An administrator at Missouri State University (MSU) is concerned about the safety disruption a live action role playing game involving Nerf guns could cause on campus.

Don Clark, MSU's director of public safety, told KSMU radio he felt as though 500 students running around campus in a "Humans vs. Zombies" game posed a "disruption" rather than "danger" to safety.

"I don't know that it is necessarily a danger to campus. It is a disruption to campus," said Clark. "We cannot tell people that 'if you see someone with a gun, it might be a Nerf gun, so just disregard it. It is probably just a game.' Because then in fact if it was a real gun, we have missed the opportunity to respond and prevent something significant from occurring."

The game is a once-per-semester tradition for students to get together with Nerf guns and their foam ammo to stage a make-believe zombie apocalypse. The event is organized by the school's Live Action Society (LAS) and faculty adviser Chad Holmes said the five-year-old event emphasizes safety.

"We always inform campus security and Public Safety that the event is going on well ahead of time," he said. "They know if they get people running around with Nerf guns calls about that, it is us."

Clark said this semester's game actually did cause several people to call in suspected gunman. Most were made at night and when the game was going on, making it hard to differentiate the Nerf gun from an actual one.

Like the Central Connecticut State University and New Britain Police departments did, so must MSU area law enforcement investigate a reported gunman as if there was an actual gunman on campus.

MSU students have strongly expressed they would not want to see Nerf guns banned on campus. Brittany Donnellen, student government vice president, said a Facebook poll showed an "overwhelming" number of students felt like a Nerf gun ban would be unfair.

"It is overwhelming that students don't feel they pose a safety risk and that even considering banning them is an infringement on students' ability to enjoy the college experience and express themselves," said Donnellen.

Various precautions are already taken before the start of the game, such as inspecting participants' Nerf guns to make sure they do not resemble a real firearm. Most Nerf guns are yellow, orange and are distinctly fake, but anything black, white, silver or army green is strictly banned and removed on sight.

Furthermore, students who have played agreed that banning the event would be a disservice.

"You get a sense of comradery," said Anthony Beauchamp. "Even though it is a game, you feel like it is an actual zombie apocalypse and you just form a temporary bond with people and sometimes it last long after the game."