Safety at Purdue

Everyone would like to think that we are safe all the time. However in reality, we aren’t and especially as college students there are many precautions that we should take to ensure our safety. There are always horrifying stories that are circulating about tragic events that happened at colleges. This is why we, as college students, need to be careful at all times.

First of all no one should ever walk home a lone at night. Here at Purdue there are ways that they are trying to prevent this. There is a reason they want to ensure no one is walking a lone at night, it simply just is not safe. This is why Purdue has the Security Escort Service. They are in operation on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:00 pm until midnight. In addition, they are also available from 9:00 pm until 3:00 am on Fridays and Saturdays. They can be reached by dialing 494-SAFE. The escort service will come to where you are at and walk you back to where your destination is just to ensure your safe arrival. People may be embarrassed to call, or think it is stupid, but in reality this service is in tact for a reason so it should be taken advantage of.

I really do feel that Purdue is a very safe campus. I feel that there have been many measures taken to ensure this. Purdue has a 40-member Purdue Student Security Patrol, and these members have two-way radio communication with the police department and wear easily identifiable jackets while on duty. This is just one of the many aspects that really makes me feel safe. There are also many emergency boxes located all over campus. The last I have heard, there were 215 emergency telephones functioning all over campus. They used to be inspected twice each semester. However as of June 2006 they are now inspected by the Student Security Patrol more often. This is also another huge safety precaution Purdue takes. It is nice to know that they not only have all these boxes all over to ensure that if there is an emergency on campus police are only a button away, but also that they are all in working condition for the most part because they are updated regularly.

I also read an article that said that the security patrol are continuously looking on traffic patterns around campus to see if there needs to be more ETS boxes. This is a good idea because I think that it is important that there are these emergency boxes at high traffic areas, however, at the same time it is important that they are present at places that might pose more of a risk. These places could be places on campus that are more secluded, and that could be why they are of more risk. I don’t know about you but it is nice to know that Purdue is doing all these things to make sure that campus is a safe place.

The ETS boxes are painted yellow, so they are very easy to see. When pressed they are treated just like a 911 call, they are transferred directly to the Purdue Police Department. While this is all nice to know, again no one should walk alone at night. If you are planning on going out for the night, although you have most likely heard this numerous times, go with a buddy. Make sure there is someone with you.

Another way to ensure your safety here at Purdue is to be extremely careful when driving/walking around campus. I can not even explain how many horrible accidents I have heard of on college campuses. It is an unfortunate truth that many students do get in accidents and can severely hurt others. There are constantly numerous people all over campus, this is quite obvious. So when driving, especially because of all the one ways around campus also, it is important to be a cautious driver. Do not speed, or take your eyes off the road just to change the radio or reach down to get something. Also when walking, mainly when crossing streets, it can be tempting to just go ahead and cross when the walk sign is not yet on, but this can be dangerous because a car could whip around the corner and you both not notice each other.

I know that many of these safety precautions may seem obvious and things that your mother told you when you were 10. Okay maybe she did, but if these precautions are overlooked, and they are whether you will admit it or not, they can be very dangerous. So during your college experience, just keep these simple things in mind so we can walk away from Purdue with only safe and great experiences. For more information or ways to get involved in the security patrols around campus visit the Purdue Safety Committee Web Page Directory.