Calif. university cancels some classes after threat leveled in graffiti

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — After a three-day weekend the University of California-Santa Cruz campus will not return to full speed Tuesday as at least a few classes have been canceled and some students have vowed to stay off campus due to a threat of violence.

On Jan. 11, UCSC administration announced in an e-mail to the campus that graffiti found in a men’s bathroom in a social sciences building contained a threat of violence to be carried out on Jan. 18.

The graffiti was initially discovered by a student and reported to campus authorities on Dec. 8. It has since been removed.

Campus was closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and it appears as though things will be slower than normal Tuesday as at least a few professors have canceled classes and some students have vowed to stay off the campus.

“Students are actually really scared,” said Student Union Assembly Chair Tiffany Dena Loftin. “Some said they were staying home because they live off campus.”

After the initial campuswide announcement went out, asking for any information on the vandal, UCSC administration and campus police executed a plan for upgraded security measures and contacted outside agencies such as the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office and Santa Cruz police to coordinate efforts.

Additionally, the UCSC police held a series of training sessions last week for employees and students that focused on how to prepare for and respond to violence. Several hundred people attended a total of seven sessions, according to UCSC spokesman Jim Burns, and there was a 20-minute training video shown as part of the sessions.

Burns said to there will be a more visible police presence on campus Tuesday, including officers from outside agencies.

“We erred on the side of caution by alerting members of the campus community to this incident of threatening graffiti. We’re exercising the same caution by having an increased law enforcement presence on campus on Tuesday,” Burns said.