Unless you go to a private school, most colleges and universities are open to anyone who wishes to visit. Most of the time you are usually just met with people walking their dogs or those coming to check out the campus. However, there can also be unsafe people coming onto your campus or students/faculty from your university. My campus is pretty safe and has police officers doing rounds pretty often, however there definitely are times when I’m walking alone at night and feel nervous. Even the brightest lit sidewalk/street can be unsafe for us women so I put together a list of ways to be safe on your campus.
- Avoid walking alone
You’ve probably heard this tip before, but it definitely is important and can save you in a life-threatening situation. Walking alone during the day is better and not as dangerous considering a lot of other students are also walking to their classes. However, if you’re walking alone at night, it’s a better idea to take part in the buddy system. Even if you can’t physically walk with someone, call your parents, friend or anyone that can actively be talking to you and make sure you get home safely. If both of these options aren’t accessible to you, there are a bunch of different apps you can download that can help keep you safe. Some great recommendations are bSafe, Hollie Guard, One Scream, Red Panic Button and there are hundreds of different tracking apps you can download with your friends/family (Life360, Find my Friends, etc.).
- Don’t post everything online
You’ve probably also already heard this before from your parents or other adults in your life, but it’s a very valuable piece of advice! Even though you might want to show your story or feed where you are and what you’re doing, you shouldn’t. You should only be sharing this information with the people you know and trust, not everyone on the internet. If the wrong person sees where you are, they have the ability to come to you without you even knowing.Â
One time my cousin posted that she was home alone on her Instagram. Even though her followers were mostly family/friends, her account was public, and she ended up getting a strange comment from someone she didn’t know. Luckily, nothing ever happened, but that could’ve turned into a scary situation. Make sure you’re keeping track of what you post online, and don’t post anything you wouldn’t want a stranger to know.
- Know who you’re meeting up with
College is a time where you meet tons of new people and start hanging out with them. A lot of connections now are found through online sites like dating apps. You can never truly know who someone is just from an app. One out of 10 online dating site users are registered sex offenders trying to meet new people.Â
This statistic can be pretty scary at first glance, but if you do your research and find out a little more about the person you’re meeting with, this problem can be avoidable. You can ask them to FaceTime or video chat before meeting, ask around to see if you have any mutual connections, or you can do some online digging. When you’re meeting someone from a dating app for the first time, you should try going to a public place. This way if they lied about who they were or you just don’t feel comfortable around them, you can easily get help from someone else or leave safely.
- Don’t go out alone
The biggest piece of advice my mother stressed to me before I moved into college was to make sure you always go out in a group. If you’re going to a party, club or bar, make sure you have your friends with you, and you stick together throughout the night. Even if you think no one would do that to you or that the place you’re at is completely safe, there’s always a risk of the worst happening. Going out in a group instead of one other person is a better idea, too. When you go out with only one of your friends, you run the risk of the two of you getting separated at one point in the night, and then you’re alone. Being with a group of friends is safer and can also be more fun!
- Be Smart
Even though this tip is pretty broad, it covers a variety of different subjects. You should always trust your gut, and never do anything you’re not 100% comfortable with. I’m a people pleaser and have gone places before that I knew I shouldn’t be at, and I was nervous about the worst possible outcomes happening the whole time. You should always be aware of your surroundings and pay attention when walking around on campus. I know most of us usually listen to music or have headphones in when walking around, but try to make sure you can hear what’s going on around you.Â
Even if you feel completely safe and secure on your campus, you should know some safety tips that could help you in a bad situation. If you ever feel unsafe somewhere, contact your university’s police department, resident assistant (RA) or someone you trust.
As women, we need to constantly be aware of our surroundings and have safety in mind.