Staff Editorial: With due responsibility

On Sunday morning, a waitress at the Ivy Grille noticed a suspicious powdery substance on a table while she was seating customers for breakfast. The restaurant was immediately closed, as investigators converged to examine whether the substance was harmful.

After careful analysis, they determined the power was construction residue -- specifically, dust left over from a recent overhead light bulb change.

Yesterday morning, the same scenario worked itself out in a different environment. Police and health officials responded to a call at the Graduate Student Center, located right in the heart of Locust Walk, when students noticed a suspicious white substance on a carpet.

It turned out to be plaster.

These scenarios, and hundreds like them, have evolved all over this country in recent days -- a natural response to the newly-realized threat of bioterrorism and deadly biological agents such as anthrax.

As America copes with its newest and most unpredictable terrorist threat, it is important that all of us remain on alert. That means exercising due caution when it comes to suspicious activity and materials, such as an unusual piece of mail or an abandoned package.

But it also means acting responsibly. And to that end, we must recognize the legitimate -- and relatively miniscule -- threat which anthrax poses, as well as the circumstances that typically indicate contamination.

Obviously, it is always safer to act with caution. And students and staff alike should not hesitate to notify the proper authorities should they feel their safety has been legitimately compromised.

On the whole, though, the threat of serious danger is small. Anthrax -- especially in its notorious powered form -- is an extremely difficult agent to produce. And as of yet, only a handful of high-profile figures around the nation have been the target of terrorist exposure.

The coming weeks will likely determine just how real the anthrax threat is. Until those weeks are through, though, it is important that in regards to the threat, we collectively exercise due caution -- and due responsibility.

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