It is in every collegiate’s best interest to know how to be safe on a typical night out. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a night out; simply being aware of ways to avoid getting involved in a harmful situation will be beneficial to all. Here is a list of five tips we have come up with for staying safe on campus no matter what you are doing.
- Be aware of your surroundings.
If something or someone looks suspicious you can always take a new route back to your dorm. If you’re afraid that you’re being followed, don’t go to your dorm or house. In this situation, walk to a busy area and stay there until you feel safe.
- Stay in well-lit and busy places.
If there is a possibility of someone seeing you get attacked, your chances are a little better chance of staying safe. Nobody would attack you with a lot of people around just like you are not as likely to get attacked in the daylight.
- Don’t be afraid to call Campus Security.
There is always someone available in the Security office to help you. Even if you just want someone to walk you across campus, their job is to help every student feel safe.
- Walk with a group as often as possible.
You will feel safer and potential threats won’t see you as vulnerable if other people are around. If you are walking by yourself, you are seen as an easy target who does not know how to defend herself.
- Your voice is an asset.
Despite the amount of screaming that goes on throughout a typical weekend night across campus, there is a difference between girls yelling for fun and a girl yelling because she is being attacked. Someone will hear you because we are on a fairly small campus.
These tips are not meant to scare anyone; after all, our campus is fairly safe but the possibility is always out there. The biggest idea that females can take away from this is to simply be aware of what is going on around you and trust your instincts. If something does not look right, have an RA or Security look into it, and avoid it at all costs. The University wants all of the students to feel safe on campus, and you can help them do so by telling someone. All SAU females are encouraged to take the RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) course that counts as a kinesiology credit while teaching women basic self-defense.
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