A note from opinion editor Joshua W. Newman

To Hilary and the rest of the offended UM community:

Although it may seem as though my aggressive column regarding the bomb threat was cold-hearted or evil, I would like to try and put your mind at ease.

Yes, my column did attack an individual, but I hoped that the overtly hyperbolic diction would serve as a red flag that it was merely in jest. My intentions were not to harm anyone’s name or make anyone think that person actually dropped acid. My words may have been aggressively sarcastic, but the point was to make you think about what really happened. The police report was so vague regarding the “controlled-detonation” and information was never released about what was actually in the box.

Obviously, if you are in a situation with a suspicious package, don’t hesitate to call the police. With all of the “heightened security” in our society, I can fully understand the shaky minds of us Americans. But honestly, the chance that the familiar-faced lady planted a bomb is extremely unlikely. And on that note, if someone did recognize her, why wasn’t she apprehended and questioned?

Once again, my intentions were simply to raise a question. I thank my readers for their honesty and compassion and hope you all have a successful conclusion to your semester.

To read Hilary’s letter, click here.