this: “At approximately 4 p.m. Wednesday, a threatening note was found in the restroom of Michigan Tech’s ROTC Building. As a result, appropriate protection measures have been put into place. The building has been locked down, and only students and employees with regular access will be able to enter. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Public Safety at 906-487-2216 or to call 911.”

The ROTC building was locked down. The University went silent, and the campus community was confused and surprised. Thirteen hours later, President Glen Mroz sent a follow-up message to campus. In it, he assured the community that the building had been secured by “Public Safety officers and US Army and Air Force Officers” who processed the scene for evidence and sent their findings to the State Police Crime Laboratory. He closed asking for all information to be forwarded to Public Safety.

Again, the community reached out for information.

“I was shocked,” said 4th year electrical engineering technology student Aaron Oaks, “It was such a sudden e-mail, and then we heard nothing.”

To further strain the situation, the date of the incident bodes an eerie relationship to national shootings. As Michigan Tech begins to roll out its new campus safety initiatives, the campus is reminded all too easily of the Virginia Tech massacre. Last week Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the shooting that took 32 lives.

“I wonder what relationship this might have had to the Virginia Tech shooting,” suggested Steven Stockdale, a graduating senior majoring in scientific and technical communications.

Information about the note is scarce. “We’re not releasing any information about the incident.” said Marsha Goodrich, manager of media relations for the university media and communications office. “[The University] is taking this issue very seriously, and we don’t want to impede any part of the investigation.”

This position was corroborated by an Army ROTC cadet Monday night. “We can’t talk about the situation. All information, any that’s available, comes through our cadre.” Further pressured by another student she was in conversation with, the cadet offered that “the situation doesn’t affect the rest of the student population.”

The note was discovered in the ROTC building, in a bathroom, at approximately 4 p.m. Wednesday. Goodrich, and Lieutenant Colonel Kerry Beaghan of the Air Force ROTC, confirmed that the letter was not a bomb threat – Goodrich further insisted that it was not a threat against specific students.

“[The note] was not a threat against specific students. If that had been the case, they would have been notified personally.”

Lt. Col. Beaghan offered more information on the investigation. “The letter was sent to Marquette and Lansing [to be processed].” Lt. Col. Dallas Eubanks of the Army ROTC program contacted the Lode late Tuesday night and also confirmed the above information. Further, all three noted that suspects have not yet been identified or prosecuted. “If there were suspects, we would be dancing with joy over here,” Goodrich said in a call Tuesday.

Access to the ROTC building continues to be restricted and will be through the end of the semester.

Reactions to the situation are mixed. Some students are ambivalent to the situation; others show concern.

“Were student leaders told?” questions Kyle Done, a fourth year mathematics major. “I feel like the University is being very hush-hush on this, and that could be good or bad.”

The fact that the ROTC cadets have been silenced by their cadre and the University worries Done. “I think at least student organization presidents should be told. They’re supposed to be our leaders on this campus – without student involvement this campus would go nowhere.” He bases his opinion on a recollection of past events on the Tech campus. “Some incidents in the past where there wasn’t student involvement resulted in negative feedback.”

As has been requested by the University and law enforcement, the Michigan Tech Lode insists that if you have any information related to this incident, please call Public Safety at (906) 487-2216.