The best way to stay safe on campus is to follow a proven, step-by-step system to avoid an assault. Wouldn’t you rather avoid an attack altogether instead of dealing with a traumatic and scary confrontation with someone trying to do harm?

6 Steps to Staying Safe On Campus

Step 1. Walk Away – just because someone approaches you, doesn’t mean you have to engage them.  Once you identify someone moving toward you (or they’ve already entered too close) immediately walk or run in the other direction.  Don’t you agree that it’s better to risk hurting someone’s feelings than dealing with a potentially dangerous situation?

Step 2. Talk Away – They’ve confronted you and are trying to engage you one way or another.  Talk yourself out of the situation.  Explain (as you try walking away) that you’re late for class, an appointment, a meeting, etc) and keep moving toward better lighted with lots of people.

Step 3. Smile to Disarm – Another way to stay safe on campus and avoid assault is to “smile to disarm.”  Nothing confuses, confounds and disarms a potential assault then contradicting the mindset of the potential perpetrator.  On a lighter note, I remember driving my car a few years back and I switched lanes without realizing someone was in my blind spot.  I had cut them off and they were not very happy.  So, as they were driving by and expressing their displeasure with a certain ‘finger,’ I smiled and waved.  Well, the look of confusion, then surrender, was priceless and a great disarming tool.

Step 4. Sound the Alarm – Okay, you can’t walk away, talk away and the smile didn’t work.  The mindset switch should be screaming.  Sound the alarm and make as much commotion as possible to draw as many eyeballs and people to you – and hopefully scare the heck out of your perpetrator.  Blow a whistle (in your ‘kit’), sound a small air horn, yell, scream, throw trash cans, throw your soda can.  Do whatever you can to draw as much attention to your situation as possible.

Step 5. Flight – Run! Get out of there, drop your bags or any other stuff and run as fast as you can to the nearest dorm, restaurant, library, etc.  Anywhere that’s guaranteed to have people and good lighting.  Make noise and you take flight.  And by no means, NEVER GET INTO A VEHICLE against your will

Step 6 – Fight!!! - This is your last resort.  Everything else has failed.  You only undertake this as a last resort because whether you’re a big tough man, or less strong freshman girl, your odds are worse here.  For women, men are naturally stronger and generally have more experience fighting, so you don’t want to engage in a fight when the odds are against you.  But, if you do get into a fight – Be the Barbarian!  Kick, bite, scream, punch, gouge.

Those are 6 steps to help you stay safe on campus.  You could (and should) study each step in much more detail, as well as visualize your ‘successful’ execution of each step.

Enter other tips you use to stay safe on campus in the comments section below.