Nebraska Wesleyan University adjunct professor Randy Bowdish provided his students with more than 30 pages of resources.
From that, students gathered a handful of facts:
- The body of a murdered vagrant turned up in a ditch at 82nd and Saltillo. He鈥檇 been shot in the forehead at close range.
- The autopsy results showed the man tested positive for bubonic plague.
- A few days after the murder, a cryptic message on a downtown parking garage said, 鈥淰idra is coming.鈥 The next day, police officers found more graffiti on a downtown building that read, 鈥淩udra is coming.鈥
- At the same time, police responded to a break-in and theft of equipment at a university bioengineering lab.
- Police also reported an exchange at a downtown bar between a female university student and two unidentified men who told her that 鈥淩udra would play a key role in an upcoming spring football game鈥 and that 鈥淩udra is a real killer.鈥
Students in Bowdish鈥檚 鈥淪pecial Topics鈥擳errorism鈥 class poured over fake police reports, autopsy reports, press releases, and plentiful resources on counterterrorism.
Their assignment, however, wasn鈥檛 to solve the crime; rather Bowdish challenged them to assume the role of counterterrorism experts with the Department of Homeland Security. Their grade for this wargame would be based on how well the students could assess the situation with the information they had and decide either how to prevent or respond to the possible terrorist attack.
鈥淭his exercise puts everything together that we鈥檝e learned in class,鈥 said Bowdish, a retired U.S. Navy captain. 鈥淚鈥檓 challenging them to go to that next level.鈥
Six teams of three students 鈥 many of them sophomore political science majors 鈥攖ook turns presenting their case. The audience 鈥 made up of their fellow classmates and Bowdish 鈥 served as mock members of the mayor鈥檚 office and police and fire departments.
Group number one projected a possible aerial dispersal of pneumonic plague would be spread over fans attending the upcoming spring football game. The group recommended a no-fly zone over the football stadium.
Another group recommended canceling the spring football game in an effort to thwart the terrorists鈥 plans.
And yet another group suggested all 80,000 people attending the spring game be evacuated and quarantined.
And another group who recognized Rudra as a reference to the Hindu god of storms and death called for an investigation of local Hindu groups.
Each group received frank grilling from Bowdish.
鈥淗ow large is this no-fly zone of yours?鈥 he asked group one. 鈥淎re you saying you want to shoot down aircraft? Over Lincoln? What if it鈥檚 just some schmuck who doesn鈥檛 know how to use his radio?鈥
To another group: 鈥淵our stadium evacuation will be chaos. You know people will die trying to get out of there. Are you prepared for that?鈥
鈥淵ou want to investigate Hindu groups? How is that not religious profiling? Are you ready for lawsuits?鈥 Bowdish questioned yet another group.
Students admitted Bowdish鈥檚 questions were intimidating.
鈥淚 really wanted to impress him,鈥 Nathan Dawdy, a sophomore from Lincoln, said of his professor. 鈥淭his is one of the classes I鈥檒l remember for a long time. I鈥檝e just really been impressed by the breadth of knowledge he brings.鈥
As the presentations wrapped up, Bowdish commended his students on their efforts, noting he didn鈥檛 offer his students the luxury of a solution.
鈥淓ffective counterterrorism,鈥 he said, 鈥渞equires you to think like an effective terrorist.鈥
The students鈥 proposed measures to keep the Rudra threat from unfolding 鈥 no-fly zones, increased security at the spring football game, quarantines 鈥 were all rational responses to the perceived threat, said Bowdish. However, none of these would have proven effective had Bowdish鈥檚 Rudra scenario been real.
Bowdish鈥檚 scenario included a vendor and her gas grill used to prepare hotdogs and hamburgers for hungry football fans just outside the stadium. The vendor simply leaned over and twisted open the valve on her spare gas tank allowing for the pneumonic plague to quietly fill the air and lungs of football fans.
Bowdish wasn鈥檛 about to issue failing grades to students who came up with different scenarios.
鈥淭hey hit the major issues,鈥 Bowdish said after the presentations. 鈥淧art of educating is giving your students real-world experiences and having them weed through what鈥檚 relevant and what鈥檚 not.鈥
For Ellen Forester, a foreign exchange student from Ireland, the exercise hit home.
鈥淚 am well aware of the presence and impact terrorism can have as a result of experiencing it first hand,鈥 she said. 鈥淗owever I had never thought about it from the angle of the government and how they try and prevent attacks from happening.鈥
鈥淭his was a real eye-opener for me as I was able to appreciate to a small extent the magnitude of the problem the government faces on a daily basis to protect its citizens,鈥 she continued.
For most of the students in this class, the exercise also provided yet another opportunity to sharpen their problem-solving skills.
鈥淚t crosses so many disciplines,鈥 said Bowdish. 鈥淚t鈥檚 political science, sure. But it鈥檚 also biology, criminology, psychology, rhetoric, religion, history and communication. It鈥檚 definitely a strong argument for liberal education.鈥
For Dawdy, the class likely means more than a grade. He鈥檚 now considering a career in intelligence with possible plans to join the Navy and pursue officer training school.
鈥淚t鈥檚 such a massive topic,鈥 Dawdy said of counterterrorism. 鈥淚 could have easily spent eight hours a day on just this project.
鈥淭his is practical,鈥 he continued. 鈥淏eing in this class has been a very rare gift.鈥