In these violent and panicked times, airline passengers who utter the word “bomb” risk being arrested, and college students who carry toy guns may be disciplined by campus officials.

The University of Nebraska at Lincoln has banned the game Assassin, in which participants “kill” one another until one survivor triumphs, usually winning a pot of money, the Associated Press reported today. The game, borrowing from tag and hide-and-seek, typically involves stakeouts and chases with, for example, foam-dart guns.

“While this may be a game that is fun to play, it is extremely inappropriate in this day and age in which we are all too familiar with the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University shootings,” Nebraska’s vice chancellor for student affairs, Juan Franco, wrote in a e-mail message to students, according to the AP. “I am asking student organizations to … make it clear that it will not be tolerated on campus,” Mr. Franco said.

Officials at Indiana University at Bloomington have also expressed concern about the game, the Indiana Daily Student reported today. Several campuses, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have student groups known as “assassins’ guilds.”

Last year students at Hampden-Sydney College, which is not far from Virginia Tech, canceled their annual game, USA Today reported. —Sara Lipka