As a parent, you may have mixed feelings about your student’s leaving home and being on his or her own. Like many parents, you may be concerned for your student’s personal safety and well-being. Talking with your son or daughter about personal safety and using protective strategies may help ease some of the anxiety you may be experiencing.

• Always keep doors locked - even when at home.
• Do not prop exterior doors.
• Do not lend your key card to anyone.
• Do not carry large sums of money or valuable items or keep them in the residence halls.
• Always find out who is knocking before opening the door.
• Do not walk alone, especially after dark - Women’s Transit and Pullman Transit are available to provide safe transport around the Pullman/WSU community. Stay on populated, well-lit paths.
• Be aware - know where you are, where you're going and what is going on around you. This includes people, events and potential exit routes.
• Keep emergency numbers by the phone - including RAs and campus police.
• Trust your feeling of fear and your instincts that things are not right.
• Refuse to accept drinks from strangers - a drug could easily have been slipped into the drink.
• Avoid being alone in isolated places such as the laundry room, deserted study labs, etc.
• If someone is in danger, go for help right away or call 911. Do not try to get involved if anyone has a weapon or if a fight is out of control.

For a complete list of campus safety tips, please visit the WSU police department. This site includes safety information for residences, personal property, while walking/jogging, while driving, or while away from the college on break. Also, the WSU Women's Resource Center has an online Sexual Assault Prevention Resource Guide.

In addition to talking to your student about personal safety, you may suggest that your student develop a safety plan with roommates or friends. You may also ask to be included in that safety plan or to be given a copy of the plan in case of emergency. And a safety plan need not apply only in times when one’s personal safety is compromised. It can also outline practical strategies for students and friends to watch out for one another’s safety. Examples might include:

• Posting emergency contact numbers.
• Sharing weekly/daily schedules.
• process for checking in if someone is going to be out past a certain time.
• A signal to indicate when someone is in danger and needs assistance (this could be a code word or phrase).
• An escape route from the residence.
• A designated “safe” place.
• Secure but easy access to emergency money, credit cards, and identifying information
• A plan for “going-out” which includes how to make it home safely, numbers for taxis, WSU Women’s Transit (a service providing safe rides home for students on the weekend), a sign or word indicating if person needs help, and a promise with friends to leave, as a group, any situation that may feel uncomfortable.

Only an offender can truly prevent a crime from taking place.

It is also important to remember that a student may do everything possible to protect him/herself and still be a victim of a crime, such as sexual assault. The use of protective strategies does not exclude someone from being a target – such strategies can only reduce the chances. If your student becomes a victim of a crime, there are campus systems in place to help with recovery. And your support is vital. Questioning whether or not your student used protective strategies implies he or she is somehow to blame for what has happened. For more information on how to help your son or daughter recover from a sexual assault, click here.