Another graduation ceremony canceled as fallout from the threat continues

The University of Otago has abandoned graduation ceremonies scheduled for tomorrow, as the fallout from a threat that included a bombing and shooting warning continues.

The vice chancellor, Professor Harlene Hayne, announced the decision to drop out of graduations this morning after yesterday and said she was “hopeful” they would go ahead.

More than 700 graduates graduated tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Otago Daily Times confirmed today that the warning was sent by email and also included a bombing threat.

So far, police have declined to comment on the nature of the threat.

“While we understand that people want to know the specific nature of the threat, we are unable to provide this detail at this stage in our investigations as it could compromise the outcome of the investigation.

This is a complex investigation and it is important that we have the opportunity to work on it in a systematic and comprehensive manner, “said Southern District Commander Paul Basham.

The “specific and detailed” threat led the university to abandon two graduation ceremonies on Wednesday and the Otago Polytechnic to postpone graduation ceremonies scheduled for today and undergraduate ceremonies yesterday and today.

Professor Hayne acknowledged today that the decision would be incredibly disappointing, and for some, this was their third attempt to graduate.

“My heart goes out to all of you. This has been a difficult decision and I hope you find ways to celebrate.

“The depth of sentiment has been too real in recent days. No one deserved this, particularly the young people from the University and Polytechnic who were hoping to celebrate their City Hall graduations this week,” said Professor Hayne.

The police had reported that all events on campus could continue.

This included all graduation events such as the Maori pre-graduation, which would take place. Graduates could collect their certificates and details on this would be sent directly to graduates.

As with Wednesday’s graduations that were postponed, the university would plan a replacement ceremony for tomorrow’s graduations for 2021.

Currently, next week’s graduation ceremonies on Wednesday December 16 and Saturday December 19 will take place as planned.

Professor Hayne said that one “big advantage” she was drawing from this week was the incredible strength and endurance of the North Dunedin tertiary community.

“In particular, the students have been incredibly magnanimous and have cared for each other and their friends and whānau.

He also recognized the police.

“The community support and guidance from your experts has been excellent and I can’t thank you enough.

“We will continue to work with the police. As you understand, I cannot comment on any matter related to this ongoing case.”

In a statement last night, Southern District Commander Paul Basham said that while he understood that people wanted to know the nature of the threat, at this stage the release of details could compromise the outcome of the investigation.

“This is a complex investigation and it is important that we have the opportunity to work on it in a systematic and comprehensive manner.

“The safety of our community continues to be our priority and we continue with our two-pronged approach: an active investigation and an increased police presence in the city.”

He encouraged anyone with information to contact the police.

Massey University security studies professor Dr. Rhys Ball, a former officer with the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS), said the university and police were right to “err on the side of caution” in how they treated the threat.

It had occurred in the wake of various terrorism-related events in this country and abroad, for which the police had to assume the worst case scenario.

Dr. Ball said he was not surprised that police and the university had concealed knowledge of the threat for at least a day before postponing Wednesday’s ceremonies.

“That gives you 24 hours to find out where the threat came from and if it is legitimate.”

Giving a warning or threat before carrying out an act of violence was not normal, but the history of terrorism had many examples of this, such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the 1970s and 1980s.

“It depends on the motivation to carry out an act of violence.”

The rise of electronic communications meant that security threats were much easier to deal with than in the past, and thus occurred more frequently.

“But you have to treat each one of them as legitimate and serious until it is clear that they are not.

“It is unacceptable to be wrong.”

While it was normal for any organization handling a security threat to keep information close to their chest, he thought it was unlikely that the police would deliberately mislead the public by saying that they had not identified who made a threat when they actually did “because it could bite you again. “

The Otago Polytechnic said yesterday that it had made the “devastating” decision to postpone the graduation and undergraduate ceremonies scheduled for yesterday and today, affecting 1,150 graduates, after following the advice of the police.

Otago Polytechnic Executive Director Dr. Megan Gibbons said the safety of students and staff was her “number one priority.”

I was working on rescheduling events for next year.

University of Otago Student Association President Jack Manning said graduate students were naturally disappointed by Wednesday’s postponements because it was a day they had been working on for years.

“This is the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice,” Manning said.

“But with that said, we will show resilience, maybe it’s something in the water, maybe it’s this year’s events.”

That was proven by how many had celebrated the occasion anyway, with hundreds of people walking across the college campus Wednesday with their families and taking photos of each other.

However, there would be some for whom postponements would be more difficult to accept.

“That feeling is also very valid: people handle things differently.”

A free counseling service was available, through Student Support Services, for anyone who needed help, he said.