A suspicious item found on the Upper Campus mid last week attracted law enforcement presence and first responders, but was quickly determined to be a science experiment.

University officials were notified shortly before 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 22 of a suspicious item identified behind the building which houses the Saperstein Jewish Center and Human Resources Office on the upper tier of Oak Drive adjacent to the ALANA Cultural Center. A University spokesperson shared that the items had wiring that ran to the interior of the building.

Officials evacuated the building and restricted access to Oak Drive around the building as local, state and federal authorities were alerted. No courses or access to students services were restricted, and students were not alerted of the issue until the incident was resolved.

Law enforcement officials quickly determined that the item was not dangerous after arriving at the scene.

“It was shortly thereafter discovered that the item was a science experiment designed to measure the effectiveness of the building’s insulation,” a University spokesperson said.

The Colgate community was alerted by Director of Campus Safety Terri Stewart via email at 12:58 p.m. that the issue had been resolved and normal operations had resumed. Stewart additionally thanked the Hamilton Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the New York State Police for responding.