Slesha Tuladhar
Equinox Staff
College life is no doubt one of the precious moments of everyone’s life. We are on our own, away from the family, involving in several things like clubs, organizations, doing assignments and making memories. But it is just one incident that can cost you your life and all those memories.
It is very important that we focus on our safety on and off campus along with the day-to-day activities. For most of us we are on our own for the first time in life and a lot of us can not handle that well. Most of the times our parents have been a shield to protect us from any kind of harm or danger before. Now that we are in college, it is upon us to stay safe.
Just a couple of days into the college and a sexual assault was reported by the campus safety on August 25. Despite the safety precautions and measures taken by campus, incidents do take place. This is the reason why the first person that can save you from any kind of danger is you. We need to take responsibility for ourselves. We should not be at the place where we feel uncomfortable and we must always be aware of our surroundings.
In April this year, Campus Safety reported about a trespasser who could have been a possible danger for the students on campus. He was seen twice in the campus. So, for situations like this it is better to have a friend/friends along when you go out at an unknown place, especially when it is late. Also, friends should look after friends because we never know when we happen to be in a very uncomfortable situation.
The legal age for drinking is 21 in the USA. However, there are people who consume alcohol underage. According to National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, drinking is one of the big reasons behind physical and sexual abuse. So, if we are under 21, we should not be in the place that involves alcohol.
A little bit of self defense training can also be very important. We should learn some form of self defense to fight against the attacker and save ourselves. Likewise, campus policy allows students to carry pepper spray “when stored and used in an appropriate manner.” We can set up some application on the phone that connect us to our parents and the police when we are in danger. Also, it is better to avoid connecting with people who look suspicious.
When things seem to go out of hand, in other words when you are in a situation that is beyond your capacity to handle, it is very important to contact campus safety. Just like the bomb threat on September 1. There is no possible way that we can check if there is a bomb or to diffuse it. In these kinds of situations, we must call Campus Safety. Campus Safety (603-358-2228) is always there 24/7 to provide the students with safety in any situation they are.
Slesha Tuladhar can be contacted at stuladhar@kscequinox.com
