Safety first.
That was what I was taught in school growing up.
I would always hear something to this effect:
"Hold hands while crossing the street."
"Always look both ways twice before walking across."
"Never take candy from strangers."
"Always walk in pairs."
The rules seemed simple back then. Anytime we went on a field trip everyone had a buddy, and the rest of the class would not move on unless all buddies were accounted for.
Though the scenario may seem funny, it's very serious.
I say this because it seems as we, as a campus and community, have stopped looking out for our buddies.
The recent rash of assault and crime-related events on this campus has been astoundingly scary. No longer do we seem to care for our classmates; it's as if we have lost our sense of concern for others.
Too often (I take night classes) I see groups in the hall during class breaks, conversing as if they are good friends. But after class I see the males walking one way, and the females heading off to their car in the dark all alone.
This is where the problem also lies -- not solely in the individuals attacking or assaulting people, but in the lack of support and concern for others.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that we all have to be best friends, or closely tied to those who share academia with -- I don't expect that. But it would be nice if we all looked out for each other every now and then.
At my undergraduate institution the enrollment was less than 8,000, with just over 2,000 that lived on a campus located in a high crime area. We only had a few officers on duty each night, much like this university.
What puzzles me is that we had fewer incidents of the magnitude that this University has had in a four year period. It wasn't because we had ample security to take care of things -- they slept on the job most of the time.
The key to our success was that we, as a student body, got to know each other and made sure everybody got back to their dorms safely. We didn't have to pay a Tiger Patrol to watch out for us, we watched out for each other.
It's a jungle out there. Watch out for yourself, but also be sure and watch out for others as best as you can. We are all adults, and most of us think that we can control events, or that "it won't happen to us." But you never know.
When in doubt, just act like you're on a field trip in grade school again -- be sure and have a "buddy" on campus.
