Published on Friday, April 18, 2008

Students react to bomb threat at Health Services

By NORTHERN STAR STAFF

Upon hearing news of the bomb threat at Health Services, students expressed a variety of responses from indifference to fear.

Eric Johnson, a senior physics major, was one of the students who expressed a carefree attitude after hearing about the bomb threat.

“It didn’t really phase me,” Johnson said. Johnson compared his reaction to the December threat, which he did not take seriously. “I feel like they wouldn’t give us a warning before they do it; it’s more of a sick joke or something like that.”

Others took the threat more seriously, with most being annoyed by the actions of the person who threatened NIU.

“Shame on the person who did it,” said Natalie Walker, a recent NIU graduate. “Haven’t we been through enough?”

Mohammad Sim, senior electrical engineering major, thinks the threats have gone too far and wants his lifestyle to get back to normal.

“I don’t want school to close down again, because it messes up our lifestyle,” Sim said. “It’s frustrating for all the students and the people who study hard and this just gets us off track.”
While some have not been phased or annoyed by the threats, other students are worried for their safety and are still sore from the events of Feb. 14.

“It’s unfortunate that these things keep happening,” said Arshia Malik, senior psychology major. “I don’t feel safe here.”

Upon hearing the news of the bomb threat, Chelsea Edwards, senior sociology major, experienced a similar fear she felt on Feb. 14.

“When I first saw this on the NIU Web site, my heart just jumped,” Edwards said. “I was in the same lab when the shootings happened.”

Edwards said she hoped nothing would happen with the threat, especially in light of the heightened NIU security after the Feb. 14 shootings.

Lee Blank, Brett Michelson and James Tschirhart contributed to this article.