It is almost two months that the University of Pittsburgh has been receiving bomb threats almost on a daily basis and multiple times a day. It took until yesterday for this news to break into the national news. I am following this situation closely for many reasons- Pitt is where I went to undergrad and created some of the greatest memories and made the best of friends, my sorority is on the campus, and because it's a mile from my home and I cut through the campus every day going home from work. To sum it up- I love Oakland and I love Pitt even more. It just saddens and scares me that these students are going through this.
Through out this whole situation there has been local media coverage of the situation, but I have found most of my information out from Twitter, blogs, and Facebook. It seems these mediums have more accurate and more timely information than others. Looking at this whole situation I am thinking about a book I just finished reading on social media. A chapter in the book Socialnomics (Qualman) discusses how news comes to us, we no longer go to it. In this situation that is true for students, but not the parents. Many parents across the country have no coverage of this situation except from these social mediums because their local and national news has not picked up on it. For these parents, they would go to these mediums to find out what is going on. For students, the news of threats is brought to them through text alerts or twitter or facebook updates on their mobile devices. Social media has been a tool to get these students and faculty out of potential harm by the information being delivered directly to them where ever they are on campus.
On the other side of the story, social media could be fueling the person or persons who is sending these threats. They could be watching comments or posts and deciding their next move from the info they gain. The tools that can be used to keep people safe could potentially be aiding the person creating this terrible situation. It's almost as the person creating this situation is using these tools to create the story knowing that the tools are available to spread or make the situation worse.
There are many rumors and stories about who this person is or where they are sending the threats from, but one thing is clear- the local authorities, including Pitt police, are not taking any chances. They respond to every threat and thoroughly investigate. The manpower that goes into each every search is huge- especially when two or three buildings on campus are named in one threat. I don't think there are enough words that can say 'thank-you' to these officers that are keeping the campus safe. Students all seem to appreciate the Pitt police and the other local authorities for all they do. (My local sorority chapter is taking cookies to the Pitt police today to thank them!) I know that some students are frustrated with the lack of updates from the university, but I am thinking they are keeping quiet for a reason. For a university that is usually forthcoming with information to stay quiet this long, makes me believe there is reason for the silence. I know all want answers, but this might be one of those times that less is better and hopefully down the road we will understnad why the decisions where made.
For now there is not much more I can say or do besides hope that this person or persons is caught. Students need their sense of security returned. Its not fair what is going on, but one can only hope that the proper authorities will resolve this situation sooner than later. Hail to Pitt!
Through out this whole situation there has been local media coverage of the situation, but I have found most of my information out from Twitter, blogs, and Facebook. It seems these mediums have more accurate and more timely information than others. Looking at this whole situation I am thinking about a book I just finished reading on social media. A chapter in the book Socialnomics (Qualman) discusses how news comes to us, we no longer go to it. In this situation that is true for students, but not the parents. Many parents across the country have no coverage of this situation except from these social mediums because their local and national news has not picked up on it. For these parents, they would go to these mediums to find out what is going on. For students, the news of threats is brought to them through text alerts or twitter or facebook updates on their mobile devices. Social media has been a tool to get these students and faculty out of potential harm by the information being delivered directly to them where ever they are on campus.
On the other side of the story, social media could be fueling the person or persons who is sending these threats. They could be watching comments or posts and deciding their next move from the info they gain. The tools that can be used to keep people safe could potentially be aiding the person creating this terrible situation. It's almost as the person creating this situation is using these tools to create the story knowing that the tools are available to spread or make the situation worse.
There are many rumors and stories about who this person is or where they are sending the threats from, but one thing is clear- the local authorities, including Pitt police, are not taking any chances. They respond to every threat and thoroughly investigate. The manpower that goes into each every search is huge- especially when two or three buildings on campus are named in one threat. I don't think there are enough words that can say 'thank-you' to these officers that are keeping the campus safe. Students all seem to appreciate the Pitt police and the other local authorities for all they do. (My local sorority chapter is taking cookies to the Pitt police today to thank them!) I know that some students are frustrated with the lack of updates from the university, but I am thinking they are keeping quiet for a reason. For a university that is usually forthcoming with information to stay quiet this long, makes me believe there is reason for the silence. I know all want answers, but this might be one of those times that less is better and hopefully down the road we will understnad why the decisions where made.
For now there is not much more I can say or do besides hope that this person or persons is caught. Students need their sense of security returned. Its not fair what is going on, but one can only hope that the proper authorities will resolve this situation sooner than later. Hail to Pitt!
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