Straws in the Wind - Part 98

From the NY Times: An online group said that it was behind a number of recent hoax emergency calls that drew a heavy law enforcement response to college campuses across the United States and were timed to coincide with the start of the school year. The group, which calls itself Purgatory, highlighted news media coverage of the recent hoaxes in a public-facing channel on Telegram, an encrypted messaging service often used by criminals. The online group is suspected of being connected to several of the episodes, including reports of shootings, according to cybersecurity experts, law enforcement agencies and the group members’ own posts in a social media chat. The group’s claims could not be independently verified...

Twice in the final weeks of August, Villanova University responded to reports of a gunman on campus, which later the authorities determined to be false. On Aug. 25, at least six colleges, including the University of Arkansas, experienced lockdowns for similar threats that turned out to be bogus. And on Wednesday, the false alarms continued at Auburn University in Alabama and Texas Tech University...

Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/us/school-shooting-hoax-universities-purgatory-swatting.html.

From the Daily Cal: UC Berkeley has provided the personal information of roughly 160 students, staff and faculty to the federal government in a directive from the UC Office of the President. In an attempt to comply with an investigation into alleged campus antisemitism by the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, or OCR, UC Berkeley released the names of individuals and their “potential connection” to reports of alleged antisemitism...

Full story at https://www.dailycal.org/news/campus/uc-berkeley-turns-over-personal-information-of-more-than-150-students-and-staff-to-federal/article_a4aad3e1-bbba-42cc-92d7-a7964d9641c5.html.

What could possibly go wrong?

Inside Higher Ed presents a catalog of things already going wrong at universities planning some kind of in-person reopening: [excerpt]

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill over the weekend reported a cluster of COVID-19 cases linked to a fraternity and another cluster linked to a residence hall, the third and fourth such clusters announced by the university since it restarted classes last Monday. A cluster is defined as five or more cases located in close proximity. The Faculty Executive Committee at Chapel Hill is set to hold a special meeting today to discuss the clusters, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. The chair of the faculty, Mimi V. Chapman, wrote to the UNC System's Board of Governors asking it to give authority to Chapel Hill's chancellor to make decisions about the campus's operating status.

"The presence of clusters should be triggering reconsideration of residential, in-person learning," Chapman wrote. "However, moving to remote instruction cannot be done without your approval."

At Oklahoma State University, a sorority house is under quarantine after 23 members tested positive for COVID, according to The Oklahoman.

Elsewhere in the state, nine football players at the University of Oklahoma tested positive after returning from a break, ESPN reported.

The president of Villanova University, in Pennsylvania, warned students they will be sent home if they do not abide by COVID-related guidelines after hundreds of freshmen gathered for a large outdoor group gathering, Philly Voice reported. Videos showed students failing to abide by social distancing requirements; many were not wearing masks.

Meanwhile, Columbia University and Barnard College both retreated from plans to invite undergraduates back to campus in favor of an all-virtual fall...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/08/17/covid-19-roundup-rubber-hits-road-some-campuses-fall-plans-continue-diverge