Advice to incoming freshmen on campus safety...

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Kansas City

I would also recommend steering clear of the fruit that may be floating in homemade punch. The absorption rate will tend to sneak-up on you!

pssst, that's the point.

[Kansas City]

Originally Posted by 33girl

pssst, that's the point.

Oh, yeah! I guess you're right on that one but I still felt sorry for the guys that had housekeeping duty the next morning ... I guess that was the price they had to pay for an entertaining social the night before.

[Tinia2]

a site or two with some good advice and stats:
campus safety tips
http://www.securityoncampus.org/students/tips.html
home page http://www.securityoncampus.org/index.html

[CHWG]

As a former university professor, Chi Omega alumnae, and the mother of multiple college age students I am VERY concerned about safety on campus. There are several things females should keep in mind if they want to have a safe, happy college experience. For example:
1. When you go to a party take along a bottle or glass with a top that must be screwed on or off. This means no one can put something in your drink without it being obvious.
2. NEVER put a drink down (i.e. to go dance, to go to the bathroom, etc) and then go back and drink out of it. Even if you are in a situation where you have to pay for another drink, it is a lot cheaper than paying for therapy for years after enduring the trauma of date rape.
3. ALWAYS make sure someone is looking out for you. My son (a junior at IU) has told me that he has had to go looking for girls when they seemed to have just become "lost in the crowd." He told me that he has pulled girls that were "out of it" out of boys rooms. These were girls that thought they were safe but didn't realize how easy it is for someone to slip something into their drinks. In both situations, the girls told my son that they were so grateful that someone actually noticed they were "missing" and didn't simply think they had gone off somewhere to fool around.
4. NEVER ASSUME that a girlfriend has gone off with her boyfriend unless she SPECIFICALLY tells you that she is going to be leaving with someone else. My niece's room mate was raped the first semester of her freshman year even though she was attending a small private Christian college and felt safe there. The young woman was missing and everyone told my niece not to worry because "everyone" tended to slip off in the night to be with a boyfriend. My niece was confused but the group finally convinced her that she was simply unaware of the realities of college life. Unfortunately, this situation was devastating both for the girl who was drugged, raped, and left half dressed in a parking lot and for my niece who has to live with the question as to whether or not a phone call would have changed the outcome of the situation.
Therefore, it is important to get to KNOW the people you are with and to understand where their boundaries lie. If a female is going to leave a party or other event to go hang out with a male, then they should tell someone. If the person is missing during the party/event it is critical that her friends begin to look for her.
5. BE AWARE of what is going on around you. Talking on the cell phone is great but if you are oblivious to where you are, or if you think having someone on the other end of the line makes you safer then you are mistaken.
6. Don't feel like it is stupid to call CAMPUS SECURITY to pick you up and drop you off when you have to be on campus late at night. Many girls can tell you that they didn't make the phone call that could have kept them safe because it "seemed silly" or "stupid" to call someone.
7. Let people (i.e. a roommate, a friend) know where you are going and when to expect you to return.
8. Don't forget to CHARGE YOUR CELL PHONE. It is impossible to call a friend, security, or call for help if you have spent so much time talking that you have no battery life left when it counts.
9. GET INVOLVED with campus life. The more people that you know, the more people you can depend on, the safer you are. In addition, you will have more fun and if you actually manage your time well, you will probably make better grades. There is some research that demonstrates that students that are very involved in campus life are happier, make better grades, and get better jobs after graduating. Keep in mind that employers want to hire people that have social skills as well as professional skills.
10. Try to do most of your partying at campus events. Off campus events (i.e. bars) are typically much more dangerous than events designed by/for college students. BTW: Purposely getting drunk is making a purposeful choice to "let go and let things happen." That includes bad things. Don't give up your ability to make good decisions for yourself. If you don't value your own safety then there is no reason to think others will value it or value you. It is that simple.

Lastly, have fun! As long as you are being as responsible as possible or unless you go to a school in which your safety is a serious concern, you should be fine as long as you are not stupid. University life is wonderful in most respects but there are issues that must be considered if one is to leave school emotionally healthy and ready to face the world.

