Disheveled College Application Causes Bomb Scare At Eastern Illinois University

CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) _ Here's a tip for aspiring college students: Make sure your applications don't warrant a visit from the bomb squad. <br/><br/>Emergency crews evacuated an Eastern Illinois

Saturday, July 21st 2007, 2:36 pm

By: News On 6

CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) _ Here's a tip for aspiring college students: Make sure your applications don't warrant a visit from the bomb squad.

Emergency crews evacuated an Eastern Illinois University building Friday, after a campus postal carrier discovered a disheveled-looking package heading for the college's admissions office.

``There was no return address, it was poorly written, poorly addressed to the university, there were misspellings,'' school spokeswoman Vicki Woodard said Saturday. ``There was some tape over it. Just the overall appearance was rather strange.''

The stuffed-and-stained envelope was strange enough that police alerted the bomb squad.

Explosives investigators X-rayed the package and blocked off a nearby street before they discovered the envelope contained only an application to the 12,500-student school.

Woodard said the application came from somewhere in northern Illinois, but wouldn't comment on whether the bomb scare would affect the prospective student's chances of admission.

``I'm sure it'll be processed like any other application at this point,'' she said.