All of my fellow Colorado Springs students know the feeling of safety. Growing up in this mountain suburb we’ve become comfortable with walking at night, and talking to strangers. People here are friendly, we don’t think when we meet someone that they’re going to mug us and beat us up. Does that make us naive, as seniors who are moving on with our life and leaving the den? I’m not telling you to become paranoid, and think everyone is out to get you, because most people are kind and don’t want your lunch money. Being on a college campus is going to be fun, new and exciting, but it’s easy to fall into a false sense of security. Especially if you’re surrounded by your peers, and friends. So  while the threat of danger may not always be extremely apparent, there is still the possibility. To be on the safe side, here are some tips to promote public safety and remind people to use their common sense.

Top 10 safety tips for college students:

• Do NOT let technology make you oblivious to your surroundings:

Everyone knows the feelings of zoning out to a good song. You have your headphones in your favorite song is playing and you get lost in the lyrics. It is important to remember that when you become unaware of your surroundings is when a dangerous situation can potentially happen. This isn’t just with music. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr are all forms of distractions. Stay aware and always be ready to recognize a dangerous situation so you can avoid it or be ready to get help.

2.  Never walk alone at night:

I mean come on guys, this is common sense. Our mothers have told us countless times over and over not to walk alone. Especially for the ladies, use the buddy system! Walking around alone in the dark is asking for trouble, haven’t you watched horror movies?! On the bright side, most schools have people that will escort you from point A to point B.

3. Use your locks!

Being in a dorm with hundreds of other kids surprisingly makes you become more relaxed. Your dorms are left open, because hey it’s no big deal you know everyone in your hall, right? Once again it’s common sense to lock your room before you go to bed, but as a reminder, LOCK YOUR DOOR!

4. Locate and know where the emergency systems are on campus:

Most campuses now have emergency stations all over their campuses. They’re usually located by a light pole too. If you familiarize yourself with the location of these emergency call areas it could be really beneficial if you ever got into some trouble.

5. Always keep emergency cash on you:

It’s always important to have a little cash on you. If your card was stolen or stopped working it could mean bad news. It could just be that you are in desperate need of a waffle. You never know, but it can’t hurt to be prepared.

6. Know your way around the campus:

This is now your home for the next 2+ years. You need to be acquainted with it. Know your surroundings, and familiarize yourself with your new town.

7. Never stay at a party when all your friends abandon ship:

Being at a party alone will eventually mean walking alone, and we already covered that. It is important to always be with someone you trust. Someone alone at a party and maybe intoxicated can be very vulnerable and might get taken advantage of. Just call it an early night or bring the party back to your dorm with some close friends.

8. Memorize some emergency contact numbers and keep them on you:

Keep in mind that if you get into an accident or for some reason you are rushed to a hospital one of the first things they will do is check your phone for an emergency contact. It’s important to know and have in case something really bad happens.

9. Don’t get sloppy drunk:

If you have reached the point to which you lose control of yourself, you have taken it way too far. It is extremely easy to take advantage of someone who is extremely inebriated.

10. Carry something that will help you defend yourself:

Whether it’s carrying pepper spray or taking some self defense classes it’s important to be able to defend yourself.

Like I said before, a lot of this is common sense, but we still need to be reminded of it. So to the students out there, stay safe and make good choices.