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Bomb Threat At Harvard University’s Business School Under Investigation

By Selina Leavitt
Published on: 14:01 PST, May 21, 2016

Harvard University’s business school was evacuated on Wednesday after a bomb threat was issued.

Spokespeople from Harvard University took to Twitter in order to keep students in the loop about the bomb threat.

The first tweet was issued at 10:16 a.m. The Harvard University social media team told followers that police were evacuating several buildings due to a bomb threat.

Only 10 minutes after that, the Twitter account let students know which buildings were affected by the bomb threat.

They explained that seven buildings, in total, had to be evacuated: Morgan Hall, Esteves Hall, Aldrich Hall, Chao Hall, Tata Hall, Hawes Hall, and Batten Hall. The account was quick to remind students that if they were not currently inhabiting one of the affected buildings, the bomb threat did not apply to them and they should remain where they were for their own safety.

The evacuation seemed to last only a short while.

Harvard’s Twitter account notified followers that the bomb threat was over, and all buildings had been reopened, by just after 11:00 a.m. However, according to FOX61, the media wasn’t informed that all the buildings had been cleared and reopened until just after 2:00 p.m.

At that point, media publications were notified of the end of the bomb threat by Steven Catalano, a Harvard University police spokesman.

He went on to state that police were looking into the bomb threat and considered the investigation active.

“The investigation into the bomb threat is active and ongoing,” Catalano explained, according to USA Today. “[As each building] is cleared we will send an alert by text so that occupants can return.”

Students did not only have to rely on Twitter for information into the bomb threat that forced students out of their buildings on the Harvard Business School campus. The Harvard website includes a page dedicated to “In the Event of an Emergency.” According to that part of the university’s website, students were kept up to date on the bomb threat through a broadcasted alert that utilized the web, e-mail, voicemail and a 24-hour news phone line.

One of the buildings, Aldrich Hall, falls under the jurisdiction of the Boston Police Department, but officials claim that all forces are working together in order to unravel who sent the e-mails with the bomb threat inserted. As of yet, no information on the investigation has been released to the media.

The timing of the bomb threat could offer a great deal of insight into the motive behind the incident.

Although school was over for most of the students at the time the bomb threat was issued, first year students were still on campus in order to begin their finals week.

“It’s a tough place. People get asked to leave after your first year. A lot riding on final exams,” Ben Seipel, a student of Harvard Business, blamed the stress and pressure of the workload, as reported by USA Today. “It’s just a complete lack of perspective and it’s extremely unfortunate.”

Harvard students haven’t lit up social media with information or agitation aimed at the bomb threat, and Seipel suggested that it was because Harvard Business is home to a mature community more interested in the work than the drama.

“The Business School is a really mature community,” he said. “Obviously people take this seriously and no one wants anyone to get hurt, but it’s been a very muted response.”

A Harvard spokesman, Brian Kenney, told the Boston Herald that the bomb threat really didn’t impede the life of any of the students.

“All the students had take home finals,” Kenney stated. “There are no significant events to speak of… It’s actually pretty quiet on campus.”

[Photo by Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images]

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