The recent arrests of two males in the College Area related to allegations of prowling (the prowling incidents reportedly took place in the 5700 block of Dorothy Drive pictured above) and being a Peeping Tom, respectively, should certainly give San Diego State University coeds room for pause. You can see the respective stories online at: https://sdnews.com/college-area-prowler-turns-himself-in-at-sdpd-eastern-division-substation/ and https://sdnews.com/peeping-tom-arrested-in-college-area/.
While no young woman or any student for that matter should have to worry about someone watching them go about their daily activities, we sadly know this happens more times than gets reported.
That said, SDSU is by no means a hot bed for such activities. These things happen on and around many campuses nationwide.
When not worrying about a prowler or Peeping Tom, young coeds also need to think about who they get into vehicles with.
It was reported last fall that two women separately got into vehicles they thought were safe ride shares, only to find out otherwise. That story can be viewed at: https://sdnews.com/two-incidents-of-sexual-assault-involving-ride-share-vehicles-reported-in-college-area/.
Keep in mind more times than not coeds have done absolutely nothing wrong. One should not have to think twice that their ride share driver might assault them or that they need to keep their blinds and curtains at home drawn 24/7.
With that in mind, following some commonsense approaches will more times than not keep one safe.
These include:
* Know your surroundings at all times – I think back to when I was a college student several decades ago and how carefree I was at times. That said, the odds of someone attacking me etc. were probably slim to none. Always stay cognizant of your surroundings both away from and at home. If anything even remotely looks or sounds suspicious, be sure and report it.
* Travel with others at night – While it is not always possible to do so, try and travel with at least one other friend when out and about at night. These losers targeting young women look for opportunities to take advantage of a situation. Nighttime can be an ideal situation for one of these creeps to cause havoc and worse. When coming and going once the sun has gone down, try your best to do it with at least one other individual you know and trust. Having that person by your side can greatly lessen the chances you will be the next victim.
* Be careful what you post socially – It is also important to be careful what you post socially. With sites like X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and others quite popular with younger people, don’t post something that will potentially make it easier for someone to target you. For example, don’t give out your cell phone number, where you live, the gym you work out at and so on. You might be surprised how often people post such sensitive details and it falls into the wrong hands. For example, a female friend of mine on X (formerly Twitter) several years ago posted her resume online with a home address, cell number and photo of herself. While she was not bothered by anyone, the potential was there for this to be an issue.
* Avoid doing the same thing over and over again – Last, be smart when it comes to avoiding a pattern that someone can pick up on. For example, leaving the same time each day, taking the exact same walking route etc. Change things up from time to time so that if someone is watching you, casing your residence etc. it will be harder for them to know when to potentially strike.
While there have been no deaths locally from such reported incidents, the goal is to make sure coeds and everyone else for that matter stays safe.
As a female college student at SDSU, are you concerned about these recent incidents and what are you doing to stay safe as possible?
Photo credit: Karen Austin
