Campus Safety . . . The Real Dangers!
For most parents there is only one “deal breaker” when it comes to overriding their son or daughter’s choice of college. Surprisingly it’s not money. Many parents would beg, borrow and probably steal, if it weren’t illegal, in order to satisfy their kid’s college dream. And it’s not distance. While many parents might hope and wish and argue long into the night at the kitchen table that their son or daughter won’t choose a campus halfway across the country, in the end, they usually accept the choice. As a footnote, by the time their student graduates from college many of these particular parents actually come to endorse and enjoy the long distance choice! No, for most parents there is only one factor which brings a definite “that’s the end of the discussion” response to a college selection . . . campus safety.
Parents invest 17 or 18 years in raising a son or daughter. From the day their child arrives home, mom’s and dad’s across America buy clothes, cook meals, treat the flu, drive to soccer practice, endure bad class plays and concerts, yell about unfinished homework, ride white knuckled during driving lessons, lie awake at night worried about potential body piercings and offer very long lectures about good and bad choices and how to know the difference between the two. Many of these trials and tribulations are directly related to one goal. After all of the lectures and report cards and countless days of teenage angst and anxiety, they will be rewarded by driving a reasonably mature and outstanding young person off to a new college campus where, during four years, they will grow and transform into an exciting adult. It’s a truly amazing and almost magical transition. There is no parent on the planet who wants to see this process interrupted or ended by tragedy. Some of the remainder of this article will discuss difficult issues and be uncomfortable to read. If at all possible, it is important that you continue.
It is an entirely unfair part of life that anything “bad” ever happens to a young person. Many of these tragedies are entirely outside of the control of either the parent or their child. Neither can prevent the isolated cancer cell from suddenly erupting out of its dormant state. No one is protected from the irresponsible driver in another lane who loses control of their vehicle. These tragedies and others like them are a terrible part of our lives but beyond our control. Other tragedies that endanger college students are not. In fact, the very good news is that the vast majority of tragedies that affect the lives of college students are avoidable. The very bad news is that next year’s statistics and reports about these tragedies, although avoidable, will not be very different from last year or the year before.
A friend who is a prominent physician once commented to me that America could literally transform itself with a couple of very simple steps. I laughed expecting some wild political scheme, but was stunned by the simplicity of his next remark. He asked, “think about what would happen if all Americans simply stopped smoking, ate a healthy diet, drank alcohol in moderation and exercised regularly”. The health care crisis would disappear. People would live much longer. The incidence of many devastating illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and lung cancer would fall dramatically. Thousands of annual traffic fatalities would immediately be avoided. The economy would soar as it felt the effects of increased productivity in the workplace from employees who weren’t sick. He was absolutely correct. The impact would be enormous and the solution is entirely possible today at no cost and yet . . . it won’t happen.
Not unlike my friend’s vision, there are a few simple steps students can take to have a similarly positive effect on their physical safety during college. Most college tragedies, the phone call in the middle of the night that no parent wants to receive, arise from a handful of triggers that can be easily addressed. At their source, college students typically die or suffer bodily harm from issues related to alcohol, drugs, and inappropriate safety decisions. Address each of those three concerns carefully and responsibly and the vast majority of college tragedies simply disappear. Unfortunately, as with my friend’s vision of a healthy America, it’s not quite that simple.
Most parents are terrified by headlines reporting dramatic campus tragedies such as the horrific events on the Virginia Tech campus during the spring of 2007. While nothing can reduce the pain of that event, for the average college student, there are much greater dangers. Many colleges have recently taken a firm approach to underage drinking. While well intentioned, this common policy has fostered an unexpected negative consequence. Afraid of being caught in the dorm with a case of beer, underage students have taken to quickly drinking potent “hard liquors” as quickly as possible in order to avoid being caught. The result has been a dramatic increase in cases of dangerous alcohol poisoning. Liver damage, brain damage and even death due to binge drinking have skyrocketed on college campuses during the past few years. Drugs, and especially new generation pleasure drugs such as XTC and others continue to be a serious health threat to college students. The grand daddy of all college dangers, driving while under the influence, continues to be a danger for every college student. And finally, danger to women students remains a real and legitimate concern.
The good news is that life on a typical college campus is generally safe and secure. The average college student is likely more safe than their “off campus” friends. Many colleges have tackled these issues in order to preserve the security and safety of their students. Blue light phone stations, volunteer night time safety escorts, campus email safety alerts, and cable TV campus alerts have all improved college safety. Isolated incidents grab headlines but it is still the traditional potpourri of risks that should concern parents and students the most.
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