Life for students at St. John’s University came to a halt Thursday afternoon following a bomb threat made at the D’Angelo Center (DAC). Following an investigation done by Public Safety in coordination with the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the school resumed regular activities. 

Students were shocked to receive a text sent at 3:54 p.m. Thursday by the St. John’s University Emergency Notification System that read, “Police Activity Near The D’Angelo Building. Please Avoid The Area.” The building had been evacuated shortly before the message was sent out. 

Crowds gathered across the walkway from DAC as Public Safety and the NYPD began setting up a perimeter. Despite fast action by Public Safety and the University, some students were left wanting more from their handling of the situation.

“I think that it was good that they jumped into action. They evacuated DAC and tried to manage the situation as best as they could,” said sophomore Jason Seery. “At the same time, I definitely think they could have handled the situation better. I do think Public Safety needs to be held accountable for the small things that they didn’t really do.”

Among those small things were a lack of transparency with students, who were unaware of the situation on campus as classes were not canceled and facilities remained open. Another complaint was the speed at which the University responded, as St. John’s staff struggled to remove barricades which blocked emergency services from reaching DAC for almost 20 minutes. 

Public Safety began to open the area to students at around 5:30 p.m. following an all-clear from authorities. When asked for comment, Chief of Public Safety Dan Rhone released the following statement to all students:

“Earlier, a bomb threat was reported involving the D’Angelo Center. Public Safety and the NYPD investigated, conducted protective sweeps, and determined the threat was not credible. The area has been cleared, and normal operations continue. There is no known ongoing threat to campus. 

We recognize that the evacuation of the building and surrounding area caused inconvenience, and we appreciate your cooperation. The safety and well-being of our St. John’s community remain our top priority.”

This threat to St. John’s University is one of a string of threats made to universities across the nation and reflects a new grim reality for college students. Several HBCU’s were locked down following threats in September in retaliation to the assassination of right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk. 

On Oct. 27th, George Washington University was cleared after a bomb threat was made over the phone. On Nov. 2nd, the Goldenson Building at Harvard Medical School was attacked by two individuals using an improvised explosive device.

“That’s something that’s kind of expected to some extent at every university across the country,” Seery said. “This was happening at Harvard Medical maybe 2 or 3 days beforehand.”

It is unclear if St. John’s will make any changes to security following the incident.