How to Stay Safe in University

Students dream about studying in a good university at some point of time. The pursuit for better opportunities and promising career takes one places. Some people even travel to faraway land in pursuance of exceptional educational opportunities. No doubt, even the thought of surviving at a new place all by oneself is itself quiet exciting. But it must not be forgotten that it brings a lot of additional responsibility along with it. Surviving in and adapting to a completely new place is both challenging and rewarding at the same time.

College life is often considered as the most beautiful phase in a student’s life. It brings independence and the opportunity to thrive for a better future. And if one gets to live it in absolute independence, it definitely oomph up the excitement. The opportunity to study in a good foreign university opens up a plethora of challenges and new experiences for one.

The transition from school to college is in itself a big change for a student. It brings a rush of mixed feelings such as excitement, nervousness, anxiety, happiness, and many more, all at the same time. And if it involves staying alone, then the level of excitement is paramount. The excessive excitement sometimes leads to unfortunate incidents that are a mere result of careless attitude. Living alone requires responsibility and accountability.

Often many students commit mistakes in lieu of excitement or mere peer pressure that prove extremely harmful in the long run. Therefore, in this article, we bring to you some safety measure and important points that will help you make the most of your time in college and would help you avoid mistakes that might lead to a bigger harm.

How to Ensure Safety in University?

Whenever a student steps out and lives in some other city or country to pursue higher education, the main concern for any parent or guardian is regarding their safety. Safety is the priority that they want ensured all the time. As students, we may tend to ignore this important aspect but to in order to ensure a fruitful and pleasant journey, one must remain cautious. Following suggestive measures are collaborated considering the kind of challenges or hurdles a student might face and how to keep them at bay.

• Learn to say ‘No’: The most common factor that make students compromise with their safety is the lack of confidence and strength to say no to things that they do not want to indulge in. It is true that peer pressure and the feeling to get accepted by one’s peers is tantamount during college. A student is often very vulnerable during this entire journey of transition from school to college. Everyone wants to be accepted and appreciated and in order to make more friends, students often end up doing things that land them in trouble and hamper their safety.

If you ever come across a similar situation, just trust your instincts as nobody better than you know what is best for you. Though it might be difficult to say no initially and the urge to say yes would dominate, remember the purpose for which you came to college in the very first place. Have confidence in yourself and do not indulge in any activity that you feel is not safe and correct. Once you reject a wrong deed, you will observe that there are several others like you dealing with the same dilemma. Your show of strength encourages others too. So, stay strong.

• Be responsible and accountable for yourself: When you step out of your comfort zone to pursuit a better future, the onus of your safety and security lies on you. Be ready to own your mistakes and be accountable to them. One can definitely not ensure a foolproof plan for survival. As you enter the real world, you will surely end up making mistakes but it is expected out of you to learn from those mistakes. Own up to your faults, reflect back on them and ensure that the mistakes are not repeated in the future. Always remember that you have to take care of yourself out there. Always remain cautious and alert. With a little caution and alertness, you might be able to keep your safe and secure during your stay in the university.
• Make yourself familiar with the place: A new place often appears to be intriguing and appealing. One is attracted to explore the place. And it is perfectly normal. When you enter any university or college for the first time, all you want to do initially is to explore the place and its surroundings. And you should definitely go for that. But you should remain extra careful. The first important thing is to carry a hard copy of a map of that place. And as you pass by a place, you should keep marking it in your map as it will help you trace back your starting point easily. Another crucial factor that will help you remain safe is to let your friends and acquaintances know about the place you are heading to. It is even better to keep yourself some company but in case you want to be a lone wanderer, make sure that all the important people in that place know about your whereabouts.

Also, in this era of technology, make the most of it. Always keep the location feature in your phone active and keep sharing it back with your friends from time to time. You must always carry certain essential things along with you while head out for longer durations. For instance, keep an active torch with you, always carry some ready to eat snacks and a water bottle, make sure you have bandages along with you for any emergency. These are very general things but they will help you immensely in keeping yourself secure.

• Keep a check on your belongings: One most commonly difficult situation a student faces is theft. We often hear stories around the college campus regarding stealing and theft. Sometimes it is someone’s cash, or some expensive personal belonging or sometimes they are just class notes. You do not need to panic but just have to remain cautious and careful. First of all, do not carry huge amount of cash with you at any point of time. Always carry a minimal amount and keep a log of your spending. It is also highly advised not to carry any item of luxury with you in the college as it attracts unwanted eyes to you. Even if you have some expensive items, make sure you keep them securely. Do not flaunt it away. You can even opt for insuring the expensive items that you may possess. Always keep the emergency contact number in your phone on a speed dial in case of any theft or misplacement.

In case you are an international student, studying in some foreign university, you have to be extra cautious. Keep your passport safely all the time. Ensure that all the essential documents that you possess are in safety all the time. Always stay in touch with the respective embassy officials of your country. Report any issue to them at the earliest.

• Choose your place of stay carefully: Another important aspect of ensuring safety is to choose a safe location for your stay. Generally, many universities offer on campus stay for its students like hostel or dormitory. In case your university does not provide this facility and you are left on your own to secure an accommodation, choose wisely. Do not opt for a place right away. Spend your initial days in a hotel or a hostel. Search for the best locality around your college. Take recommendations from your local friends or acquaintances. Make sure that the locality or area you choose is safe and easy to commute to. Let your friends and local guardians (if any) know about the place you are putting up in. Make yourself comfortable in the place and secure it with adequate locks and safety features.
• Do not put up with any kind of harassment: The most important thing to be careful about is to keep yourself protected and secure all the time. And it involves your resentment and protest in case of any harassment. The first thing you should do is to make yourself aware about all the laws and policies that the university or the college has put in place to discourage any form of harassment. Know about your rights.

In case you are studying in a foreign university, know about the provisions of law in that country to protect the international students. Let your embassy officials know about any kind of discrimination or difficulty you might be facing.

The above are just some preventive and suggestive measures for students to consider while studying in a university. They are just some measures but if implemented properly, they will definitely help a student in a difficult time and would help him/her to avoid or tackle any unfortunate, unforeseen situation. The key to remain safe is caution and alertness.