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Parents: Your Student's Personal Safety
Your Student’s Personal Safety
As a parent, you may have mixed feelings about your student’s leaving home and being on his or her own. Like many parents, you may be concerned for your student’s personal safety and well-being. Talking with your son or daughter about personal safety and using protective strategies may help ease some of the anxiety you may be experiencing.
Here is a list of general safety tips your son or daughter can use to help remain safe while at William and Mary:
- Always keep doors locked- even when at home
- Do not prop exterior doors
- Do not lend your key card to anyone
- Do not carry large sums of money or valuable items or keep them in the residence halls
- Always find out who is knocking before opening the door
- Do not walk alone- Campus Escort is available to provide safe walks around campus. The number is on the back of the student ID card.
For a complete list of campus safety tips, please visit the William and Mary Police Department. This site includes safety information for residences, personal property, while walking/jogging, while driving, or while away from the college on break.
In addition to talking to your student about personal safety, you may suggest that your student develop a safety plan with roommates or friends. You may also ask to be included in that safety plan or to be given a copy of the plan in case of emergency. And a safety plan need not apply only in times when one’s personal safety is compromised. It can also outline practical strategies for students and friends to watch out for one another’s safety. Examples might include:
- Posting emergency contact numbers
- Sharing weekly/daily schedules
- A process for checking in if someone is going to be out past a certain time
- A signal to indicate when someone is in danger and needs assistance (this could be a code word or phrase)
- An escape route from the residence
- A designated “safe” place
- Secure but easy access to emergency money, credit cards, and identifying information
- A plan for “going-out” which includes how to make it home safely, numbers for taxis, Campus ESCORT, or Steer Clear (a service providing safe rides home for students on the weekend), a sign or word indicating if person needs help, and a promise with friends to leave, as a group, any situation that may feel uncomfortable.
For more information on helping your student develop a safety plan, please contact the Sexual Assault Educator at 757-221-7369 or trhuns@wm.edu.
It is also important to remember that a student may do everything possible to protect him or herself and still be a victim of a crime, such as sexual assault. The use of protective strategies does not exclude someone from being a target – such strategies can only reduce the chances. If your student becomes a victim of a crime, there are campus systems in place to help with recovery. And your support is vital. Questioning whether or not your student used protective strategies implies he or she is somehow to blame for what has happened. Only an offender can truly prevent a crime from taking place. For more information on how to help your son or daughter recover from a sexual assault, click here.
Interested in getting involved on campus? Contact Trisha Hunsaker, Sexual Assault Educator for more information!
