DeKALB | When Allison Guedes first heard about the Virginia Tech tragedy, she not only felt sympathy for those affected, but also became concerned with NIU’s safety.

Guedes, a sophomore business major said she was horrified when she found out about the shootings.

“I’m really upset about it. And being a college student, it really worries me,” Guedes said. “It makes me feel very nervous on campus because the same thing could basically happen anywhere.”

Like Guedes, Scott Skaloud, a senior human resource management major, also said he was shocked by the event.

“I don’t think our campus is as spread out as Virginia Tech’s, but it makes me question the safety of our campus,” Skaloud said.

A Candlelight Vigil for the Virginia Tech students was held Wednesday at the pavilion between Grant and Stevenson towers.

Earlier this week, NIU President John Peters met with the campus emergency response team to review NIU’s policies and procedures in the event of a crisis.

Peters sent a mass e-mail explaining NIU’s procedure in the event of a disaster. In the e-mail, Peters said that a “detailed emergency response plan covering virtually every aspect of NIU operations and life, anticipating a wide range of potential disaster scenarios is currently under review with the Virginia Tech disaster in mind.”

NIU’s comprehensive plan is reviewed on an annual basis and is constantly updated, he said. Peters said he is satisfied with NIU’s plan and those involved in keeping the campus safe.

“In the spirit of continual improvement and in light of [the] events, I have asked our emergency response team to develop a regularly-scheduled set of drills that routinely test and refine our crisis response practices,” Peters said.

Lt. Todd Henert of the University Police said the department’s CERT Team members are trained in special weapons and tactics, and handling hazardous material incidents. The department also has a dog specifically trained to alert, locate and identify explosives, Henert said.

“We also have a remote bomb scanner, an X-raying type machine, that takes X-rays of the suspected [material] to see if it’s likely to be explosive,” he said.

As for other campus safety measures, all students, faculty and staff at NIU should report to the department with any concerns, said Larry Johannessen, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in the English department.

If a student is acting strangely in class, is argumentative and out of control or is threatening to the instructor or other students, Johannessen said he encourages the instructor to contact him immediately. After assessing the situation or writing, Johannessen said he takes appropriate action, whether it be contacting the Counseling Center, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Deans Office or, if necessary, alerting Campus Security.

“A key in all of this is that no faculty member should ever keep it to themselves,” he said. “If they have concerns that a student might become violent, be violent or is acting in a strange manner, we encourage them to immediately come in and talk to [the department] so that we can follow-up and take appropriate action when necessary.”