By Danielle Lane, Managing Editor
Students were alerted at 8:40 am on January 31, 2022, that the New York Police Department (NYPD) were active on Wilf campus investigating “a[n] unsubstantiated phone call threat.” Students were told to “stay indoors, if possible, or use extra caution if outside” and to “[r]eport anything suspicious to security.”
An hour after the original message was sent out, students received an all-clear message that informed students that the school had “just received the ALL CLEAR from the NYPD.Campus can return to normal activity.” The message concluded by thanking the NYPD for their aid and reassured students saying, “Our security team will continue to monitor our campuses.”
Students shared their concerns regarding the possible connection between this incident and the rise in acts of anti-semetism throughout the country. One student (SSSB ‘23) who wishes to remain anonymous told the YU Observer “[s]eeing cops swarming the YU campus and then receiving an email and subsequently more WhatsApp notifications from the many YU chats about an “unsubstantiated threat” were unnerving. While at this point hearing about bomb threats is almost a weekly occurrence and a certain numbness builds it strikes deeper when you can’t get to class and are told if you decide to go to class be careful because once again someone is targeting you because you are a Jew.”
Other students expressed their gratitude for the NYPD’s swift response to the situation. One student (YC ‘23) who wishes to remain anonymous shared, “waking up to a large security presence outside my window this morning was definitely concerning at first. However, once I realized the situation I stood in awe of the amount of police response even to just a threat of violence. It really shows me just how much YU and the NYPD care about a student body which can be more at risk because of their open religious sentiments.”