Geiger Center Reopens Wednesday; Tests On Substance Are Negative

October 30, 2001

Oklahoma Baptist University received official word at approximately 6:15 p.m. Tuesday evening, October 30, 2001, that laboratory tests on a suspicious substance found on a package in the University's mailroom showed no sign of danger.

The University has been cleared to reopen the Geiger Center. The center will be operating on normal schedule Wednesday. Regular food service will be conducted in the cafeteria.

"Our efforts to act responsibly were well received by students, faculty and staff," said OBU President Mark Brister. "We will continue to be vigilant in our work to provide a safe environment on Bison Hill."

Late Tuesday morning, the OBU mail room received a package from Federal Express Ground Services with a suspicious substance on the outside surface. Following campus guidelines, the mail room was closed and local police contacted. In response to the incident, the ground floor of the Geiger Center was closed. In the middle of the afternoon, the entire Geiger Center was closed as part of standard safety procedures. After recent national incidents involving mailed packages, OBU has sought to use appropriate caution in handling suspicious materials.

ARAMARK, the OBU dining service, served its Tuesday evening dinner in Clark Craig Fieldhouse.

"We are grateful for the rapid response of local officials to address the situation," said Marty O'Gwynn, OBU associate vice president for university relations. "They worked in a professional manner to handle the situation."

"We are thankful for the flexibility of our campus dining service and the OBU physical plant staff. Within an hour of notification, ARAMARK food services packed the dinner items and the physical plant staff set up a remote serving location so that our boarding student could have uninterrupted food service," said Dr. Brister.