#EKU Allowing Terrorists to Get What They Want By Closing Campus

Back in February, EKU discovered a threat written on a bathroom stall door and their response was to allow all students and faculty to miss on that particular day if they felt unsafe being on campus.  I said it back then that all this response would lead to is encouraging further terrorist threats in the future.  Fast forward to October 5th 2015....This was discovered on a bathroom wall in the Powell building on EKU's campus.

When this was announced to students on Monday October 5th, all I could remember was thinking back to February and how EKU's response led to a marked decrease of students on campus on the day the threat was supposed to be carried out.  I couldnt believe the response then and I didnt think it would get worse...I WAS WRONG...

Today October 7th... Students were greeted with announcements that EKU was closing all campuses today starting at 10:00 AM and to be closed October 8th and 9th.  The following is an announcement from EKU President Michael Benson.

"Dear Campus Community:

When you choose to learn or work at this university, you become part of the EKU family.  This week I have asked each of you to look out for each other and work together following a disturbing threat of violence on our campus.  My sincere thanks for the solidarity you have demonstrated, and the genuine care and concern many of you have expressed for your fellow Colonels.

To allow law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation of the continuing threat and ensure the safety of our campus community, classes at all EKU campuses were canceled today beginning at 10:00 am; and the University will be closed Thursday, October 8 – Friday, October 9.  We will resume full campus operations following Fall Break on Wednesday, October 14.

As we make this adjustment to our operations, I ask for your continued patience and cooperation.  I ask employees to complete the workday today to prepare for providing essential campus services the remainder of the week. More information will be forthcoming on employee responsibilities and assignments.

Our primary goals in assessing this situation are limiting any safety risks and avoiding disruption to learning and teaching. While we are confident the responding team of law enforcement agencies has kept a watchful eye over our community and is diligently investigating the threat, it has become clear this incident continues to be unsettling to a number of our students, faculty and staff.

Understandably, this modification to our academic schedule will raise many questions.  In addition to our regular communications, we will continue to post updates on campus services and events athttp://police.eku.edu/public-safety-alert-updates.

We must continue to look out for each other and strive to create and maintain a safe environment where faculty can teach, staff can serve, and students can learn.

Thank you for your continued diligence.  As with challenges in the past, this one will be met and we will move forward – together – in the coming weeks and months.

Yours sincerely,


Michael Benson"

What is particularly disturbing about all of this is the fact that Students over the age of 21 are prohibited from conceal carrying on campus even though they possess Kentucky's CCDW permit.  Also they cancel classes but they have chosen not to cancel other events going on campus like the Football game on October 8th.  Of course it should be noted that this entire week is mid-term week with most students having exams.  What is also of note is that EKU is on fall break October 12th and 13th next week..  This announcement today effectively gives students a fall break from October 7th to October 13th..

This response will be seen to the Terrorist that wrote the threat as a sign of victory for themselves and a sign of weakness on the part of EKU.  This will undoubtedly fuel future events like this perhaps allowing those that write the threats to become even more bold and more threatening.. Maybe EKU will respond with calling off an entire week of classes next time.  But one thing is for certain, Students are getting the shaft with this ordeal, academically, constitutionally, and financially as these incidents have caused tens of thousands of dollars to be spent responding to the threats which students no doubt will be made to pay for in the future,

****** UPDATE*******
EKU's Football game originally at home on Thursday has been moved to Georgetown....
Center For the Arts Events have been cancelled.....  

My Analysis of the #EKU Bathroom Stall Threat and Response

     "BRINGING GUNS TO HERE 2-11-15 DEAD STUDENTS"  This was the threat written on a bathroom stall in a building on EKU's Campus in Richmond, KY. last week.  Every day since has been one great disappointment after the other.  The handling of this threat from day one has been over blown, and not conducive to ensuring the safety of being on campus.  After a few days, it was announced by EKU President Benson that any student, faculty, staff that did not feel safe coming to campus on 2/11/15 could simply stay off campus.  This has resulted in canceled classes by professors and low attendance in classes.  This has also resulted in giving the deviant writer of the threat everything they wanted.  Fear, disruption, attention, all of these were handed over on a silver platter by inept leadership that were more likely concerned about the liability of not reacting enough more than actually calming fears and ensuring safety.  During this week, I have witnessed at least 5 different police agencies patrolling campus on foot and in their cruisers.  Just what did they think was actually going to be accomplished by being out in plain sight?  Apparently the threat wasn't credible enough for them to be out and about undercover.  What perhaps is more insulting is the declaration that EKU didnt want individuals to provide protection for themselves.  They claim that by doing so while being well meaning would hinder their investigation and ability to provide safety on campus.  Of course when leadership doesn't have to be financially responsible for their decisions, it is far too easy of them to not spare any expense to get what they want.  It seems that not only do President Benson and President Obama share a 400,000 dollar salary, they also share a similar approach to those who would make threats.

