Today college campuses get a bad rap for crime. Although universities do their best to keep students safe, there is far too much misconduct for the administration to keep tabs on at all times.
So what do we do as students? While we are fortunate enough to go to a university with such a low crime rate, that is not the case for other students around the U.S. Crime escalates without the proper diligence to manage incidents which is why our school needs to get ahead of the curve and install more security precautions on campus.
As a junior here at Florida Gulf Coast University, I have not been unlucky enough to have been a victim of an assault on campus, and because of this I often don’t think about what I would do in that type of situation, because of recent altercations occurring on neighboring campuses, I have begun to think about the implications of these types of situations.
As I walk around campus, it is evident that while there are security provisions in place, it seems that there may be opportunities for additional security measures to keep our students safe. The blue emergency poles are a great tool for students in distress, but there are far too few of them stationed throughout the campus grounds. Most students are in a position where they need to navigate to and from buildings alone and even though many of us are mindful of our surroundings, it is also important to know where to go to get help if needed.
Collegiate crime rates are climbing and in order to keep our campus as safe as possible, it is necessary to continue to educate students on how to use these emergency poles and where they are located.
With more emergency poles on campus, it will put students’ minds at ease and allow them to take a route that offers them the most safety.
An increase in these emergency poles is a step in the right direction but it isn’t the only thing we can do to keep students safe on campus.
Increasing the amount of lights on walkways to both parking garages and parking lots will also help increase security at the university. By keeping campus more visible it allows students to travel confidently to and from their destinations.
Along with lighting, it is also essential to add to the number of video cameras in parking lots. Parking garages on campus are equipped with several cameras, however the parking lots and dirt lot are left with no cameras at all.
To make our students feel as safe as possible, it is imperative that we make security an ongoing priority and give them the tools to keep them protected.