Stay safe,
CHWG

[Psi U MC Vito]

This is a very good thread. It should be pinned I think. Safety is always the first concern no matter what.

[Kevin]

Point taken.

[knight_shadow]

My brothers and I always make sure that we're made available to the sorority women that we hang out with frequently. Whenever they're at a party/at the library/on campus late at night, there's usually at least one of us around to make sure they get to their homes safely.

[Tom Earp]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

My brothers and I always make sure that we're made available to the sorority women that we hang out with frequently. Whenever they're at a party/at the library/on campus late at night, there's usually at least one of us around to make sure they get to their homes safely.

You and Your Bothers should be commended!

[CrackerBarrel]

So what have we learned from this thread?



But seriously, where do you all go to school? I go to a major university in a fairly large town, almost everyone I know is a drunk, very few of them follow any of these rules, and nothing bad (aside from fighting other drunks and a few hookups that you later wish hadn't happened) has ever happened to any of them.

[KSUViolet06]

You don't have to be going to school in a dangerous area for things like sexual assault to happen. I go to school in one of the most suburban areas in the entire state, and I see reports of sexual asaults occuring on campus.

Most of the time, the perpetrator isn't some typically "scary stranger dude" anyway.

[nikki1920]

These rules are great. A lot of the people I went to school with at UNC had never been outside of their small town upbringing and lost their mind at school. Common sense went out the window. When I went out with my friends (on or off campus) we made sure that we knew where the others were and who they were with. Some fraternity brothers even offered protection if things appreared to get out of hand or beyond our control (the obnoxious boy who wouldn't leave you alone all night or who danced a bit too close after you told him to back off). And no matter HOW good the party was or who was hosting it, we NEVER left a drink alone.

Sexual assaults are very common on most campuses, but sadly, a lot go unreported. My campus was relatively safe, and we felt comfortable walking back to our dorms alone. Not the smartest move, and we didn't do that often. We usually would walk to whoever's dorm was closest and then have the campus shuttle take the rest of us to our dorms. Better to think you look silly or stupid than to regret it later. Tuition pays for the shuttle, so use it! That's what it's there for.

ETA: Ditto to the one person staying sober in the group. A girl I knew ended up on the floor of the living room with a random guy "performing" on her in the middle of the party after she had waaay too much to drink. Her friends? They left early, WITHOUT HER. My friends and I ended up escorting her home and making sure that WE would never let something like that happen.

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

So what have we learned from this thread?



But seriously, where do you all go to school? I go to a major university in a fairly large town, almost everyone I know is a drunk, very few of them follow any of these rules, and nothing bad (aside from fighting other drunks and a few hookups that you later wish hadn't happened) has ever happened to any of them.

Consider yourself lucky.

[trideltrockstar]

Use the buddy system!!! There is safety in numbers. Come with your friends, leave with your friends.

So many freshmen girls get preyed on by older guys. Keep your guard up, even if this means being a little stand-offish. Better to have a guy think you are a bit of a bitch then to be taken advantage of.

Keep aware of your surroundings! And enjoy college most of all!

[Psi U MC Vito]

I endorse what tridel just said. However that doesn't only apply to girls. Even guys should have a pal with them. You never know what can happen and just having somebody else can keep something from happening.

[fantASTic]

Originally Posted by nikki1920

Sexual assaults are very common on most campuses, but sadly, a lot go unreported. My campus was relatively safe, and we felt comfortable walking back to our dorms alone. Not the smartest move, and we didn't do that often. We usually would walk to whoever's dorm was closest and then have the campus shuttle take the rest of us to our dorms. Better to think you look silly or stupid than to regret it later. Tuition pays for the shuttle, so use it! That's what it's there for.

Sorry, but bullshit. College women are THE SAFEST group of women in the WORLD when it comes to rape and sexual assault. Check out Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women by Christina Hoff Sommers. That statistic about 1 in 4 women getting assaulted at some point in their life is a LIE, and it has even been admitted by the director of the study that it is not true.

Fearmongering does no good. CrackerBarrel, I agree with you on this.

Also: not every campus has a free shuttle..I go to a large state school and we don't.