The chilling pictures of students running ,some screaming, ambulances with their sirens on and police officers running with guns at the educational institute of Virginia Tech shown in the national and local media has led the N.C. Central University community to ask the question -- How prepared are we if something like that would happen here?

“What happened to those innocent students is a tragedy, and that’s more of a reason for us to be cautious of our campus community,” said Malik Williams , a computer information systems sophomore.

In an e-mail addressed to students, faculty and staff, Chancellor James H. Ammons said students should watch for unusual changes in their environment.

“The NCCU Counseling Center recommends that students who exhibit extreme changes in mood or behavior, in appearance or exhibit irrational or distorted thinking be referred to the Counseling Center for assessment,” Ammons wrote.

Ammons said the university is offering counseling services to students struggling to deal with the Virginia Tech tragedy.

Residential life director, Jennifer Wilder said emergency decisions will be made on a case by case basis.

According to Wilder, the university has an emergency plan and also an Emergency Response Team led by the University Police Chief.

She said after a decision is made by the ERT, a campus wide e-mail is supposed to be immediately released.

For emotional support, the university has counseling services with 24-hour on-call personnel available for students and critical accident debriefing used to help with crisis management.

“There are a whole range of long-term emotions when dealing with something like that,” said Carolyn Moore-Akeem, director of the NCCU Counseling Center.