Fisher-Nickell residence hall, home to 43 international and U.S. students, locked its doors Tuesday night in response to the day’s acts of terrorism.

Kate Bruns, communication specialist for the residence halls, said the 24-hour lockdown was put in place after some students expressed concerns about safety.

The doors were locked merely as a precaution, she said, not in response to any particular incident.

“There was no threat,” Bruns said.

Although nearly half of the building’s residents are from the United States, the decision to lock the doors was a consensus.

“The rest of the students wanted to be supportive,” Bruns said. “So they ordered that the building be locked.”

The building will remain locked for two weeks, until Sept. 24, Bruns said. After that, students and staff will meet to discuss any further actions.

“If the students still feel threatened, we’re going to do everything possible,” she said.

Students living in the house said they simply wanted to feel protected.

“Better safe than sorry is basically the opinion here,” one resident said.

Fisher-Nickell Hall Director Steve Berard declined to comment.

Teresa Branch, interim director of Minority Student Affairs and associate vice president for student affairs, said securing the building is a good idea.

“As long as we’re not dealing with a situation,” said Branch, who also is serving as chairwoman of Iowa State’s Critical Incident Response Team. “I hope it’s being done more as a precaution.”

She said the psychological benefits from the actions were the most important.

“I think they are feeling perhaps a need to pull together, and locking the facility provides them with a sense of safety,” she said.

“This is a balancing act to allow people to do what they need to do to feel safe.”