MUW is a comfortable place to live and study. You’ll find students moving around campus at almost all hours. That’s because they feel secure. You can check the MUW University Police website for current stats on crime, the biggest issue is petty theft. But we need to encourage our kids to protect against complacency. Campus safety always works best as a partnership involving students and the university.
Simply because it feels comfortable, most students give little thought to their surroundings. And in truth, we must recognize their experience here involves mostly good times – they are not scared and they shouldn’t be. Because my work sometimes requires that I be on-campus late at night, I often notice young women walking or jogging around campus alone. Although I know they are probably going to be okay, I still think it is not very smart.
We have police officers moving around campus 24/7, we have a gated campus, our residence halls require card access for entry and we live in a small town with a small town crime rate. Nevertheless, the measures we take to promote the safety of our students only work as well as the individual who cooperates. It is often the simple things that make the biggest impact and it’s important that students know the role they play in ensuring they stay safe.
- Be aware. Awareness of your surroundings can add to your safety.
- Remember, alcohol and/or drugs are involved in 90 percent of campus crimes.
- Lock the doors to your residence hall when you leave, even for a short time. Students often think of a residence hall room as being like a room in their house back home. It’s not.
- When you go out, let someone know where you are going and when you plan to be back.
- Do not leave your belongings unattended, even for a few minutes.
- Avoid displaying large amounts of cash or other tempting targets such as jewelry or expensive clothing.
- Always lock your car and keep valuables out of site. Check the back seat before getting in.
- When walking about campus or around town at night, do so with others, along well-lighted, well-traveled routes.
- Learn the locations of the emergency blue light telephones which are placed throughout the campus and do not hesitate to use them to summon a Campus Safety Officer.
- Report suspicious activity to campus police.
Be safe, not scared.
