Personal Safety on Campus & In Cities

Growing up in Chicago, my parents always emphasized the importance of personal safety and paying attention to everything happening around you. I always knew they were right in theory, but it never seemed like such a big deal. However, I feel like I’ve begun taking personal safety more seriously since living in New Haven and NYC, since I’m always out and about on my own. Today I’m sharing the rules I live by to ensure personal safety, and this post is in collaboration with Sabre Safety, whose products I’ve had for the last 3 years! I was so excited to work with them because I’ve already been a customer for years.

Only 1 Ear Bud In

Situational awareness is so important in terms of personal safety. We all love listening to music or a podcast when communing, but blocking out all external noise makes it nearly impossible to know what’s happening around you, especially with the ‘noise cancelling’ features our headphones and earbuds often have these days. My rule is to compromise and just keep one earbud/Airpod in. That way you still can hear if someone is coming up behind you or if anything strange is happening, while getting your musical fix.

Be Prepared – Pepper Spray and/or Personal Safety Alarm

Hopefully you never need to use any of these products, but it’s all about peace of mind and being prepared, especially as women. I’ve had my Sabre Safety pepper spray on my keychain for the last few years and it’s just nice knowing I could use if it someone were attacking me. If you’ve never used or smelled pepper spray, just know that it is REALLY uncomfortable. Trust me, if someone were attacking you and you spray them properly, they will no longer be an immediate threat. The key, though, is to use the practice spray so that you get comfortable with the tool. You don’t want to accidentally spray yourself OR inhale some of the spray by mistake. Additionally, I want to say that pepper spray is no joke- I wouldn’t use it unless I were 99.9% certain that someone was trying to harm me.

You can check out more SABRE Products here.

Try to Commute in Groups & At Busy Times

Some campuses are safer than others- that’s no secret. But with COVID and the rise of virtual classrooms, there are fewer students physically on campuses at any given time and it would be a good idea to take note of which areas are especially secluded. I think that after it’s dark out, it’s generally a good idea to travel with others, but I know that’s not always possible. Having a system where you let friends know where you are going and message them when you’ve safely reached your destination is a good idea as well.

Know Directions In Advance

The fewer times you have to stand around and check your Google Maps, the better. It makes you look a bit like a tourist and more like a good victim if you’re checking your phone and then looking around repeatedly. It signals to everyone around you that you don’t know the area well, and I don’t love that look. It’s also an opportunity for someone to snatch your phone, and then you’ll be phone-less and also not sure about directions. Bad combination.

Take Advantage of Campus Rides and Resources

Every university has some sort of ‘safe rides’ number that students can call during the evenings and early morning. Get acquainted with your school’s resources and use them a couple times just for practice. There’s often some sort of app you need to download or automated phone system you have to tap through, and you don’t want to try and sort that out at 2 AM when you feel unsafe and urgently need a ride. Just learn to use those safe ride apps and resources the first week when you get to campus, and it’ll be there if you ever need it.

If you have any additional tips, I’d love for you to leave them below in the comments! Thanks for reading 🙂