At his annual State of the University address, Chancellor Andrew D. Martin expressed optimism for the future despite significant struggles during the past year. 

An anonymous Sidechat user posted an AI-generated image of a Black man being arrested by law enforcement in front of Brookings Hall. The Association of Black Students (ABS) released an official statement on Wednesday, Feb. 25 after meeting with Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Anna “Dr. G” Gonzalez, condemning the false threat, the normalization of violence on school campuses, the need for safety to be proactive, and the racist AI-generated image.

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, WashU’s Danforth Campus went into shelter-in-place protocol following false reports of an armed person on campus, according to the Washington University Police Department (WUPD). WashU Emergency Management first notified campus of the potential armed individual at 9:19 a.m. after WUPD “received multiple calls reporting an individual with a weapon on the Danforth Campus.”

The University did not fully clarify that information in the 5:46 p.m. security memo sent after the University instructed community members to shelter in place for almost an hour.