On January 30 at 12:45 pm, the fire alarm was pulled in the Cathedral of Learning, forcing an evacuation of the entire building. After arriving on the scene, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire (PBF) declared that the emergency was a false alarm.
At 12:30 pm, members of the Pitt Graduate Workers Union had gathered in the Cathedral of Learning to ask Chancellor Joan Gabel to recognize the union and begin negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement. After a short opening speech in the Commons Room on the first floor, the crowd of 300 people moved outside room 107, the chancellor’s office (which is conveniently not listed on the Office of the Chancellor website). Union leaders knocked on the door and declared that they wished to speak to Chancellor Gabel. Almost immediately afterward, fire alarms blared, forcing the crowd to disperse.
At a press conference this morning, Pitt Police released security footage of the false alarm. The footage shows Chancellor Gabel enter the first floor through the Cathedral Lawn entrance, holding an extra-large Starbucks frappuccino. She then turned left, and spit a mouthful of coffee out on the floor upon seeing the crowd outside her office. With all eyes focused elsewhere, she then pulled the fire alarm, opened a secret passage in the wall, and discreetly exited.
After displaying the footage, Pitt Police Chief Holly Lamb announced that Chancellor Gabel would be charged with sending a false alarm to public safety agencies, a crime that carries up to 5 years in prison in Pennsylvania. Gabel then burst through the doors, yelling “I fucking own you, you touch me and you’re dead!”
Lamb then announced all charges against the chancellor had been dropped. Pitt Police did not respond to requests for comment on the charges.