Class cancellations upend LCCC

ELYRIA — For more than two decades, Lorain County Community College never received a bomb threat. And then, in less than a week, it received three beginning March 24 — forcing the evacuation of its campuses and classes to shift to online while the investigation continues into the origin of the threats. At least two of the threats were made to LCCC's online chat messaging system on March 24 and March 25 followed by a third threat to one of the college's social media channels on Tuesday, prompting the college to shut down in-person activities through April 3. Each threat has prompted an on-site investigation by the Elyria Police Department and the Lorain County Bomb Squad and federal authorities are now involved, according to LCCC and college officials. All three of the threats were "unsubstantiated." Tracy Green, LCCC's vice president of strategic and institutional affairs, said last week she could not recall a similar situation in her 26-year tenure. Elyria Police Chief Bill Pelko said Wednesday the department continues to investigate the threats and are working collaboratively with LCCC in coordinating efforts to keep students and staff safe. College and police officials have yet to say if the three threats are connected and whether they have identified the source. Students React LCCC students reportedly are handling the disruptions well despite the uncertainty. The first threat came through shortly before 3 p.m. March 24 just as the LCCC board of trustees was preparing to meet at the briefing suite of the John A. Spitzer Conference Center. A Chronicle-Telegram reporter was present when LCCC President Marcia A. Ballinger announced at 3:18 p.m. to board members and those in attendance that everyone needed to evacuate. Classes were canceled for the remainder of the day; a second threat on March 25 brought the college to a halt again, forcing the evacuation of all campuses and cancellation of classes. Classes on March 26 and Monday ran smoothly, then the most recent threat Tuesday morning resulted in students going virtual. For 21-year-old management major Erin McGuire of Amherst, the disruption has made it more difficult to focus. "It's hard for me to focus on classes knowing it could be a real threat. Now we are in remote learning again like we did in high school. It's hard because I don't focus well on remote learning," said McGuire. Fellow Amherst resident Kyle Zgonc had similar feelings. The 21-year-old business management major said the situation was startling. "The bomb threat was a bit of a shock to me just because I never experienced that type of situation before. My professor moved my class to virtual that week so we were safe at home. But I can't imagine what it was like for the people who had classes in person at the college," said Zgonc. Hayden Lowstetter, 20, of Elyria, a journalism major at the college, has felt the stress like most students at LCCC. "The bomb threats have definitely disrupted the education I am receiving at LCCC. Multiple times now, my classes have been canceled, ultimately stunting my growth as a student," Lowstetter said. College officials have yet to announce if in-person classes will resume next week. Contact Kevin Martin at (440) 329-7121 or kmartin@chroniclet.com or on Twitter @KevinMartinCT.