“My friend knocked on my door and said “Two bombs just went off at the Boston Marathon.” And I talked to her for a second and then went back to what I was doing. And then ten minutes later I was like “Wait….this is a real thing. I should go see what’s going on”,” explained Emerson College freshman Brad Beideman.

MFS Alumni Lara Savon and Beideman currently attend college minutes away from where the two bombs were set off during the Boston marathon. Each of their schools was locked down when the bombs went off. Savon attends Eastern University, which was locked down for a day and a half. The students were not even allowed in the dining halls. Savon commented, “It was pretty scary.”
During the lockdown at Emerson, Beideman explained, “I never really felt unsafe because I knew no one would want to bomb Emerson. Once things calmed down the lockdown was kind of fun.” After hearing of the explosions, Beideman texted his mother and tried to call friends who he knew might be in danger. Some phone calls at Emerson would not go through as all of the students were using cellular service to call friends and family.

Not only were students in Boston schools affected by the bombing, but so were those in MFS. Senior Brett Eiffes will attend Boston University next Fall. Eiffes was heard about the events through Twitter. She said, “I have thought about terrifying events like this one occurring in my college but I never thought it would become a reality. The bombing in Boston a couple of blocks away from BU was definitely a reality check.”

As parents of MFS Alumni were trying to contact their children, Eiffes’s parents were able to speak directly to her about the events. She recounted their conversation, saying, “My parents were already nervous about me going to college in a big city so this just made then more nervous. However, they know that it can really happen anywhere and that I might even be safer after the bombings because of the increased security.”