Collaborative post:
Excited for a new semester this year? You’re not alone – thousands of students are currently eagerly awaiting their results from school and are getting ready to start a new chapter of life. Freshers week is just around the corner, and going to uni is an exciting transition in life. You want to do all that you can to maintain your safety while you’re away from your family, and while we’re supposed to teach attackers not to do that, you can do all you can in the meantime to maintain your safety.
You deserve a safe, happy and relaxed university experience. Whether you do this with the aid of a body worn camera and a rape whistle or not, it’s up to you how you make sure that you are as safe as you can be. Either way, we’ve got some of the top ways that you can learn to stay safe on campus, so that you can walk with your head held high and nail your degree. Here’s what to do:
- Know where the safety office is. Almost every single campus has a safety office and officers on site: you just have to know where they are. You should dedicate some time in your first week to get to know where the safety office is and who the officers in the area are. If you know where it is, get to know whether there are any safety programs and support maps that you can use. You should also find out if there are any campus escort services so if you have a late study session, you can get an escort to your accommodation.
- Carry a light. We talked about a body cam, but you should also have a light on you – and not on your phone – when you are crossing the campus after dark. You need to stay in a well-lit area and while it isn’t always possible to walk in well-lit areas, you should carry a torch on you so that no matter where you are, things are lit up.
- Utilize locks! On your bags, in your room and in your closets, you need to keep things locked up. Your belongings should all be kept under lock and key so that you can ensure that things aren’t stolen. Don’t leave your dorm or your living space without locking up properly and don’t put a hide a key anywhere obvious. If you’re living on the first floor, add a lock to the window, too. You cannot ever be too careful.
- Use social media – wisely. It’s nice to drop pins to your locations but you shouldn’t make that information public. Have a lock list on your social media pages so that only those who truly know you know where you’ll be and when. You don’t want to make it public that you are going on vacations, etc, either.
Staying safe on campus is going to depend on you – protecting yourself should be a high priority!
Sarah x
