College Safety Tips

I did a story about safety tips for college students. I have a daughter out of town in college...(Hi Emily! Love You!)...and i worry about her 24/7.

So, I decided to post these tips below for people to read. Safety is a serious issue...especially when it's your kids.

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How to Protect Yourself:

Your property:

Use a combination padlock on all storage units. Check the unit periodically to make sure nothing has been disturbed.
Don’t mark your key chain with your name, address and license number. Lost keys can lead to theft. Take care of keys; don’t give anyone the chance to duplicate them.
Engrave all valuable personal property with your name and social security number. Keep a detailed list of all valuables and serial numbers.
Move valuables out of view from windows and doors.
Lock your vehicle at all times.
Copy all important papers and cards that you carry in your purse or wallet, including your driver’s license. Keep the copies in a safe place. The information will be invaluable if anything is stolen or lost.
Copy your vehicle ID and tag number. If your vehicle is stolen, it cannot be entered into the nationwide law enforcement network without this information.

At home:
Keep doors and windows locked at all times, even if you are only away for a few minutes. Do not “prop open” doors in residence halls.
Be assertive and demand that any unwanted person in your residence leave, or leave yourself. Anyone who refuses to leave is a trespasser. If you live in a women’s residence hall, report any unescorted males to security.
Make sure hallways, entrances, garages, and grounds are well lit. Leave porch lights on all night. Keep blinds and curtains shut after dark and never dress in front of a window. When you expect to return after dark, leave an interior light on with the shades drawn. If you live on campus, report any malfunctioning light to the physical plant.
Know who is at your door before you open it. Campus staff carry identification and solicitors are not allowed on campus. Require proper identification from any repair or utility people. If you live off campus, install a peephole in your front door.
Make calls for strangers who want to use your phone. Don’t open your door or let them in.
List initials and last names only on your mailbox or door and in the telephone book. Don’t leave your name on your door or answering machine if you live alone. Don’t have the recording state you are away or when you will return.
Get to know your neighbors. If you live off campus, join a neighborhood watch system and share information on suspicious circumstances.
When you go home on breaks, have someone pick up your mail, newspaper, etc. Install timers and leave on all outside lights. Make your residence appear “lived in.”
If you come home and see a broken window or a jimmied door, don’t go inside. Confronting a burglar can be dangerous. Phone police immediately.

Away from home:
Walk or jog with a friend. Avoid jogging after dark. If you must jog at night, stay in well- lit, well-traveled areas.
Carry a whistle and don’t hesitate to use it to alert others you need help. Vary your pattern frequently.
Don’t wear headphones when jogging or biking. They significantly reduce your ability to hear and thus your awareness.
Tell someone where you are going and when you will return.
Don’t fight back if your purse or wallet is snatched. Throw it in one direction and run in the other rather than risk personal injury. Call the police immediately.
Be careful when and where you patronize ATM machines. Accessing ATM cash machines in remote locations, particularly at night, could increase your risk of robbery and personal injury. While you are standing at the machine, keep turning around and scanning for people approaching you or lingering around.
Avoid working or studying alone in a building other than your residence at night.
Stand and walk tall with a brisk, purposeful stride. Make brief eye contact with someone who makes you feel uneasy to let them know that you see them and are not afraid, but don’t stare too long or prolong your glance.
Trust your instincts.

In your car:

Check the back seat before entering.
Keep vehicle doors locked at all times, even when driving in daylight, so no one can jump in at a red light.
Be suspicious of people approaching your car asking for directions, or change, or handing out flyers.
When stopping in traffic, leave enough distance between your car and the one in front of you, so you can quickly pull away if necessary.
If another driver bumps your car or your tire goes flat, keep the doors and windows closed and wait for police to arrive, or slowly drive to the nearest police station.
Keep enough gas in your tank for emergencies.
Don’t offer rides to anyone you don’t know, even if he or she claims to be a student.
Honk your horn if someone suspicious approaches your vehicle.
If your car breaks down, lift the hood, put on flashers, and wait inside the car for help with the doors locked. Ask people who stop to call the police or AAA. Don’t go with anyone.
Don’t stop for stranded motorists. You are of greater help to them by calling the police.
Keep valuables in the trunk of your vehicle, not on the seats.
Park your car in well-lit areas.
Remove all keys from your vehicle. Thieves look for keys under fenders and in magnetic key cases. Walk with your keys in hand.
Remember to buckle up. It’s the law in Alabama.

At work:

Avoid working or studying alone in a building at night.
When working late, make sure doors are locked.
Keep your purse in a locked cabinet or drawer. Never leave it on or underneath a desk.
Avoid using stairs in remote sections of the building.
Do not hold the door open for strangers after normal business hours.
Ask people you don’t recognize if you can help them.
Report suspicious activity to campus police.
Be careful what you leave on your desk and on your computer screen when you step away from your desk.
Keep passwords in secure places.

It is very important for you to have a plan if an attacker tries to steal your bag, attack you from behind, or your car breaks down at night, etc. Knowing how you would handle situations if you should ever have to face an attacker could save your life. Always be on your guard.

