Yesterday I got a text from my brother saying, "Stay away from the Reitz Union today. There's a bomb threat there, and the bomb squad was deployed."
I make a daily stop at the Reitz to get a delicious sandwich at Orange & Brew, so I was legitimately frightened. I immediately checked ufl.edu, my e-mail, e-Learning and even the Reitz Union Web site, and there was not a single mention of a disturbance. Perhaps I'm overreacting, but I could have been walking directly toward a bomb. Would it have been hard for UF to say, "The Reitz Union parking garage will be closed until further notice"? I don't know the police department's policy, but I don't think deploying the bomb squad happens when there is not "a credible threat." So I ask what it would require for a text alert to be sent out because apparently the destruction of a building doesn't qualify as a threat to the entire campus.
Even if you don't send out a text, it is still irresponsible that the university made no attempt to inform its students. Perhaps an e-mail: For your safety, the Reitz Union parking garage will be closed until further notice. Or do e-mails also only get sent out when the entire campus is threatened? Because the University Police Department sent out an e-mail about the "mobile masturbator"; apparently indecent exposure is a greater threat than a bomb. You may think I am overreacting, but my faith in UF keeping me safe has been thoroughly shaken.
