Starting college can be a difficult and overwhelming experience. Students often don’t know who to trust and some of them don’t know their way around. So, what should students do if they feel unsafe? While safety is a priority for most colleges, it is still important to take action to monitor your safety and the safety of others around you. In today’s world, it is not uncommon for things like shootings, kidnappings, or even burglary to occur. However, it is possible to prevent these things from happening to you. I spoke with a couple teachers and staff at Allen Community College about a few ways that students can remain safe and be aware of their surrounding at any point during their time at college.

When I spoke with Terri Fahnestock and Carla Smith, they expressed that students should be alert and aware of their surroundings. There are tons of things that happen in this world that nobody is prepared for, but if students at Allen are taught what to do to be prepared in most situations, it makes life much easier.

According to Mrs. Fahnestock, who has been a communications instructor at Allen for roughly 3 years, students should avoid traveling alone and should always try to have somebody with them, either over the phone or with a friend to walk home. Even if you feel like your dorm or apartment is just five minutes away, it still cannot hurt to be safe.

Another way of staying safe is being smart on social media. It’s important to let your loved ones know where you are, but when using social media, keep in mind that it’s not just your love ones who will know what’s going on and where you are, it will be the world.

Students should also take precautions after dark to minimize your chances of any problems or feeling uncomfortable.  Students should prioritize and minimize what times at night they do go out and who they are going out with or for.

Students should also be careful when getting into their vehicle. Most of us do not go out of our way to look in the backseat, or at tires, or even consider that we leaving valuables in plain sight. Always be careful and aware of your surroundings.

Most of all, every student should have a plan and learn to defend themselves. The smallest plan can keep you out of danger, and learning to defend yourself is one of those things that everyone should take into account.

Students and teachers’ safety are especially important, and Allen wants to make sure that every student is prepared for anything. Nothing may ever happen, but it never hurts anybody to be safe. We encourage our students to never be scared, but to always be sure!

For more information about how to defend yourself, students can and should contact the local Allen County Sheriff’s Office for some tips or advice.