Freshman College Campus Safety Tips

I live in a two college town. You can tell when the freshmen come to town because they invade Walmart, Target, and the Dollar General store stocking up on food and dorm room necessities. For many Freshman this will be their first time away from home. Campus life starts off with an endless array of welcoming partys with drinking one of the norms. Campus safety is not something these young adults are thinking about. I remember when I went to college I thought it was safe because they had security on campus. Remember most campus' are open and not everyone you see is actually a student.

Many young adults are staying healthy by running. Our town has a running trail that goes through a wooded area with trees on one side and a ravine on the other. Over the years we have had several women attacked while jogging on what appears to be a well maintained, safe trail. The trail goes by both colleges and is a very popular place to run. There are even student apartments built near the trail. Most of these attacks have happened in the early morning hours when trail traffic is low, and darkness provides a good cover to hide in the trees. Talk to your sons and daughters about the importance of traveling in pairs. While most men do not experience rape they can be robbed. The Universities do warn about the dangers of campus life but for some reason warnings go unheeded.

One of the key factors I have noticed in running rape is ear phones. If you are listening to music and lost in the lyrics you are not hearing what is going on around you. You can make yourself an easy target by not being aware. Only wear ear phones when jogging with a partner, during the day, or on a busy trail.