A student walks down a University of Memphis walkway after sunset. A Helmsman poll found that male students felt safer on campus at night than female students.
Heart-racing, fast-walking with keys clutched in between fingers while scanning the dark parking lot for possible threats — some students experience the anxiety of feeling unsafe on campus after dark.Â
With night classes and late-night study sessions, many students cannot avoid being on campus at night. The Helmsman staff conducted a poll and found men felt safer on campus on night than women. Out of 113 men surveyed, 99 said they felt safe walking around campus at night, while 14 said they did not. Out of 113 women surveyed, 61 said they felt safe, while 52 said they did not feel safe.Â
The Daily Helmsman asked 113 men and 113 women how they felt about walking around campus after dark. Men felt safer than women with 99 men saying they felt safe versus 61 women. Only 14 men said they felt unsafe compared to 52 women.
Music business junior Sheilyn Rodriguez, 20, is one of the students who did not feel safe when walking on campus at night.
“There’s a lot of violence and crime activity,†Rodriguez said.
In addition, 23-year-old business senior Hope Stevens said it is scary at night after classes get out, and everyone leaves campus.
“I would feel safe walking around at 8 at night, but no later,†Stevens said. “I was working in the Tech Hub once until 10:30 p.m, and when I came out, it was dark, and no one was around.â€
But other students, like 25-year-old social work graduate student Brittany Young, do feel safe at night walking on campus. But even Young has had a few uncomfortable instances.
“Yesterday night, I was approached by these two people about joining their Bible study,†Young said. “They were very in my face about it.â€
Derek Myers, assistant chief of University of Memphis campus police, said both women and men should be cautious walking on campus at night.
“Guys tend to overestimate their own self-reliance, and they sometimes get themselves in trouble,†Myers said. “I think by nature, women are naturally more cautious than men.â€
But there are ways for everyone to stay safe. Myers said students should use safety resources offered on campus.
“Obviously we have Tiger Patrol for students to use, which we encourage,†Myers said.
Myers said if Tiger Patrol is unavailable, then there are other ways to travel safely on campus at night.
“We actually have some contract security that will come do your escort for you,†Myers said. “If they’re not available, we’ll actually send an officer to come do the escort for you.â€
In addition to utilizing services offered on campus, Myers advises not walking alone.
“Travel in groups,†Myers said. “A lot of times because the class changes roll at the same time, everyone’s kind of moving.â€
Myers also said students can use the LiveSafe app, which is an app that allows users to virtually walk friends and family home and communicate with officials.
“What’s underused on LiveSafe is SafeWalk,†Myers said. “The SafeWalk feature allows you to send your location to your friend.â€
The SafeWalk feature on LiveSafe can be used on and off campus, Myers said.
“They (friends) watch you, and if you suddenly stop, they can either text you or call you,†Myers said. “If no one answers, they can turn around and notify us and can send us to where you are. I encourage people to use that feature on there to let folks see where you’re going, especially if you’re by yourself.â€
