Staying Safe On Campus
Many parents last year have asked me about campus safety and worry about sending their child overseas to college. Worries about racism, muggings and even the recent murders at Purdue and University of Idaho cause parents a lot of concern and anxiety when thinking of sending their beloved child overseas.
The first thing I want to point out is that this isn’t just a problem in the USA. The USA media is much more international and global in reach so the stories and information coming to most of us overseas cause us to think that the USA is a real problem. However, there are cases of racisim, muggings and murder in Canada, the UK and Austrailia. There are a lot of other reasons to not go to the USA for your undergraduate or graduate degree but crime probably isn’t one of them.
So how do you stay safe in a foreign country?
First, don’t leave campus without having someone else with you. Most of the recent hate crime attacks have been on students that were off campus in the city or town on their own. I would always suggest that when a student leaves campus for a Walmart run, concert or shopping spree that they try to go in a group of three or four. When in a group it is very unlikely that you will have any problems with cowardly bullies that hide behind their racist hate to pick on others. You’ll most likely be fine.
Second, don’t live off campus. It is usually cheaper to live off campus and many students end up finding roommates to share an apartment or house with. However, there is no security and you probably aren’t going to be close to your neighbors when living off campus. In the University of Idaho murders it seems that someone entered an unlocked house and murdered the four students living there. Sometimes the stress from school, or a late night partying with friends causes us to forget to take the safety precautions we should. Living on campus you will have your dorm mates and campus security nearby. When you live off campus you are on your own and have no one to ward off potential predators.
Third, I think that liberal arts schools offer the safest environment for international students. Many students and parents complain about liberal arts schools being small and in the middle of nowhere. If safety is a concern for you then why would you NOT want to live in a small community? Liberal Arts schools are usually small communities of 3,000 or less students. The professors are close to the students and many live on campus or near campus. The campus security often knows the students personally and living in a small town is statistically much safer than living in a city. Crime still exists at Liberal Arts schools but murder and hate crimes are statistically much less common at a liberal arts school.
The chances of your child being a victim of crime while attending school in the USA, while not impossible, is very low. It is really unlikely that something will happen to them. However, using common sense and being smart about how you move about is probably the best thing you can do to stay safe. Remember, stay on campus, stay in groups when off campus, let people know when you leave and when you expect to be back. Most importantly choose campuses that are small and in small communities if safety is your first concern.
Famous Alumni
Bob Iger - The past and now current CEO of Disney graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in television and radio from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. Mr. Iger went to the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College which is known as one of the top communication schools in the USA. Ithaca College is well known for its strong liberal arts core. Mr. Iger is the second Disney CEO to graduate from a liberal arts education.
