A major university just blocks away from the White House on Friday warned students to prepare for potential civil unrest on Election Day by stockpiling a week’s worth of food and medicine.
George Washington University distributed a preparedness message to both on- and off-campus students, faculty and staff. The message recommended that they prepare for Election Day as they would “a hurricane or snowstorm that would prevent you from going outside for several days.”
The message cautions students to think about how much food they typically eat in a day and plan for a supply to last them a week. University officials recommended students stock up on foods that have long shelf life including rice, pasta, canned fruits and nuts
University officials also reminded students to ensure they have enough toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies and refill any prescriptions.
“While we do not anticipate access restrictions around our campus, it is possible given the unrest that has been seen in D.C. and around the past several months,” GW spokeswoman Crystal Newcombe Nosal wrote in an email to The Washington Times. “Our goal is to help our campus community plan ahead for any potential disruption that may happen during the election period.”
“GW regularly sends preparedness messaging to our community before activities that draw large numbers of people to the nation’s capital, including but not limited to Fourth of July festivities, the Inauguration, the Women’s March, etc.,” she wrote.
With Election Day less than a week away anxiety about potential civil unrest is on the rise. Activists and extremists on both the right and the left have signaled violence if they view the other side as somehow stealing the election.
With the possibility of no clear winner on election night, experts have worried that counterprotesters could collide in the streets sparking civil unrest on par with the violence seen in the social justice protests that erupted across the nation this summer.
