Spelman College
Spelman College
Spelman Hosts Campus Safety Seminar After HBCU Bomb Threats
Spelman Hosts Campus Safety Seminar After HBCU Bomb Threats
On Sept. 15, the 2025 Bomb Threat Seminar began and everyone was invited to join either in person or through the livestream. Captain Fench, an ex-police officer who has been working with Spelman for over 25 years, was the presenter for the event. He went through the presentation and discussed topics, such as chain of command when it comes to communication and what happens when they do receive mysterious phone calls.
In sight of the recent political news, especially with the passing of Charlie Kirk, there is a rise of political upset. With these events, people across the nation have become reactive and decided to displace their anger,along with their grief. A number of bomb threats were called to various HBCUs such as Alabama University, Hampton University and Southern University of Louisiana as a result of this.
The FBI was made aware of these threats and issued a statement saying, “The FBI takes these threats seriously because it puts innocent people at risk”. All of the institutions took their own precautions as well. Hampton ceased all non essential activities such as sporting events and much more
When Clark Atlanta University received a threatening phone call of the same nature last Thursday, a shelter in place was activated for all of the surrounding institutions, including Spelman. Around 1p.m., students and faculty at Spelman got the message that they were advised to remain on campus. However, there were a number of questions that arose while people were scrambling to understand what’s happening. One of those questions was: what is a shelter in place?
Like a scene in a movie, some people were crouching down in their classrooms while others were continuing with their lessons. There wasn’t a unified solution on what everyone should do in the event of a bomb threat. After a couple of hours, the ban was lifted and everyone went on with their lives. Nonetheless, there were still some questions that had to be answered. So, Spelman took the initiative to host a panel about what to do in the event of a bomb threat.
He emphasized the difference between a lockdown and a shelter in place. Finally, the officer went on to discuss and proposition the campus to be more active when they find anything suspicious.
On Sept. 15, the 2025 Bomb Threat Seminar began and everyone was invited to join either in person or through the livestream. Captain Fench, an ex-police officer who has been working with Spelman for over 25 years, was the presenter for the event. He went through the presentation and discussed topics, such as chain of command when it comes to communication and what happens when they do receive mysterious phone calls.
In sight of the recent political news, especially with the passing of Charlie Kirk, there is a rise of political upset. With these events, people across the nation have become reactive and decided to displace their anger,along with their grief. A number of bomb threats were called to various HBCUs such as Alabama University, Hampton University and Southern University of Louisiana as a result of this.
The FBI was made aware of these threats and issued a statement saying, “The FBI takes these threats seriously because it puts innocent people at risk”. All of the institutions took their own precautions as well. Hampton ceased all non essential activities such as sporting events and much more
When Clark Atlanta University received a threatening phone call of the same nature last Thursday, a shelter in place was activated for all of the surrounding institutions, including Spelman. Around 1p.m., students and faculty at Spelman got the message that they were advised to remain on campus. However, there were a number of questions that arose while people were scrambling to understand what’s happening. One of those questions was: what is a shelter in place?
Like a scene in a movie, some people were crouching down in their classrooms while others were continuing with their lessons. There wasn’t a unified solution on what everyone should do in the event of a bomb threat. After a couple of hours, the ban was lifted and everyone went on with their lives. Nonetheless, there were still some questions that had to be answered. So, Spelman took the initiative to host a panel about what to do in the event of a bomb threat.
He emphasized the difference between a lockdown and a shelter in place. Finally, the officer went on to discuss and proposition the campus to be more active when they find anything suspicious.