The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

Do you feel safe on campus?

It happens all the time. Two, three, four in the morning I retire from Bryan or the Apartments homeward bound and unhesitant. As I glide across campus, through dimly lit parking lots and walkways, my open bag dangling loosely at my side, I might hum to myself a tune stuck in my head after the evening’s festivities from which I had just departed. About halfway through my stroll home, I casually bend down to pluck a four-leaf clover from the ground. As I gaze at the stars for the remainder of my trek home I think to myself, “what a great night.”

Somewhat sleepy-eyed I lean against my locked door and fish around the depths of my cluttered bag for my keys. I can hear them moving around down there but I cannot quite seem to grasp them. After about a minute of fumbling blindly I grab hold of my key ring, let myself into my room, unlace my boots, leave the door unlocked, and plop into bed.

If you were my mother, you would probably scold me for my irresponsibility and foolishness, but if you are a Guilford student, you know how common my behavior is.

“I don’t even think about it.” says junior Alana Adams. “I live on the ground level and I never think twice about leaving my door unlocked or my window open.”

Guilford is a place where students and people come together. We smile at, hold doors for and strike up conversations with total strangers, often times inviting them to keggers, dances, performances, literary readings, or other social gatherings that we plan to attend.

Maybe it’s the liberal atmosphere and its open-mindedness. Perhaps it is the down- home Southern hospitality that we generally feel just by being at a tiny school in North Carolina. Or maybe we’re just a bunch of ignorant college students, ready to conquer the world. We feel safe here, and whatever the reason is, that’s a rare and fragile feature for any school.

Are we being ignorant? Probably. But why shouldn’t we be? After all, nothing’s happened so far.

But then we read the flyers. Phrases like “peeping tom,” “nude pedestrian,” and “backpack theft” are making people think twice about their lax attitudes concerning the security of their personal belongings as well as their safety.

When asked about events described in the multi – colored fliers, Associate Dean for Campus Life, Jodi Gill said, “I do feel that Guilford is a safe place. We have very few incidents such as the ones (being mentioned lately).” When a student files a complaint with security or campus life, “depending on the incident, we may contact the Greensboro Police Department, interview other students, post Security Alert notices, get statements from witnesses, have floor/Hall meetings, etc. It really depends on the incident and whether the individual is a student or a non-student.”

Sophomore Amanda Womack isn’t a stranger to the punches of reality in motion around campus. In September Womack was one of many girls in Mary Hobbs receiving obscene phone calls from an unknown individual. “I called security and I guess they took care of it, or maybe the guy got bored, either way, the calls stopped.” But then the incidents got a little too personal.

In November, while Womack was changing in her room she looked outside to see an unfamiliar man masturbating right outside her window. “I gave him the finger and he looked right at me and gestured for me to let him in. He eventually left but he came back four times in a half-hour period and did the same thing…I’ve been harassed before. Around campus, off campus, downtown, back home, and I usually just shrug it off. But this was my room. He was invading my “safe place, so to speak. That pissed me off.”

To add insult to injury, her calls for assistance went ignored. “I called the security bubble and told them what had just happened, they said they’d take care of it and hung up. After a minute I realized they didn’t ask me for my name or my room number, the only reason they even knew I was in Hobbs was because I told them.”

Womack never heard back from security or Campus Life that night, nor did she see anyone from security inspecting the area. When she called back, no one answered.

“I bought a knife the next day,” said Womack.

Is this to imply that security is to blame for perpetuating all the seedy events occurring on campus? Not necessarily.

“I have full faith in the abilities of security,” said Womack. “I’ve always had good experiences with them in the past. I honestly believe that my statement never made it to them.”

So whether or not security, telephone operators, or some form of interference are not taking complaints seriously, stories like Womack’s prove to us that we cannot rely solely on others to keep us safe.

According to Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel, by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht, if you are being mugged, the first rule is, if you know that your attacker only wants your belongings, surrender them immediately, “your possessions are not worth your life.” If you are sure that your attacker means you or a loved one bodily harm, your first reaction should be to defend yourself; attack vital areas of his or her body. Some basic tips for doing so are:

-Jabbing your fingers into and/or above his or her eyes.

-If you attacker is a male, drive your knee up into his groin.

-Use the area between your thumb and index finger to strike his or her throat.

-Slam the tip of your elbow into his or her ribs.

-Stomp down on his or her instep with your heel.

-When walking in a questionable situation, always carry your keys so that they rest between each finger and thus work like claws, ready to strike.

Also according to Piven and Borgenicht, if you ever think you are being followed on foot, you ought to “take a random path: Make unexpected changes in direction at intersections and retrace your steps, effectively making a U-turn. Do not, however, get yourself disoriented or lost.” The book also suggested that in the process you note and identifying characteristics of your follower, clothing, manner of walking, height or weight.

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