In the name of the Faaip de Oiad Monday, October 27, 2003 Waco Bombs Over the last three weeks McLennan Community College was bombed numerous times. Fortunately the bombs were not physical... this time. Apparently, a bomb threat was called in to the campus on October 8, 2003 at about 2:00 p.m. By 2:30 p.m., under the supervision of MCC Police Chief Larry Radke, and in accordance with the MCC Crisis Management Plan, the bomb threat was announced and an orderly evacuation was carried out to ensure the safety of all staff and students. The crisis was managed through the use of bomb-sniffing dogs from a Fort Hood bomb squad and a private security contractor. During subsequent investigation, conflicting information has been received from Faculty, Staff, and from within Secondary and Core members of the Crisis Management Team. Concerning the number of bomb threats, Kim Patterson, Director of Community Relations and Marketing, initially stated that there had been three bomb threats. However, upon being confronted with reports of "upwards of fifteen threats," and Chief Radke's confirmation of "definitely more than three, but not as many as fifteen" threats, she admitted that her first report was inaccurate. Questions have also been raised concerning the use of military personnel in a civil police action. The use of such personnel in civil affairs is a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1877. Both Mrs. Patterson and Chief Radke confirmed that a violation did in fact occur; nevertheless, they insisted the violation was justified because the BATF and the FBI in this area did not possess bomb-sniffing dog capabilities The proposed changes in current Crisis Management Policy have been met with strong resistance from both the faculty and student bodies. The suggested changes, which have been in effect since the second bomb threat on October 9th, require that during bomb threats, faculty police their own areas in search of the suspected bombs. Not surprisingly, many eyebrows have been raised because the proposed policy changes demand that students be denied notification in the event of a bomb threat. These policy changes have been confirmed by Chief Radke. While some faculty members deny having any knowledge of these changes, others are determined to resist them. For instance, Dr. Kimberly Roppolo has publicly stated: "The faculty is just as concerned about how this is being handled as the students are... A lot of us don't want to end up being professional bomb detectors. That's not what we signed up to do. We're not qualified to do it. We want to be safe. We want our students to be safe. We also want the policy that has been agreed upon by the institution to be followed in regards to these bomb threats." A sound file of Dr. Roppolo's comments should be available shortly at [URL]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WACOuncensored/[/URL] Nemo Me Impune Lacessit *The Waco Uncensored Crew*
