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In wake of threats, classes to resume as normal
Classes will resume Tuesday morning and finals will be given as scheduled.
Instructors have been given several grading options: giving students a temporary incomplete to be resolved next semester, they can except the grades they have earned to date, administering an online version of their final, offering alternative places and times for finals or permitting students to have a take-home, written final.
The campus was mostly barren Monday as university buildings were locked and students stayed away from any perceived danger.
Illinois Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama responded to the situation at NIU.
“Senator Obama believes that these types of threats need to be taken very seriously, and he fully supports the efforts of school officials to protect the university community. He will be closely monitoring the situation.” said Amy Brundage, Obama spokeswoman.
“I told my students that I could take the test to them in the dorms or somewhere else,“ said foreign language teacher Bill Harrison.
Harrison felt it made sense to cancel class because so many students were so tense and taking finals would have been difficult to focus.
“I was on campus; there were more police than people,“ Harrison said.
Some students are concerned about their safety on campus despite a meeting with President John Peters meant to address worries.
“The university is working to make us feel safe, but we don’t feel safe,” said Eugene Smith, a sophomore political science major. “There’s not a lot of police presence."
No amount of police presence would be overkill, according to Smith.
Another student didn’t feel the threat was serious but observed the police presence.
“At first, I thought it was a joke. Personally, I feel it was a ploy by some freshmen,” said Craig Briars, senior marketing major. “Unfortunately, they used a racial slur as a trigger to get a campus-wide response.”
Briars said that he was not afraid to go on campus and he saw a police presence on campus on Monday afternoon. “There are mixed reactions but some people are taking the threat seriously,” Briars said. “Some people are taking the extra time to study.”
One final that Briars was supposed to take was entirely canceled, as teachers have been granted discretion as to how to deal with their students and finals.
» Next Campus Article: A letter from NIU President John Peters
As a clarification, Craig Briars is not a senior by any credit hour standing.