A series of bomb threats at the University of Pittsburgh has canceled several classes, forced late-night dormitory evacuations and resulted in many students moving offcampus, The New York Times reported. Although there have been no explosions so far and no explosives have been found, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania David Hickton said in a statement that the threats are being "vigorously, aggressively and thoroughly investigated" by campus police and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. The university responded to each bomb threat by evacuating students and calling in a bomb squad to sweep the buildings, The Times reported. Administrators of the university have asked professors to relax attendance policies and schoolwork requirements, especially since many students have chosen to leave campus due to safety and other concerns, according to The Times.
An investigative report, commissioned by University of California President Mark Yudof and released on Wednesday, condemned the forceful police actions used against student protestors at the University of California, Davis in November, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. A UC Davis campus police officer used pepper spray against student members of the Occupy movement, resulting in a video that spread rapidly across the Internet. The report found the incident to be the result of "failures of leadership and communication at nearly every level," according to The Chronicle. The release of the report was delayed several weeks due to a lawsuit filed by the campus police officers' union because the report contained "confidential personnel records," according to The Chronicle. Yudof swore to uphold students' rights to free speech, saying that he expects "campus authorities to honor that right," The Chronicle reported.
The Connecticut state legislature voted to repeal the death penalty in Connecticut on Wednesday, despite the lobbying efforts of William Petit, Jr. '78, whose daughter Hayley Petit was killed in a home invasion along with her mother and sister the summer before she would have become a member of Dartmouth's Class of 2011, the Associated Press reported. The repeal comes after Petit's successful efforts last year to delay the Connecticut State Senate's consideration of the death penalty while one of the killers was still on trial. Gov. Dannel Malloy, D-Conn., has already stated his intention to sign the bill "as soon as it reaches his desk," making Connecticut the 17th state to repeal the death penalty, according to the AP. The act will not apply to the 11 people already on death row, the AP reported.
