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Elmhurst College, a private institution located near Chicago, reopened Wednesday after being shut down for two days over concerns about several campus episodes of vandalism "involving hate messaging and non-specific threats," the college announced.
Earlier this week, Elmhurst discovered graffiti featuring threats in residence halls and its library. One report included writing in a bathroom stall that appeared to threaten gun violence, in a nonspecific way. That incident followed a recent one where hate messages were found in the same bathroom. The college said law enforcement did not consider the threats to be credible. But Elmhurst said it decided to close its offices and academic and recreational facilities "out of an abundance of caution."
The college, which enrolls roughly 3,500 students, said additional security officers and counselors would be on campus Wednesday as it reopened.
“The decision to close campus yesterday and today was not made lightly,” Troy VanAken, Elmhurst's president, said in a written statement. “But our safety and well-being are paramount to creating the kind of campus where we all can thrive.”
