Jordan Nicholson

We all do it…stumble home alone, thinking, “Oh, my house is just around the block. I’ll be fine.” How many times do we hear this statement? “I’ll be fine.”

We hear these three small words countless times a week, I know because I say them all the time. From when I’m ready to leave a party and no else is ready, to when I’m walking home from the library on a Wednesday night, I always think I will be fine. The scary thing is, though, we aren’t always fine.

Just recently at the University of Iowa, a freshman girl was walking to her dorm room from class at 9pm on a Thursday when she was assaulted. This was on campus and she was sober. That particular night, when I was at a concert, and my friend was at the library, and my other friend was at a bar, this girl’s life was changed.

We never think it will happen to us…until it does.

Sixty-two percent of sexual assaults are “drug-facilitated,” meaning that there are either drugs or alcohol involved. This makes it more difficult to talk yourself out of a situation.
Whether we like it or not, there are people who lurk in the most obvious of public places to the dark corners of an alleyway. We know this as competent young women, and yet we still decide to take matters into our hands and walk home alone. Why?

“It’s scary to walk home alone at night, but I still do it. I know it’s dumb but either I don’t want to be annoying and ask a guy to walk me back or I don’t want to pay for a cab. Sometimes you’re in a situation where you just have to,” UIowa sophomore Lauren Jevaney states.

Although it may be inconvenient, the best thing to do is to weigh your options. There are alternatives to walking alone and there are precautions you can take if you do.

With summer fast approaching, it is hard to concentrate on the one aspect of college that really matters this week: finals.

Thoughts of summer flings and pool parties are captivating our minds, as calculus equations and grammar rules are on the back burner. But, with all the coffee runs and crowded libraries, it’s hard not to feel a little stressed.

All around the library, laptops are clicking and notebook pages are flipping. Debit cards are being declined by purchasing one too many late night Jimmy Johns’ subs and some students are already moving out of their dorms and apartments.

Though, some students are meticulously studying at the wee hours of the night, others are procrastinating soundly, using Facebook and Twitter as their choice of fuel.

Contradicting statuses are flying left and right; some complaining about the amount of work, others radiating optimism.

One status, however, that is being posted regularly is Tom Petty’s statement on college:

“I've learned one thing, and that's to quit worrying about stupid things. You have four years to be irresponsible here, relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember the time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So stay out late. Go out with your friends on a Tuesday when you have a paper due on Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. Drink 'til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does...” 

While this sounds like music to our ears, students everywhere can’t just take his words for black and white. Yes, college ends. But, when college ends, the rest of our lives begin. We travel, start careers, file taxes.
We have to question Tom Petty on what really matters. How do we build our future if we don’t tackle the ugly tasks in college?