Nicholls State University responded to the series of organized acts of terrors in Paris, France, on Nov. 13 with how international students were affected and what this means for the future safety of the University.

Nicholls is home to around 170 international students from more than 40 countries. Several international students expressed concern about loved ones abroad and their stances on returning home. Laia Charles, a sophomore from Lleida, Spain, said she is afraid about going back to Spain.

“I feel like we are directly affected,” Charles said. “I called my mom and she said she was really scared because France is so close to Spain. It could happen in Spain just like it happened to France. Some people are starting to worry about the possibility of going to war.”

Clemence Krug, a freshman from Reims, France, said she called her family and friends immediately after hearing about the attacks in Paris.

“When I heard the terrible news, I immediately called my aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as friends that were staying in Paris,” Krug said. “I was really scared. Once I found out everyone was all right I was relieved. I received the message while I was in the cafeteria, and I was immediately scared. I feel safe here, but we still want to go home because it is our country.”

Stephanie Barnett, a junior from Melbourne, Australia, said that although she feels safe at Nicholls, it is still undetermined when crisis situations can happen.

“We had an attack in Sydney recently and it was in a café that people go to everyday,” Barnett said. “You just never know when it can happen. I wouldn’t say I’m scared, but you never know when it could happen. It is a terrible thing that happened in France. I have teammates and roommates that are from there. Even when you are not actually from the city, you are affected by it. It is not just in one city there are other places that got attacked as well.”
In light of the recent attacks, University President Bruce Murphy stressed the importance of everyone remaining cautious and staying aware of his or her surroundings.

“We just have to be vigilant, and I think it’s up to every student to be vigilant,” Murphy said. “If you see something suspicious, report it, no matter how inconsequential you may think it is.”

Nicholls students participate in various study abroad programs around the world each year. With the rising concern of safety overseas caused by these recent attacks, Murphy explained that participating in study abroad programs has never been 100 percent secure.

“We need to be safe, we need to be careful, but we’ve always known that,” Murphy said. “Study abroad, not just at Nicholls but at every university, has always been something that has risk to it, whether it be volcanoes or potential high threat areas.”

Murphy said that it is important to remember that terrorists’ goals are to scare people into locking themselves away and to stop living their lives.

“We have certain freedoms that are important to us, including freedom of movement, so we should continue to exercise those, but exercise those with caution,” Murphy said.

Faculty and staff had already been participating in safety briefings each month. Murphy said that faculty and staff were briefed on crisis situations and active shooters in particular.

“There’s things that you do as an institution to try to make everyone as safe as possible, and the number one thing is for everybody to be responsible,” Murphy said. “Unfortunately, that’s the world we live in. We know it’s a dangerous world.”

There are plans to include students in safety briefings, but Murphy said that the University wants to “get it right.” The primary way students will interact with the training for the time being will be through faculty. Student leaders will also get involved in the near future.

“We had a system in place,” Murphy said. “I sensed that we needed to make it a little bit better, a little stronger, so everyone can be safer.”

Local law enforcement is currently finalizing plans.

“We want to make sure we’re in sync with them because our campus police will be the immediate response if there is anything, but immediately there will be reinforcements by state, parish, city police and volunteer fire departments. That’s the way they work,” Murphy said.

In the event of a crisis situation at Nicholls, official press releases or statements from the University will come from the department of University Marketing and Communications.