Girls: Tips to Stay Safe at College

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - EducationParties: A great social life is part of the college experience but remember Never put down your beverage and come back to it. Date rape drugs are prevalent on the college scene and are impossible to detect without a test kit. Go to parties as a group, watch out for each other, and leave together. Alcohol is involved in the majority of university sexual assaults and a nice guy can quickly turn into a different and violent person when he is under the influence.

ATMs, Parking Lots: Cash machines and parking lots are frequent stops in college. Unfortunately the bad guys see ATMs in less-traveled areas as a hunting ground; ditto dark parking lots, the site of a high percentage of campus assaults. Make a very-public ATM your cash source and either avoid poorly lighted or deserted parking lots or go with a friend. For predator avoidance there’s safety in numbers. Try to avoid parking next to vans, or if one has parked next to you, go back and ask a security guard to escort you to your car.

Hall Cruising: A big trend in on-campus violence comes from hall cruising, where innocent appearing predators gain access to dorms, sororities, or residence halls by trusting residents. They then cruise the halls looking for unlocked doors to find their victim. Put a stop to this type of violence by always locking your dorm room door and never giving strangers access to your building.

View Just Yell Fire: Campus Life film online (no cost) –The Just Yell Fire nonprofit, created by and for girls and young women, produced a film that anyone can watch online. www.justyellfire.org

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