Commuting Resources
Safety Off-Campus
Personal Safety
- Do not walk alone. Walking with one other person reduces your chances of being assaulted by 70%.
- Avoid walking through dark streets or alleys. The shortest route is not always the safest route. Avoid short cuts.
- Pay attention to your surroundings. Do not walk while talking on the phone or with your I-pod in your ears. Listen and pay attention.
- Be aware of deserted laundry rooms, parking lots, etc., especially at night.
- Only walk or jog in well-lit, populated areas. Vary your route.
- Shred documents that have personal information on them.
- Report broken locks, dead lights, overgrown shrubs, etc. to your landlord immediately in writing.
- Walk in the middle of a sidewalk to avoid people hiding in parked cars, bushes, or cars pulling up and abducting you.
- Ignore strangers who call out to you.
- Be aware of your body language. Walk confidently and briskly.
- Never hitchhike.
- Do not traverse unfamiliar neighborhoods.
- If you are being followed on foot, do not be afraid to cross the street or change direction. Enter a well-lit store or knock on a door and call the police. Join a group of people. Do not go home.
- If you are being followed in a car, turn around and walk the other way. Go down a one way street. Get the license and call the police.
- Always let a friend know where you are going and when you expect to return.
- Let people know when you arrive where you were headed.
- Have your keys out before you get to the door.
- If you are on campus and need assistance, go to one of the Blue Alert emergency phones to speak immediately with Campus Police.
- Stay sober and coherent. People under the influence of a substance are much more likely to be the victim of a serious crime or to victimize others.