Date or Acquaintance Rape Prevention

Prevention:
Awareness + Common Sense + Early Planning = Best Prevention.
Be aware of your surroundings and instincts.
Expect to be respected. Assert your rights.
Clearly communicate your thoughts and beliefs through actions and words.
Meet social or business acquaintances in public places; arrange to have your own transportation or travel with good friends.
Carry money to meetings and on dates in case you need to use the phone or pay for transportation.
Control your environment. Don’t let yourself get put in a dangerous location like an alley or back room.
Know your date’s first and last name, address and business.
Especially with new people, watch how much alcohol or drugs both you and your date consume. Alcohol and drug use may increase your vulnerability by lowering your awareness and ability to react.
If you find yourself in a potentially bad situation, consider:
The object is survival. Do whatever you can to survive. Try to remember as much as you can about the attacker: height and weight compared to yours, scars, tattoos, accent, etc.
As in prevention, clearly assert your rights through your words and actions.
Criticize your date’s actions, not him personally, so that he will understand what behavior to stop. For example “I’m not ready for sex.” or “I have enjoyed our date until now, I don’t want to do this.”
If he does not listen to you, leave.
Do not let embarrassment for him keep you from doing what is right for you.
Choose effective means to get yourself out of the situation. Act with a purpose.
Try to keep your composure; avoid falling apart.
At the first opportunity, escape from the situation and go to a safe place and call for help.
Active intervention methods:
Bite, scratch, kick, pull, twist and punch in vulnerable areas- stomach, sides, face, eyes, shins, hands, and the groin area.
Run away.
Attract attention by continually screaming and yelling “FIRE,” “HELP,” or “I DON’T KNOW THIS PERSON.”

Passive intervention methods:

Talk yourself out of a situation. Give a “convincing story.” Tell him you have a contagious venereal disease, you’re pregnant, or a friend is expected to appear at any moment.
Pretend to cooperate until an opportunity for escape presents itself. Put your attacker off guard.
Act in a bizarre and/or repulsive manner (feign insanity or convulsions, urinate or vomit.)
Do what is best for you and your situation.
After the attack:
Try to be as calm as possible in order to think more clearly.
Call 911 immediately and ask to speak to a rape counselor or call the Crisis Center (826-8600). Do not disturb any evidence, including that on your body. Do not bathe, brush your teeth, douche, clean fingernails or change clothes. Take a change of clothes with you to the hospital.
The student has the option to report a rape, and the campus security authority has the responsibility to help him/her report it to the proper people.
The University wants to ensure the victim is both mentally and physically protected and that counseling is available and is encouraged. If living arrangements need to be changed, the University will assist in providing reasonable accommodations.
If you know someone who has been attacked:
Be there. Your presence means you care and helps counter feelings of helplessness, guilt, and isolation that victims often experience.
Listen to the victim. Don’t be judgmental of his/her actions.
Offer to accompany the victim to the hospital or police station.
Encourage the victim to seek help from a victim’s assistance program.

Murder Between The Headstones

"This boils down to a father upset that Bobby Kellum was with his 17-year-old daughter."

Kellum's throat was slit and body burned in May of 1977. The girl's father, Dewitt Thrash, was apparently angry that Kellum ran off with his daughter. The Marshall County Sheriff confirms that Thrash brutally killed him while two other men watched. They were drunk. They were angry. And, in an instant, Bobby Kellum vanished off the face of the earth. His body was found, but his identity unknown.

Today, Marshall County Sheriff Scott Walls unraveled the mystery from 30 years ago. For three decades, the unidentified body was buried in small plot at the Arab City Cemetery.
A NewsChannel 19 Taking Action Investigation lead to that body being identified as Bobby Kellum and his killers being identified. NewsChannel 19's Sand Mountain Bureau Chief, Carson Clark, did yeoman work and provided the spark that lead to this murder story being resolved.

This story isn't over, though. Thrash and an accomplice in the brutal murder, Troy Barnes, are dead. But, the third man present on that night in May 1977 is still alive. His name is CW Brooks and he's terminally ill. He has six months left. Maybe eight. Not much time left to wonder if you've been a good man. Not much time left to say bye. Not much time left to cleanse your soul of dark secrets which keep you awake at night, fearing what you may dream.

For thirty years, CW Brooks lived with the secret of Bobby Kellum's horrifying murder.
Sheriff Walls says Brooks statement was key to solving the crime. "He has six months to live and didn't want to go to his grave with that on his mind," Walls said.

Looking squarely at the end of your days has a way of bringing instant clarity
to defining issues in your life. Brooks can't say, "I'm sorry" to Bobby Kellum.
But, by saying "I was there," he can give the Kellum family the answer to Bobby's fate.

In Ecclesiastes, it's written "there is a time to kill and a time to heal."
As his life slowly ends, CW Brooks must have realized the need to heal. The need to come clean. He's lead a long life. He's had time to reflect on what sins to confess.

Time. A long life. Confession after years of reflections. CW Brooks understands the value and precious nature of those opportunities.

I'm glad he took advantage of the opportunity to cleanse his soul.
Bobby Kellum's family wishes he had enjoyed the same opportunity.