SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Wittenberg University has canceled all athletic events, home and away, through Sept. 22 due to safety concerns following the recent bomb threats. 

The decision came one day after the school decided to switch all students to remote learning for the next week as a precaution. 

The city, as well as several schools, have faced more than 30 bomb threats over the past week and a half after comments about Haitian immigrants in Springfield started circulating on social media. Politicians like former President Donald Trump and Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance have voiced unproven claims that immigrants have been stealing and eating pets. 

Police and other officials have repeatedly said that those claims are not true, and there are no reports to back them up. 

Several local students in the area had to evacuate students throughout the past week, and another college, Clark State, also moved students to remote learning. 

Because of the threats, Gov. Mike DeWine has sent more than three dozen Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers to the city for safety reasons. The city also made the decision to cancel its CultureFest at the end of the month. 

“Many of these threats are coming in from overseas, made by those who want to fuel the current discord surrounding Springfield. We cannot let the bad guys win,” said DeWine in a news release. “We must take every threat seriously, but children deserve to be in school, and parents deserve to know that their kids are safe. The added security will help ease some of the fears caused by these hoaxes.”