Local EKU student reflects on the threat of possible campus violence

By KATIE BROOKS
Special to the Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Editor’s Note: The writer is an Eastern Kentucky University senior majoring in graphic design and art and the daughter of Jim & Tammy Brooks of Cox’s Creek.

KATIE BROOKS

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2015 — My friends, much like myself, believed it to be a desperate scare tactic. We believed the threat that buzzed through campus originated from some idiotic freshman who wanted to see if he could get anyone’s attention. That was this past Monday, when Eastern Kentucky University released their first official statement about what would become an escalating sequence of events.

“The Eastern Kentucky University Police Department is investigating a report of bathroom graffiti with threatening language found in the Powell Building Sunday, October 4.”

Great. A repeat of last semester. In February, EKU was host to another public-restroom-stall threat that was quickly dismissed. Nothing came from the incident, and it was forgotten as the semester carried on.

The differences between the threat this week and the one eight months ago are clear: it seemed legitimate. This new threat appeared on campus shortly after the tragic shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, and rumors soon intertwined with any possible truths.

Theories and speculation quickly spread throughout social media. Gossip flew across campus with the help of our beloved digital technologies. Images of a threatening masked man and anonymous forum threats were shared, only feeding the panic.

At this point I persistently dismissed the threat. I understood that the odds of this threat seeing fruition were diminishing the more involved the police became.

On Tuesday, several professors expressed concern and cancelled their Thursday classes — the date specifically mentioned in the threatening message. I even had a few friends share their fears on social media, stating they would abstain from classes on Thursday.

By Wednesday, campus was vibrating with fear and anticipation.

I feel I should give a little background about myself. A senior at EKU, I am anxiously awaiting my graduation this December. I also happen to be a dedicated painter. My final semester will end with a cumulative gallery exhibition, which I will share with my fellow Bachelor of Fine Arts graduates.

In preparation for this event, I have spent countless hours in my designated studio space on campus, and every minute of work is a minute of creative bliss. My studio has been my home for over two years of my education. In it, you will find layers of caked paint, dried sweat, a dusting of coffee grounds, and the aspiration for a building career. It has been my residence and my place of resolve longer than my current postal address.

This Wednesday my home was threatened.

I arrived early to my studio long before any of my scheduled classes. Maybe I could get some early painting done today. I noticed police cars and officers diligently patrolling campus. Students were noticeably absent from the normally crowded walkways. Good. At least I can feel safe while I work. I still had every intention of working in my studio as much as I could this week and the weekend to come. There was no way I could let some idiot with too much time on his hands scare me from working.

I began to settle in my studio: set up my computer, unpacked my books and made some coffee. A few studio-mates entered, clearly more concerned than I was. They shared with me new rumors they had heard, including specific threats involving the art building we were currently in. My initial reaction was speculation. Within the same conversation we learned the university had canceled classes for the rest of the week. Oh shit. Maybe there was some substance to this thing after all.

Suddenly this fluffy bulletproof façade I had build around myself became brittle. This threat could actually have weight to it, and I realized I was not qualified to judge whether I was truly in danger or not. I was forced to acknowledge my own vulnerability. That vulnerability of self in turn stripped away the safety of my home and my studio. I could no longer work as long as this threat remained present on campus.

In four years as an EKU student, I had never for a moment experienced true fear on campus. I had the phone number for the campus police memorized. I knew every nook and cranny of campus. I knew the shortest path from one side of campus to the other, and I knew which areas to avoid.

For the first time in my education I felt compromised. This art building that I adore so much transformed into a labyrinth of escape. I needed to distance myself from campus, and I needed to do it now. Fear was in every corner of this building, and behind every wall. I was scared to open a door because I didn’t know who would be on the other side. I was afraid to turn a corner because a threat could be around it. Every insecurity I had ever suppressed was suddenly heightened. I instantly became perceptive of every possible danger.

Should I use the elevator? What if something happens and I get stuck in the tiny box? Should I use the stairs? I would have to cover more distance, which means ultimately more risk. Should I use the front door to the building? If the threat is familiar with the building he knows that most students use the side or back doors.

It was the slight adrenaline rush that made the brisk walk back to my commuter-parked car seem like I was a slow motion sprinter that you might see on the Discovery channel.

Finally arriving at my car, the walls of my façade could be rebuilt.

As I drove off campus, the paralyzing fear melted and reforged into a fiery anger. What the heck just happened to me? I ran out of the building, and odds are I wasn’t in any real danger. Who the HELL thinks he or she can threaten a university and strip students of their safety? This bastard cost me any confidence of my own security! And for what purpose? A threat that was more than likely entertaining to him!

I was enraged. Always the pragmatist, when confronted with problems or puzzles I tend to analyze the entire situation before planning my actions. I enjoy figuring things out, and I approach things with logic and avoid over-emotional responses. Somehow, I had disappointed myself in my over-emotional response. I had handed the perpetrator the fear that he wanted this entire time. How could I be so idiotic?

As I arrived at my tiny off-campus apartment, I realized this threat was nothing compared the bigger picture. My privileged life was staring me in the face. All across the globe students are terrorized from receiving an education. Wednesday I had experienced what so many students go through on a regular basis. Students are stripped of their right to an education simply by their geography. Wars and conflicts instill fear into these prospective students who are so eager to learn. And in one day I have been given a small glimpse into the lives of these students who so desperately need what I – and thousands of other students – take for granted.

It is now Friday, and the investigation into the EKU threat continues. I am no longer afraid in my cozy little apartment several miles off campus. But I can’t shake the complexity of my emotional experience. Every security I had about my campus and my studio were dissolved in a few days because of one threat.

As officials continue their investigation, I have every confidence they will find who was responsible for the threat and for stealing the security of every student, faculty, and staff member.

I also understand how lucky I am. I only experienced the fear. EKU has not experienced a shooting. Students across the nation have lost their lives this week. More students across the globe are stripped of their right to an education through this same paralyzing fear. It is with a very brief experience of this fear, that I acknowledge a need for change in America and across the world. The right for a safe education cannot be stripped from our young adults and children any longer.

For the latest information on the ongoing investigation at EKU, visit http://emergency.eku.edu/public-safety-alerts-updates-0.

To learn more about the fight for education overseas, visit www.usaid.gov.

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