Closing
Read a thanks from Dr. Gaylen Byker, President of Calvin. See bottom of page for recent media links.
SEPT 22 UPDATE == 7:20 p.m.
An arrest has been made in the threat against Calvin that closed the college part of Thursday, September 20 and most of Friday, September 21.
The Grand Rapids Police Department has a suspect in custody; he currently is being held in Kent County Jail on a felony charge. The case will be reviewed for formal charges on September 23 by the prosecutors' office.
Police cited interviews and physical evidence in making the arrest on Saturday, September 22.
Calvin officials were understandably pleased by the news.
"This is the resolution we were hoping for," said Tom McWhertor, Calvin VP for Enrollment and External Relations. "Our Campus Safety office and the Grand Rapids Police Department did some great work in this case. To have an arrest made so soon after the threat is terrific. I know it will come as welcome news to our entire campus. And hopefully it will discourage others from making such threats."
SEPT 21 UPDATE == 10 p.m.
[body photo omitted]Calvin students began moving back into the residence halls this evening after spending last night off-campus at various locations, including with families of area students, in off-campus student housing and in local hotels.
Students seemed eager to move back into the residence halls and were quite positive and upbeat. Some were a little anxious and also angry.
"It's good to move back in," said a Calvin freshman from out of state who did not wish to be identified. "This is our home. Yet I'm also angry that someone did this to us. It's a sign of the times I guess, but it makes me mad."
Others told stories of fun evenings spent with parents and families of friends and roommates. Calvin's director of the Broene Counseling Center, Randy Wolthuis, had eight Calvin students at his house last night and spent an hour this morning cooking them all a big breakfast.
Calvin resident directors and counselors were on hand to talk to students who needed a reassuring ear. They reported that most students seemed to be taking the event in stride.
Many students were not back in the halls this evening, deciding instead to stay home and make a long weekend of the closure.
[body photo omitted]Calvin officials estimated that several hundred of the 2,200 on-campus students had moved back in by 10 p.m. Others were expected to move back in tomorrow and Sunday.
Calvin classes will resume on Monday. Calvin officials likely will organize some of next week's Chapels around the threat and the closure, using the opportunity, as they did with the NYC and Washington attacks, to remind students of the love, grace and power of God and Christian community.
SEPT 21 UPDATE = 6 p.m.
As of 6 p.m. the Calvin campus is still closed but the plan is to reopen at 9 p.m. Our hunch is that many students simply went home for the weekend so the return to campus tonight should involve much smaller numbers than the departure last night.
The Calvin campus was quiet today with no signs of suspicious activity. Campus Safety was on duty all day with assistance from local police, including Grand Rapids, East Kentwood and East Grand Rapids.
All other campus services, facilities, and special events will begin tomorrow morning, Saturday, September 22 as previously scheduled.
As mentioned before we will have counselors available tonight for students.
SEPT 21 UPDATE == 10 a.m.
Calvin College will keep media and the public updated as the day progresses re the closing of the college and the planned reopening this evening at 9 p.m.
As of 9 a.m. this morning there is nothing new to report. Campus Safety has closed the campus entrances and is advising students, faculty and staff who may not have heard of the closing that classes are cancelled and that employees need not work. During the day they will continue to staff the campus and will be assisted by the Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids and Kentwood police departments.
Campus Safety has asked that people please respect the closing of the campus. Already this morning we have had reports of media representatives trying to access the campus through neighborhoods adjacent to the campus. This is obviously not a good thing from our perspective. We've closed the campus because we were concerned about the safety of students, staff and faculty. We also are concerned about the safety of the public, including the media.
Having everyone respect the boundaries of the campus will make the work of our Campus Safety office considerably easier today.
I should note that streets around campus are not closed . . . just the Calvin campus has been closed.
When the campus reopens this evening we know that students who return may be concerned. We will have members of our Broene Counseling Center staff available on campus this evening for our students.
We are continuing to investigate the threat. This is a process that might take a while. If we have a resolution of the investigation we will let that be known right away. For now there is nothing new to report re the investigation..
SEPT 20 UPDATE == 10:45 p.m.
As of 10:45 pm this evening (Sept 20) all of Calvin's on-campus students had left campus for the night. Calvin had an overwhelming number of faculty and staff come out to offer assistance and a place to stay. Calvin also had offers of support from Cornerstone and Reformed Bible College as well as Ronald McDonald House.
[body photo omitted]Amazingly none of Calvin's on-campus students needed a place to stay! All approximately 2,200 on-campus students found a place to stay on their own. Said Shirley Hoogstra, VP for Student Life: "It was an incredible case of the Calvin community coming together in a very positive way."
Of the 2,200 students many simply went home. Many others went home with a friend from the area. And others decided to stay with fellow Calvin students living off campus. In addition some students decided to get hotel rooms for the night and make the best of a bad situation.
The campus will remain closed tomorrow to both students and faculty and staff. Residence halls will reopen at 9 p.m. on Friday. The expectation is that many students will not return to campus until Sunday.
SEPT 20 == 8 p.m.
Calvin College is closing its campus as the result of what school officials are calling "a threat against the college."
[body photo omitted]All of Calvin's residence halls and on-campus apartments will be closed as of 11 p.m. this evening. Students have been notified of the threat and have been asked to leave campus. Calvin student life officials are tracking deparures to ensure that the college knows where all on-campus students are staying this evening.
[body photo omitted]Also Calvin faculty and staff are being called, via a phone tree, and told that the campus will be closed tomorrow. They also are being asked to take in students who might not have a place to stay for the evening.
About 2,200 of Calvin's 4,300 students live on campus. About 1,100 of those 2,200 students are from Michigan and it is expected that they will return home for the weekend. Some of the 1,100 out-of-state students are close enough to go home for the weekend (hailing from places like Chicago, Cleveland and Indianapolis) while others from further away (place like Florida and California) will go home with friends and will be billeted with Calvin faculty and staff.
Those matches between students and faculty and staff will be made at 9 p.m. this evening by the flagpole in front of the Spoelhof Center (the main administration building on campus).
Assuming everything is fine on Friday, the day the phoned-in threat was to take place, the residence halls would reopen at 9 p.m. that evening.
[body photo omitted]"Though the nature of the threat is unclear, we have decided that the threat is sufficiently serious that we needed to put in place a plan to close Calvin College," said Calvin president Gaylen Byker. "This decision was made by me, and my cabinet, after careful deliberation with the Grand Rapids Police Department and Campus Safety officials. In light of recent terrorist activities in the United States, and yet also the large number of hoax incidents which have occurred since, the decision to close the campus was difficult."
All students have been asked to contact their family members to inform them of the situation and to encourage their prayers. The phone bank in the Admissions office is available for any students who wish to call family.
All special events this evening and all classes for Friday, September 21 have been canceled. Commuter students are asked not to travel to campus. Those that do will be informed at the roadway entrances and asked to return home. Calvin Campus Safety officials will patrol the campus all day on Friday.
Information on the incident, new developments, and verification of campus re-opening will be posted on Calvin's website and on a recorded message at 1-800-560-6391 or 616-957-8615.
MEDIA LINKS