Cathedral of Learning evacuated (Pittsburgh: rental, to live in, housing)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I hope the restriction of entry into Pitt buildings to Pitt students/staff/faculty exclusively is not permanent. The Cathedral of Learning, for example, is an architectural gem that any visitor to our fair city would be wise to visit. I love the nationality rooms, the "Hogwarts"-like atmosphere of the main floor, and, of course, the commanding views from the upper stories.
As a delivery driver I'm also wondering how I'm supposed to make deliveries to Pitt buildings from now on, especially since it's like pulling hen's teeth to get a stiff-shirt professor or slacker student to meet you at the front door to get food they've ordered.
Couldn't they form an agreement with some other schools like CMU or Carlow to utilize their campuses if need be? Or even relocate some classes to Pitt's satellite campuses and move students currently living on campus to those locations?
It's possible, but that doesn't seem logical either. Both of those schools, especially Carlow, are very small. How could they fit 25,000 extra students, or whatever Pitt's enrollment is, on their campus? I'm sure it would be possible if they did classes 24/7, but I doubt they would do that. Plus, if this clown is a Pitt student, then it would just start all over on another campus, right?
I am worried about the long-term ramifications of putting such stringent requirements for entry into Pitt buildings. The big thing is: under what conditions will they be relaxed? And what are they trying to keep from coming in? After 20+ bomb threats with no evidence (publicly, at least) that anything resembling a bomb was ever found at any time, I wonder if it is wise to begin to behave as if the threats are actually credible. I also wonder if is this an attempt to show the fearful that Pitt will do what it takes to ensure security. But I'm afraid this will do nothing to keep the threats from coming in for as long as whoever is sending them wishes to send them and that this sort of heavy security will stay around long after these bomb threats finally abate.
It's possible, but that doesn't seem logical either. Both of those schools, especially Carlow, are very small. How could they fit 25,000 extra students, or whatever Pitt's enrollment is, on their campus? I'm sure it would be possible if they did classes 24/7, but I doubt they would do that. Plus, if this clown is a Pitt student, then it would just start all over on another campus, right?
Of course it would not be possible to accommodate all students, that's where other alternative methods like online instruction and distance learning can possibly come into play. My theory is that this person could've been a Pitt student at one point but no longer attends there. It's likely that they also live overseas hence the reports out of Austria.
Of course it would not be possible to accommodate all students, that's where other alternative methods like online instruction and distance learning can possibly come into play. My theory is that this person could've been a Pitt student at one point but no longer attends there. It's likely that they also live overseas hence the reports out of Austria.
Besides the reduced effectiveness online learning has in the first place (in my opinion), there are plenty of subjects that can only effectively be taught in person. Plus, this far into the semester, I don't think it's feasible to transition even lecture-type classes fully online and expect it to work predictably. Also, it's not terribly hard to spoof the origin of an email, so I don't think we should assume this person is overseas. I think some sort of Pitt or Pittsburgh connection is likely, though.
Of course it would not be possible to accommodate all students, that's where other alternative methods like online instruction and distance learning can possibly come into play. My theory is that this person could've been a Pitt student at one point but no longer attends there. It's likely that they also live overseas hence the reports out of Austria.
I doubt they live overseas. How would that explain the threats in the bathroom? It has already been shown that they used several re-mailers for their email threats, so that would explain the Austria connection. I would like to see more profiling done. Which students would have access to all of the buildings targeted? It seems like a lot of the same buildings were being hit with the bathroom threats. And, why did they change from bathroom threats to emails? Seems like something changed and they got scared of being seen? Hopefully whoever is doing this ran his mouth to someone else and they will tip off police.
My non-expert theory is that one person started the bathroom scrawl threats, and that someone else decided to play around with Pitt using email threats, and that we're actually talking of at least two different people, possibly more. That's one frustrating aspect of this whole thing.
On one hand, you have the University and law enforement utilizing increasing resources to attempt to secure the campus and track down the person sending these threats. On the other hand, you have experts who are declaring that the culprit is using technology that makes it near-impossible for him to be caught.So let's assume for a moment that these experts are right. Until laws and/or technology tip the balance back in the favor of law-enforcement, we are now in an age where nearly anyone can make threats to public safety without fear of being held accountable. Our civic institutions need to start managing this new reality.
We need to develop the means to prioritize threats and roll out appropriate safety & security measures without letting life grind to a halt. Just as important, we need to accept the possibility of these threats in a way that allows us to be prudent, while eliminating the panic and spectacle that is almost certainly providng some level of psycological reward to the culprit (and therefore incentivizing additional threats)
We need to start thinking about the long-term ramifications here, because we have neither the time or money to be in crisis mode 24/7. We can't grant crazies and misanthropes the power to veto society by sending an email.
Last edited by shogun221; 04-08-2012 at 10:14 PM..
Just before 4 am: A bomb threat has been received for Amos Hall, Bruce Hall, Brackenridge Hall and Panther Hall. Please evacuate these buildings. If safe to do so please tell others of this message.
Status:
"Not much time for CD these days but I'll post when I can"
(set 28 days ago)
Location: Loudoun County, VA
15,691 posts, read 8,934,298 times
Reputation: 39276
Quote:
Originally Posted by neurodistortion
This sounds like the perfect series of events which could potentially cause a dangerous situation if something significant arises. If one entrance is only open then how will people evacuate in case it's necessary? Seems like one entrance would cause panic and chaos if the other entrances are blocked off to students.
I agree. And, IMO, the perpetrator(s) is going to think the same thing and, sadly, find it a tempting thought.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