     In conclusion, it is a pipe dream for anyone to seriously expect anyone else to provide for your complete protection and well being when you go out into public.  Personal Safety is your own responsibility.  The Police have no legal requirement to put themselves in harms way to protect you.  They are Law Enforcement Officers, not your personal security guards.  Liberals all the time complain about the number of school shootings.  Yet they offer nothing but propositions that have only encouraged the potential victimization of those who have to spend time in that environment.  "Gun Free Zones" have yet to have stopped any shooting.  Its a simple psychology, criminals will most likely act against those that they know will be defenseless when given the choice versus not knowing or knowing that they are armed.

OH and no assassin has been found yet today on campus!

#EKU "Threat Mode" 3:10PM Update

#EKU Campus "Threat Mode" 1030 AM Update 2/11/15

A Rational Student's View of #EKU's Over Reaction to Shooting Threat

     As stated in a previous post, I am what is considered on EKU's campus as an OWL or older, wiser, learner.  I am a non traditional student pursuing my Bachelors Degree.  Being an OWL and a believer of the Conservative/Libertarian political ideology or "Conservatarian" if you will has me looking at this entire threat that is supposed to come to fruition on EKU's campus in Richmond, KY. from a mature, rational, realistic point of view.  For those that do not know, the following was written in big letters on a bathroom stall in the Combs building on campus last week.  "BRINGING GUNS TO HERE 2/11/15 DEAD STUDENTS.  While it is not your typical graffiti garbage that you would find or even the occasional threat written on the walls of a bathroom stall, it is a vague threat.  

     To understand where I am about to go with this, we have to understand the psychological make up of the USA right after 9/11.  We were angry, scared, and blood thirsty for revenge.  We were so blinded by ambition that we lost sight on what actually took place.  It wasn't just hijacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.  It was a direct attack on our senses.  Our sense of security, destroyed.  We seemed to have lost that day the notion that we were too big and powerful to be attacked.  But perhaps what damaged us more so than the physical terror attack, than the amount of lives lost, than the financial repercussions of losing the World Trade Center, was how we far too easily gave up our constitutional rights, our freedoms, our liberties.  We fell for one of the oldest political tricks in the book.  We allowed something called "The Patriot Act" to be passed and thought this was going to help us reclaim our security and punish those who attacked us.  But 13 years later, all we have as a result is more debt, more infringements of our liberty and freedom.  We then took a direct hit again when the federal government established the Department of Homeland Security.  Again, we fell for the oldest political trick in the book.  We allowed congress to pass liberty robbing debt accumulating legislation all packaged up with a name that couldn't possibly be debated in the realm of political correctness.  The very attempt would draw sharp criticism in the media, 'How could you possibly be against Homeland Security' just as 'How could you possibly be against "The Patriot Act."  If that wasn't enough, we were then subjected to the creation of the TSA.  This unconstitutional arm of the federal government took over airport security. The TSA introduced to the mainstream the notion that you must be willing to be physically fondled by federal employees in order to prove that you are an innocent civilian merely looking to fly to see Grandma before she dies.  Even little boys and girls and Grandpa's in wheelchairs were not immune to being fondled in a manner that if you or I did that to someone on the street would be cause for us to be thrown in jail for sex crimes and be outcasts of society for the rest of our lives.

     What am I driving at?  Simply this, we must NEVER sacrifice one ounce of liberty for any amount of promised security from government.  Yet even to attend classes on campus during a regular day requires that I sacrifice one very BIG Constitutional right.  That is my Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.  In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I am permitted by license to conceal carry deadly weapons including of course firearms.  However EKU and other education institutions have decided that they do not want people exercising that particular freedom on campus.  To illustrate how delusional this is, EKU is one of the biggest training facilities in the state for training Law Enforcement Officers.  Also EKU is lucky to have a Kentucky State National Guard facility near by which encourages those seeking ROTC programs to attend EKU.  I often see these fine men and women walking campus in full uniforms.  You cannot possibly tell me that our campus would not be safer if we allowed these people to conceal carry on campus.  One of the biggest reasons in my humblest of opinions and already have been echoed by more than one professor on campus is that this threat is the product of a dense unarmed population as a result of EKU's Weapons policy.  The simple psychology is this, criminals or those seeking to commit a crime, especially for the first time will ALWAYS choose a victim they know is unarmed over one that they either know or don't know to be armed.

     Tomorrow is the 11th which will mark the day set by the deviant who wrote that threat.  Some professors have already called off their classes for tomorrow.  Students have expressed that they will not be on campus at all or at the least be staying in their dorms all day tomorrow.  This was not spurred by the threat.  This was spurred by EKU's President Benson who publicly announced that any student, staff, faculty that did not feel safe coming on to campus on the 11th could stay away without any consequences.  Not only does President Benson make as much if not more than the President of the United States, but with that declaration shared President Obama's affinity for giving in to the enemy, to give in to terror threats.  This will no doubt be repeated by the next deviant who seeks to bring a new wave of fear and a free day off once this even subsides.  Please stay tuned to this blog and make sure to follow me on Twitter @ IrvinePatriot for live updates as I will be on campus tomorrow and documenting any instances where I see constitutional rights violations above and beyond what normally takes place on this campus.  Oh and one more thing, I AM NOT AFRAID, I AM NOT SCARED, I DO NOT GIVE IN TO THREATS! 

#EasternKentuckyUniversity's Overreaction to Bathroom Stall Threat