Back to School: College Campus Safety Tips

Leaving home for the first time to attend college is an exciting time for students. Parents on the other hand may suffer some anxiety. 

So much is new to students when they head off to school. They are meeting new people, learning to live alone and be responsible for themselves.

Most college campuses have a number of resources for students, including information on campus safety. And, tools are available online to rate a campus for safety. 

Alcohol plays a big role in incidents on campus, and a majority of sexual assaults, occur when one or more parties involved being intoxicated, according to the Joyful Heart Foundation. About 75 percent of unwanted sexual encounters take place while students are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. 

As the kids prepare to pack up and head off to college, StreetSafe.com, a company that provides smart phone users with virtual security services, offers a number of safety tips.

Safety tips include:

• Let friends or roommates know where they are going, who they are with and when to expect them home.
• Never leave outside doors propped open. 
• Don’t let strangers into secured buildings or residence halls.
• A stranger is still a stranger, even if they are a student.  They should not accept a ride or go off somewhere alone with a person they don’t know.
• Do not drink in excess because doing impairs decision making and makes a student an easy target.
• When approaching a car or residence, have keys in hand and check the area for suspicious individuals or activity.
• When walking alone, keep expensive belongings such as laptops hidden, making a student less of a target.
• Do not take short cuts and become familiar with an area before heading out.

Source: streetsafe.com