About 300 miles from DeKalb, Ill., those at Ball State University felt the effects of Thursday's shooting at Northern Illinois University.
As Ball State administrators prepare for possible changes in security and communication, students have been reaching out to the students at NIU.
UNIVERSITY TO DECIDE FUTURE ACTIONS, OFFERS COUNSELING
Kevin Burke, director of University Communications, said administrators will meet to discuss what changes, if any, need to be made to improve campus security after the shootings at NIU.
It will take time for university officials to decide what needs to be done because the shooting happened late in the day, Burke said.
"The few people I've been able to talk to, the word is really just kind of reaching them," he said. "[The shooting is] a point of follow-up consideration and concern. These are always tragic situations. In a being a sister school, our consideration, our thoughts and our prayers always go out to the people of Northern Illinois."
Burke said he thought there was no reason to worry about safety at Ball State. Positive results from the most recent text message alert test indicate Ball State's system could help in a dangerous situation, he said.
"We're always vigilant about student safety as our primary concern at all times," he said. "You can't prevent against all eventualities. With something like the Virginia Tech situation, it needs to really be kind of assessed and analyzed."
Gene Burton, director of public safety, said the University Police Department would not increase patrols because of the shooting, but the officers would be more alert.
"When we have instances like this, we do some things differently," he said. "It does cause us to be more mindful of our surroundings."
Burke said the Counseling Center would offer emergency assistance to students who are coping with the shootings. The university might make special arrangements for grief counseling if there is a large number of students needing assistance, he said.
"Being in higher education, these are always points of concern," he said. "Right now, really, our thoughts and our concerns are with our colleagues at Northern Illinois.
STUDENTS HAVE CANDLELIGHT VIGIL, REACH OUT TO NIU
After a Campus Crusade for Christ meeting, about a dozen students gathered for a vigil for the Northern Illinois students.
Zach Brubaker, sophomore elementary education major, said he was sitting inside his residence hall earlier Thursday and wanted to do something for the families.
He said he was scared that a shooting can happen anywhere, but he and others Crusades for Christ members find solace in religion.
"As a movement, we are here for each other and we are here for the people who are suffering tonight," he said.
Alpha Phi sorority President Lauren Madden said the organization would probably do the same thing for its NIU chapter as it did for its Virginia Tech chapter after the shooting in April.
After that shooting, Madden said, the sorority wore ribbons on their bags and sent cards to its Virginia Tech chapter. The sorority might do the same for NIU and also might send flowers, she said.
"I know that we are definitely thinking of them," she said.
Sigma Kappa sorority President Abby Kaffenberger said she would send the organization's support to its NIU chapter, and it will try to contact the NIU chapter president to make sure the members are all right.
"We will probably send them a card or flowers to show that we support them and care about them because they are our sisters, as well," she said.
After the events at Virginia Tech, Kaffenberger said, the Ball State chapter members got together and expressed their thoughts and feelings after the event.
Madden said it was ironic that the sorority recently had a programming chapter meeting on emergency preparedness during emergencies. The meeting is required from the sorority's headquarters and all chapters go through it, she said.
Madden said the chapter on NIU campus would probably go through the meeting also.
"I just think it's sad..." she said, "...it's something we see almost monthly and it's awful."
Kaffenberger said she was surprised so few people knew what happened. After the shooting at Virginia Tech, the chapter members informed each other right away, she said.
"Everybody knew about Virginia Tech so quickly," she said. "[Now] we are out of it."
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