he student sent a gripe-ridden letter for publication to the University of Canterbury Students' Association, complaining about people who wear camouflage or ride their bikes on the pavement Information Security.

But the letter, printed in the association's Canta magazine, goes on to say: "The above things are slowly transforming me from a Gandhi-like character to the kind of guy who is going to walk into James Hight (library) one day with a fully loaded automatic assault rifle and unload my anger into you."

University management referred the letter to the police last week, a month after it was first published online, after the mother of a student laid a complaint.

Police say they've tried to get the name of the student from the students' association but have been refused on privacy grounds. They're now seeking other options to track the person down.

She did not explain further why the student's name was not handed over but said the association was satisfied there was no safety risk.

"In this instance, given the tenor of the letter in full, the UCSA's determined no serious threat to the University of Canterbury community existed."

The association, however special promotions in Hong Kong, recognised heightened awareness of public safety following the Boston bombing and has reissued an abridged version of the letter online, Ms Jackson said.