Real and hoax shootings raise anxiety levels for Iowa students
August 28th, 2025 by Ric Hanson
(Radio Iowa) – With fake reports of shootings or “swatting” calls at Iowa State University on Monday, followed by the deadly mass shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday, some college students may be finishing this first week of classes feeling anxious. Multiple campuses nationwide had swattings in recent days, and while there were none at the University of Iowa, UI senior Samantha Stewart tells KCRG-TV she’s nervous about looming violence on the Iowa City campus.
“I think about that kind of stuff on a daily basis,” Stewart says. “The T. Anne Cleary walkway is named after someone who died in a shooting. It’s absolutely something that worries me.” Cleary was one of the five victims of a 1991 shooting at the UI.

Radio Iowa file photo
Both Iowa and Iowa State have emergency alert systems to communicate with their campus communities about threats. The “Hawk Alerts” make some students feel more secure, and UI junior David Markusic says he’s comfortable on campus and in downtown Iowa City. “I try to live not worried, but obviously I understand that people should be worried,” Markusic says. “It’s a bad thing that’s happening, so I completely understand that.”
In the past week, at least 11 colleges and universities nationwide had swatting incidents. In the wake of the fake shooting calls elsewhere, UI graduate student Jack Bryson says he’d like more communication about swatting as a reminder for students to sign up for the alert system. “If the university could put out some form of mass email, just letting people know that this is happening and it’s something to be aware of,” Bryson says. “Make sure everyone is signed up for Hawk Alerts. It would be a great program to have.”
The Iowa Campus Safety team creates the Hawk Alerts, which send information about the affected location to the phones of students and employees to urge people to stay out of the area and keep safe.