Campus Safety: What to Know Before You Go

Did you know that students can find information about campus safety before deciding on a U.S. school? Federal law requires American colleges and universities to release crime statistics every year. This information may be included on a school’s website or can be found through the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Data Analysis Cutting Tool: ope.ed.gov/security/.

Robin Hattersley Gray, executive editor of Campus Safety magazine, recommends taking that research a couple of steps further. In a Campus Safety article, she listed several safety points to consider, including:

• Does the university have appropriate sexual violence prevention programs?
• Are there counseling centers and threat-assessment teams on campus?
• How thoroughly are the backgrounds of employees and faculty members checked?
• Are campus police and public safety offices adequately staffed, trained and funded?
• Does the school have adequate emergency communications systems?
• What type of security technology does the school use?

To see the complete checklist, visit:
www.campussafetymagazine.com

WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELF ON (AND OFF) CAMPUS

In safety tips and suggestions posted online, many universities and campus police departments emphasize vigilance and basic safeguards such as traveling in groups and familiarizing yourself with your environment.

Personal-safety expert David Nance says the most important thing students can do is to be attentive –- which means not being distracted by smartphones or other devices. He also recommends learning self-defense techniques, knowing common distractions ploys used by attackers and keeping a safe distance from strangers. By keeping 12 feet between yourself and others, “an attacker would need to take two steps to get to you,” Nance said, giving you time to react and respond.

PEACE OUTside Campus, an organization formed in response to the 2005 murder of a female University of Delaware student in her off-campus apartment, encourages students to take responsibility for their own safety. The group’s website lists precautions students can take to lessen the likelihood of becoming a victim on or off campus:

• Don’t walk alone after dark or while intoxicated. Contact a friend or your school’s escort service to take you where you need to go.
• When driving, keep your doors locked, and park in well-lit areas.
• Don’t wear earphones or play music so loudly that you are unaware of your surroundings.
• Carry a whistle and keep it in your hands when walking alone.
• If someone is following you, cross the street, change direction or vary your pace.
• Trust your instincts and don’t worry about overreacting. You’re better safe than sorry.
• Avoid entering elevators with strangers. When this is unavoidable, stand by the control panel and, if confronted in a threatening way, push the emergency alarm and all the floor buttons. Don’t press the stop button.
• Don’t hold the door open for a stranger attempting to enter the building, even if it seems rude. Ask them to identify themselves.
• Post the local police and fire departments’ numbers by every phone, near the refrigerator and/or program them into your cell phone.
• In your cell phone, label your emergency contacts as ICE (In Case of Emergency) so officials will know who to contact for important personal or medical information.

For more information, visit peaceoutsidecampus.org.