Coahoma Urges Students to Take Campus Safety Seriously

In the wake of numerous missing persons reported nationally on college campuses, Coahoma Community College is urging its student body to be self-aware and take campus safety seriously.

Karen Woods-Done, director of the Division of Student Engagement, is challenging students to be vigilant in a time where reports of missing students on college campuses are becoming more common.

“Unfortunately, we are living in trying times. If you follow national news, many people, specifically college students, are missing. It appears we have more young people missing now than ever before,” said Woods-Done. “These missing person occurrences have even affected students on our campus, but thankfully the person was found to be safe.”

According to safewise.com, if recent statistical numbers are any indication, more than 20 million students in the U.S. headed to college this fall. Unfortunately, with so many students, dorm rooms, and valuables, even America’s safest colleges, and college towns experience some forms of crime.

The website, whose researchers devote hours, days, weeks (and even months) to researching security solutions, offers the following safety tips for college students:

1. Familiarize yourself with your school’s Campus Safety office: Call or visit the Campus Safety office and request information about their programs.
2. Take extra precautions at night: use the buddy system or call campus security for a ride.
3. Always lock up: don’t leave your dorm or apartment without locking up — even if you’re planning on only being gone a few minutes.
4. Maintain privacy on social media: stay aware of who else could be viewing your profile. Avoid geotagging your photos, as it reveals your location to strangers, and don’t publicly announce when you’re home alone or are leaving your home unattended.
5. Be careful when getting into your car: When walking to your car, approach at an angle that allows you to see around the vehicle and check the back seat before opening the door.
6. Know where you’re going: Download your campus map onto your phone and use your GPS to find popular, highly trafficked routes to get to your destination.
7. Understand your campus’s and city’s crime: Most colleges and universities provide on-campus crime statistics, and several websites offer a thorough overview of a city’s crime rates, including the type of offense and specific locations where the crime occurred.
8. Learn how to defend yourself: Sign up for a self-defense class in your area, such as karate or jiujitsu.
9. Have safety and security supplies readily accessible: Pack your chosen safety supplies into a small kit, and fasten the kit on a key ring, lanyard, or backpack. These items should be easy to grab at any time, as they won’t do you much good if they’re buried at the bottom of your bag.

Advancements in modern technology are actually making us safe. Not only can new forms of password protection help to safeguard our digital files and documents, advances in GPS and group messaging apps also create a heightened degree of personal security, something Woods-Done hopes Coahoma students keep in mind.

“Our students should consider sharing their location with at least three people,” Woods-Done added. “Let’s use technology to our fullest advantage.”

Students on the Coahoma Campus are encouraged to report any suspicious happenings or incidents to the Department of Campus Safety.

The Department of Safety can be contacted in all cases of emergency at (662) 621-4175 (office) and after hours (662) 645-1837. The office, located in the Dickerson-Johnson Library (1st floor), has officers on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.