Education

Fayetteville State receives $80k for trauma, security after bomb threat

A bomb threat at the school in February prompted university leaders to suspend campus activities for a day and ask residential students to shelter in place, WRAL previously reported.
Posted 2022-09-15T16:07:47+00:00 - Updated 2022-09-15T16:07:47+00:00
Classes canceled at FSU until further notice following bomb threat

Fayetteville State University will receive $80,000 to offer counseling for students still coping with the bomb threat made to the campus earlier this year.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday it had awarded the school a Project SERV grant, which can fund counseling and other trauma recovery services, full-time security officers and other mental health services.

A bomb threat at the school in February prompted university leaders to suspend campus activities for a day and ask residential students to shelter in place, WRAL previously reported.

The FBI investigated the threat but found no bomb.

More than 50 Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have received threats this year, with a spate of them coming in the early months of the year. The FBI investigated a threat at Winston-Salem State University the same day as Fayetteville State. Threats have since been made at North Carolina Central University and Elizabeth City State University, among other colleges in North Carolina and beyond.

In March, Vice President Kamala Harris assured the affected colleges would be able to apply for the Project SERV grants to help them with trauma and security concerns caused by the threats. The more than 20-year-old grant program covers any school that can demonstrate a need for additional resources to help them handle the traumatic effects of an event on teaching and learning. Harris and U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said bomb threats qualify.

Fayetteville State University was one of two grant recipients announced Thursday, after the first grant related to an HBCU bomb threat was awarded last month. The department plans to announce more recipients at a later date.

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