For the first time in your daughters life, she’ll be wholly responsible for her own personal safety. She’ll be surrounded by thousands of of rowdy, impaired and often inebriated young college students, not forgetting the shady characters that patrol the sketchy areas of campus looking to prey on vulnerable young girls. Parents should emphasize personal safety for college students to their child.
No college campus is immune to crime no matter how insulated the campus appears to be from the outside world. Although university officials try to provide a safe environment for students, it is an impossible task to prevent all acts of crime.
As a concerned parent, and in an effort to be proactive versus reactive, it is imperative that we have a conversation with our daughters about personal safety for college students, using common sense and being safe while they are away at college or urban university. This is especially important if it is the first time your child is going to be “away from the nest” or if you are from a rural area where there was little concern for personal safety.
So I have put together some simple tips about personal safety for college students to share with you and your daughters as they seek their independence on the college campus of their choosing.
- Ensure that you lock all doors and windows in your dorm room when you leave.
- Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Keep on the lookout for any suspicious people hanging out around campus, dorms, apartments, or your vehicles.
- When it is possible, use the buddy system and walk with another person around campus, especially when it is dark outside.
- Walk on well lit sidewalks and walkways when it gets dark. Use well-travelled areas as opposed to isolated or deserted locations.
- Don’t carry large amounts of cash on you.
- When you get home at night do not hang in front of your building entrance for an extended period of time checking the mail or doing any other task. Have your keys ready to unlock the door and go inside immediately. If anything looks suspicious, don’t go inside. Go to a friend’s house instead and call the campus police for help.
- If your school has free transportation services, utilize them after dark. Store this number in your phone along with any other important campus police for help.
- If you don’t know a male well, do not go to an isolated location with him or his male friends. Date rape and sexual assaults are real and the chances of these incidents occurring can be reduced dramatically by not being in certain situation.