- Avoid traveling alone at night. Please call Campus Police at 2178 for Safety Escort Service rather than walking alone at night.
- If walking alone and someone passes by, check to be sure that person has continued walking the other direction.
- Avoid the athletic fields and tennis courts after dark.
- Confine walking to well-lit, regularly traveled walks and pathways. Avoid short-cuts, and keep away from shrubbery, bushes, alleyways, or any other areas where an assailant might be lurking.
- Do not hitchhike or accept rides from casual acquaintances.
- When walking to a parked vehicle, residence, or campus building, have keys in hand and ready.
- When being dropped off at a residence or campus building by taxi or private vehicle, ask the driver to wait until all are inside.
- If threatened by an approaching vehicle, run in the opposite direction. The vehicle will have to turn around in order to continue its pursuit.
- When getting out of a car at a public convenience phone, rest stop, etc., take a look around to make sure that no one is following. If followed, cross the street. If necessary, keep crossing back and forth. If pursued, call for help and run to a campus building, business, or residence; enlist the aid of a passerby; flag down a passing motorist; or, as a last resort, pull a fire alarm. Do anything that might attract attention or summon assistance.
- If confronted by an assailant, remember that while screaming and struggling may in some instances frighten off the assailant, in other instances such actions may further antagonize the assailant and bring forth a more violent reaction. It is extremely important to remain as calm as possible and to assess the situation before choosing a course of action. Whether or not the assailant is armed or makes threats against your life will, obviously, be a determining factor in making a decision. The key word in this type of situation is survival.
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