USA Today : Disheveled college application causes bomb scare

Disheveled college application causes bomb scare

July 21, 2007

CHARLESTON, Illinois (AP) — A poorly packaged college application prompted a call to the bomb squad at Eastern Illinois University.

Emergency crews evacuated a campus building Friday, after a postal carrier discovered a disheveled-looking package heading for the college's admissions office.

"There was no return address, it was poorly written, poorly addressed to the university, there were misspellings," school spokeswoman Vicki Woodard said Saturday. "There was some tape over it. Just the overall appearance was rather strange."

Explosives investigators X-rayed the package and blocked off a nearby street before they discovered the envelope contained only an application to the 12,500-student school.

Woodard said the application came from somewhere in northern Illinois, but would not comment on whether the bomb scare would affect the prospective student's chances of admission.
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"I'm sure it'll be processed like any other application at this point," she said.