Central Michigan Life is anxious with the particular person’s feedback that include threats on ours and Central Michigan University’s social media.
We’re not simply journalists, however we’re additionally college students at CMU, and we felt unsafe on campus immediately.
While no bullets had been fired, no lockdown was carried out and no neighborhood member was bodily harmed immediately, college students remained unsure about what may occur at school and what measures had been being taken to guarantee campus security.
The issues spoken by college students immediately converse volumes on the uncertainty of college shootings and lift questions on CMU’s communication when threats are posed to campus.
CM Life spoke with the Central Michigan University Police Department earlier immediately. CMUPD Chief Cameron Wassman mentioned the police are investigating the incident. He mentioned the particular person has not been arrested as of three:45 p.m. The investigation is at the level of figuring out whether or not the particular person has the means to ship on the threats.
“A typical investigation involves looking through the various social media posts,” he mentioned. “We look at the past history of an event, of an individual. We look to see again … at the means or opportunity that that person would have to follow through on what is being said.”
When CM Life requested what precisely is signifying on this scenario that this isn’t a menace, Wassman mentioned that it’s a “tough question to answer.”
While we all know that the police are working onerous, we at CM Life suppose it’s regarding that the tons of of feedback, together with graphic depictions of violence, are “not to that level” of imminent menace.
As college students who’ve skilled faculty capturing lockdowns and gun violence, we see these feedback as the first indicators, and we consider this can be a menace.
According to the FBI, earlier than mass assaults occur, somebody observes regarding indicators that the particular person was on a path to violence. The first widespread regarding conduct the FBI lists is “comments, jokes and threats about violent plans.”
As of March 31, there have been 15 faculty shootings in 2026 in the United States, in accordance to the CNN database. Eight occurred on school campuses. There had been 79 faculty shootings in 2025.
Similarly, Central Michigan University issued an official assertion by way of the ucomm@cmich.edu tackle at 11:25 a.m., declaring that there’s “no indication that an imminent threat exists,” additionally claiming that “the proper steps have been taken to ensure the safety of our campus.”
The college failed to elaborate additional on what qualifies as an imminent menace, in addition to what steps had been taken to guarantee campus security.
The assertion from the college claims that CMU will attain out to college students by way of textual content message from the Central Alert system, however by no means utilized the system to make college students conscious of the scenario.
An e-mail from Scott de Brestian, a chairperson and affiliate professor at the faculty of artwork and design, issued an announcement about the matter practically an hour earlier than the assertion from the faculty was issued, indicating that sure school members had been made conscious of the scenario earlier than college students had been.
Our level is that we consider extra speedy motion and particular info proving that the campus is secure needs to be supplied. We have not heard a selected reply to how precisely CMU is aware of that the particular person would not pose any menace.
“We look at a lot of different elements of what is being said or what is being written, in terms of content and frequency contacts,” Wassman mentioned. “Does the particular person have the means to really do what they are saying they are going to do? I may say that I’m gonna develop into President of the United States of America. But if I haven’t got the means to accomplish that, then it most likely would not have lots of substance to it.
“We look at all those different variables. Have specific people been threatened, and do those specific people feel threatened?”
We, as college students at CM Life, felt threatened. We hope CMU and CMUPD take the safety measures extra critically. We need to be in a position to return to a secure campus on Tuesday.
In the future, we additionally hope CMU will implement options to enhance the timeliness of its emergency response. It may additionally make the most of the campus alert system for a extra clear and common communication throughout an emergency incident.
Students have each proper to really feel scared or anxious on this scenario. If you or the one you love needs psychological well being assist, attain out to the CMU’s Counseling Center at 989-774-3381.
