There's a Bomb in The House

Policemen don't usually admit that they're stymied, but this time, the University Police are perfectly willing to agree that they haven't found any clues to the identity of the person or people who have been calling in false bomb threats over the last few months.

Lt. Lawrence J. Murphy, who has been investigating the bomb threats--they began last fall, but increased during Febrary--said yesterday the department has found no common thread in all the calls.

In all but a few cases, Murphy said, the caller gives no reason for the planting of the apocryphal bomb. Last fall, some callers said their (nonexistent) bombs were protests against the University's desire to conduct recombinant DNA research on campus, but recently they simply say there's a bomb in a building and hang up.

In February, threatened areas included the Freshman Union, the Law School, Quincy House, the Center for International Affairs, two private homes owned by the University, and the Department of Buildings and Grounds--a rather diverse collection.

But Murphy said the police will continue to evacuate buildings and conduct preliminary searches ("It's hard to really search so many," he said), on the off chance that one of these days, a threat may turn out to have some basis in fact.

"There's always a possibility that it's real, so you can't take chances," he said.