Some tips to stay safe in the first weeks of college
By Julia Berkman
Content Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault.
Hey. It’s your mom! Let me tell you how to avoid dangerous people on and off campus. Let me buy you every self-defense item I see on Yahoo. Let me grimace at your stories of walking alone at night, using your dorm keys as a makeshift weapon in case anyone comes near you. Let me tell you about some tips and resources that will keep you safe during your first quarter at college- the riskiest one.
First are the obvious tenants of every college-age femme: buy pepper spray, download a Companion app, don’t walk home alone at night unless you really have to. You can get good pepper spray on Amazon for $10. It even comes in fun colors (to distract you from the fact that because you’re not a cisgender man, you are perpetually in a low level of danger!). There are also not-so-lit airhorns, Wolverine-esque claws and cutesy Sailor Moon knives. Even tasers come in bright colors now. It’s cool that assault is so normalized we can now make self-defense fun!
Here’s an idea for all the sons out there- you should be asking for consent constantly! You should be checking up on your friends! You should be using your privilege to stop assault from happening! No matter how #NotAllMen you think you are, there’s always room for improvement when it comes to being a better ally. If you’ve never heard of Companion apps and Tigerlady finger knives, you don’t need to count yourself lucky. You should consider yourself unaware.
Sometimes it seems like checking any box but cis male is your admission into a secret cult full of techniques on how to get men to leave you alone, how to punch someone hard enough, how to recognize when you need to leave. Pushy isn’t hot anymore– pushy guys get black eyes.
Let me tell you what you do if the worst happens– let me tell you how to deal with the aftermath. Let me tell you about CASAS and DVSAS.
CASAS (Consultation & Sexual Assault Support) is an on-campus resource available to students of any identity. CASAS “believes that violence can happen to anyone and it’s never the survivor’s fault.” Their policy is, whether the assault happened 10 minutes ago or 10 years ago, it’s important to talk about it. This program is completely confidential and free to Western students. There are programs for alcohol and drug abuse, sexual assault support groups, body positivity programs and so on. They really do try to tackle every facet that can be effected by a traumatic experience.
CASAS also employs students who have gone through the Peer Health Educator program. They work under an umbrella known as Western’s Empowerment and Violence Education (WEAVE). WEAVE’s peer health educators do outreach on campus throughout the year. They focus on subjects like bystander intervention, violence prevention for student athletes and self-advocacy.
DVSAS shares many of the same programs as CASAS, but serves the entire Bellingham community at large. They also have a 24-hour hotline you can call and speak to a real human about your real human problems. They work closely with Lydia Place, a safe housing network, to provide shelter, as well as full legal support. DVSAS can help you out, no matter your gender or age. Studies show that the first six weeks of college are the most dangerous. In any case, we should all be doing the best we can to support each other and prevent horrible things like sexual assault from happening. Being a bystander is almost as bad as committing a crime yourself. Keep your ears wide open and look for signs of discomfort or abuse in your friends’ lives. And don’t forget about all the great support systems available to you.