The FBI warned in a congressional statement Feb. 11 that colleges and universities could be targeted in a terrorist attack.
FBI Spokesperson Paul Bresson said universities, like supermarkets and shopping malls, are considered "soft targets" -- places where attacks seem less likely than at high profile monuments and government buildings. Security is lower at these locations, so the FBI has expressed concern that terrorists might try to target them.
The location of an attack "is not necessarily the U.S. Capitol building; it's not the symbolization of something that represents America on its face," Bresson said. Soft targets are an "everyday slice of Americana."
The FBI has no specific evidence that universities are being targeted, he added. Officials based the warning on the nature of overseas terrorist attacks in recent months.
"The types of recent, smaller-scale operations al-Qaeda has directed and aided against a wide array of Western targets -- such as in Mombassa, Bali and Kuwait and against the French oil tanker off Yemen -- could readily be reproduced in the U.S.," said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III in his statement.
Although colleges and universities are named as "soft targets," terrorists have made no direct threats against them, Bresson said.
"There's no intelligence to date to suggest that any attack against a university or college is imminent or even likely," he added.
University officials said they are responding to the FBI's statement and the Feb. 7 heightened terrorist alert with increased security.
"We have ratcheted up our security efforts to a greater scale," University Deputy Police Chief Michael Coleman said. He added that students should expect increased visibility of officers and more frequent bag checks on Grounds.
The University, in partnership with Charlottesville and Albemarle County, established a regional response plan long before Sept. 11, 2001, to deal with any type of disaster. Officials role-play an emergency situation once a year.
"We do have a plan in place and our students are our number one concern," University Spokeswoman Carol Wood said.
Many area police officers are trained to respond to terrorism as well.
"One of the things that's unique about this region is that, as far as we know, we are the only university that is part of a regional plan," Coleman said. "We are one of the best-prepared areas in the United States."
Coleman and Wood encouraged students to stay alert and informed.
"We are asking people to take this seriously and to be on alert and to be aware," Wood said. "If you heighten awareness it helps people discover problems."
Coleman added students should watch out for "suspicious circumstances or things that don't look right to you."
The University posted an emergency and critical incident Web site Wednesday that will continue to be updated with information on crises, from a terrorist attack to a situation similar to when cars in the Venable neighborhood were covered in soot last month.
Officials currently are not proposing that individuals take specific measures to prepare for an emergency, but they do advise considering Red Cross recommendations such as deciding on a contact point outside of Charlottesville and stockpiling emergency supplies.
"Do what seems smart, what seems appropriate, what seems right for those of us living here in Charlottesville," Wood said.
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