By Robyn Goodman and Delaney Lovett

Mary Stunkard, assistant professor in the clinical science department, was giving an immunohematology test in West Science when students cell phones began to vibrate.

“I told the remaining students to pack up and leave for home right away,” Stunkard said. “The whole process took about 10 minutes and was very organized, no panic.”

She said she had wished that she had more information on how best to protect herself.

“I guess that is the nature of the incident,” Stunkard said.

One student, Randi Schmeltzer, was in her communication capstone class when many students’ cell phones started to go off.

“At first the professor locked the door and had us stay in there,” Schmeltzer said.  “Then another professor came in and told us the protocol was to send us all home.”

She said her fellow classmates didn’t overreact, but she still got nervous while leaving.

“I had a friend of mine walk me to my car,” Schmeltzer said.

Zoe Knox was cleaning up after her cell biology lab when she found out about the emergency.

“Our lab instructor told us that the university was now closed for the day, classes were canceled, and that we should go home immediately,” Knox said.

Knox said that she didn’t receive the emergency text until about five minutes after the teacher’s aid told the class about the threat. She met up with her husband in the art building, and they left campus right away. NMU did the right thing by closing school, Knox said.

“The only thing I would have wished they had done was tell us that there was no gunman currently on campus instead of just saying there was a threat. I was a little panicked because I didn’t know what the current situation was,” Knox said.

Robert Pachman was also in a lab at 8 a.m. when his teacher assistant told the students to gather up their belongings and leave campus because there was a threat.

“Nobody really thought anything big of it and finished doing what they were doing and started to pack up slowly. Some people were saying it’s probably just someone wanting a snow day,” Pachman said.

Pachman said that no one else was leaving the school at the time and people were still entering the campus as he left, so he wasn’t too concerned. On his drive home, he received the emergency text from NMU.