The University of Michigan Division of Public Safety & Security responded to student concerns about a man following two students to class in the Modern Languages Building and inquiring if they were in Hebrew or Judaic studies classes. According to DPSS spokeswoman Melissa Overton, the University concluded there is no threat to public safety and it is not being regarded as a hate crime or stalking incident.
Around 1 p.m. on Tuesday, concern began circulating through group chats and social media about a man who entered various classes in the MLB. While one professor locked his classroom, there was no lockdown.
Engineering senior Kishan Patel was present when the incident occurred.
“I started hearing faded yelling and I turn off my headphones,” Patel said. “I was basically at the exit door and he’s quite a way aways, he’s on the other end of the corridor basically, but he’s asking someone some questions — I couldn’t hear what. And then he got more and more aggressive, I could tell that he was being more and more aggressive. His voice started getting louder and louder and he was basically yelling, and that’s pretty much the time I left.”
The University of Michigan Hillel, a Jewish student organization, released a statement about the incident on their Facebook page acknowledging the concern it may have caused the Jewish community and praising the University’s response.
“We know that, like us at Hillel, many of you were concerned to hear about an incident in the MLB today where someone was apparently looking for a Judaic/Hebrew Studies class. We want you to be aware that we were in touch with DPSS and the Student Life Office throughout the day, and we chose to lock our front doors for an hour while awaiting more information. We appreciate the swift and serious response taken by DPSS and the University.”