EVACUATION

It was the second call from Southern University that led to the evacuation of the John B. Cade Library on Friday afternoon for a white substance found in an elevator.
After the investigation was completed, the powder was determined to be residue from the A.W. “Ace” Mumford bust that had been moved from the first floor to the third floor earlier that day. The substance was found to be negative of anthrax by the East Baton Rouge Parish Fire Department Hazardous Material unit.
“Every threat will be taken seriously and public safety is first…that is why we went through the process of having the material checked by the hazardous material department, They neutralized the materials and it came back negative for anthrax,” said Kevin Johnson, Director of Police Admission.
Students and faculty where cleared of all floors and were held in the east wing of the library on the first floor as part of the procedures implemented because of the national anthrax scare after the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11.
The first call came in at 9:45 a.m. from the registrar’s office after they received a suspicious package that turned up negative. At 1:30 p.m. the East Baton Rouge Parish Fire Department Hazardous Materials responded to the call placed by the campus police department.
Students who were present in the second floor library computer lab were taken with the rest of the students and staff and asked to give pertinent information just in case the findings were positive.
“I was very paranoid and scared that the thought of anthrax hit Southern,” said Susan Mouton, junior, and social work major from Lake Charles.
“There are many renovations being done such as tile repair and painting. The students should know that there were no chemical substance found. The library is still a safe environment,” said Emma Bradford Perry, Dean of Libraries at Southern University.
Ariane Johnson, made contributions to this story.