On Wednesday, Duke University announced plans to increase campus security in several ways if war broke out in Iraq. Subsequently, we have limited vehicular access to the core of the campus, locked doors on buildings earlier in the evening and asked members of the Duke community to carry their ID cards.

We undertook these measures on a temporary basis because of government security warnings and our own caution about what to expect at the outbreak of war. From the outset, we have been monitoring the situation closely. We are now eliminating the vehicle checkposts except in a few critical locations. However, we continue to ask members of the Duke community to raise their own level of awareness and report anything suspicious to the Duke Police (911). As noted previously, we will increase campus security if the national alert status rises from "orange" to "red."

Duke's Web site, www.duke.edu, remains the primary source of updates and information.

Tallman Trask III
Executive Vice President