Photo by Jane Goodman
On Thursday Oct. 2, a UM employee received a threat against their personal safety. As of yet, the individual who made the hostile statements has not been formally charged.
UM administration immediately enacted a protocol oriented threat response plan. Shortly after the threat occurred, UMPD established officers around all of Carmichael Library’s entrances.
UM has a Threat Assessment Team (TAT) who convene at the instance of a threat that is a non-immediate emergency and use a collaborative approach to decide on a course of action. Housing Director John Denson stressed the importance of keeping students informed, stating that “notifying the students in most situations is absolutely a given.” Denson spoke of the benefits of having an informed student body, and referenced our campus-wide “Early Alert” system. Police Chief Chadd Adams also reaffirmed these sentiments by stating the policies in place on campus are very effective. In the event of a threat of violence, the TAT meets and reviews a detailed incident report as well as extensive records on all involved parties. After this, the TAT decides upon a course of action and works with all necessary departments on campus to ensure the safety of the student body. With regard to last week’s incident, Director of Comprehensive Campaign Gary Johnson said, “UM followed our established protocol and procedures. UM notified all individuals involved in and potentially affected by the threat. We utilized our broadcast email and social media outlets to inform campus in a timely manner.”
