It starts out on a Friday night at the townhouses. A group of girls go out together but after having a little too much fun from a night of partying, one of the girls decides to go home even though none of her friends are ready to leave. She decides to go by herself. She figures it will be safe with all of the lighting and the blue emergency poles around campus. This girl ends up back in her dorm safe and sound. However, with this being a hypothetical scenario, the ending may not always be so nice.
Safety on any campus is an important factor for a student when applying to college. A person wants to feel that where they live is generally a safe place. Nobody wants to have to worry about crime and danger.
Being nestled in a suburb of Connecticut, we assume we are safe, and for the most part, I do feel safe. I don’t think we have a lot of criminals about campus, and we are lucky to have good Public Safety Officers that could be there for someone during a moment of immediate danger.
Lindsay Maida ’14 agrees, saying, “I feel safe on campus because of the blue poles and escort services.” She makes an excellent point, as Public Safety does a great job at making students feel more secure. I have found myself walking home alone once or twice from a townhouse or someone else’s dorm and never did I feel unsafe or have to worry that something might happen to me, probably because most of my walk was through the well-lit quad. But that doesn’t mean my decision was a smart one. Students should never walk alone through campus at night; one can never be too careful.
Another factor is gender. This is definitely important because women are more commonly preyed on than men and usually can’t defend themselves against an attacker. When asked how they felt, male students all answered that overall they felt pretty safe on campus with Mike Tafuto ’14 adding, “I’m not worried. Nothing bad is going to happen to me because I’m a guy.”
However, guys need to be cautious too. The point is, no matter what your gender, watch out and stay safe. Also, students don’t always realize that they could be the ones causing unsafe situations on campus. Jamie Salazar ’14 adds, “It could be safer because people are often let into the dorms and parties out of courtesy.”
This is very true. It can be difficult to determine who is and who isn’t a student here. Many students automatically assume that all kids on campus attend the University. Remember – just because someone is at that party or is walking the halls of your dorm doesn’t necessarily mean they are a student here. We really might not be as secure as we think, and more students have to realize how easy it is for anyone to gain access onto our campus. Even when public safety is working its hardest to keep us safe, some things can just slip through the cracks.
Bottom line: if you make smart decisions you should be fine. Keep an eye out, don’t be stupid, and think things through because in the end, you are responsible for your own personal safety.
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