Guard Up! Back to College: Campus Safety Tips Every Student Should Know
Grand Master Evan R. Henry explains why college students should walk their campus, map emergency exits, find safe spaces and learn essential safety rules before settling into the semester.
Walk the College Before You Sit in Class!
The Two Weeks I Walked the Campus
Let me tell you about my first two weeks of college.
I went to Brookdale Community College. Brookdale doesn't have dorms. I drove there every day from home and drove back in the afternoon to work at the taekwondo school, where I was training under Grand Master Kyong H. Kim. But before I ever sat in a class, I did something my upbringing and my taekwondo training had drilled into me. I walked the ground first. I did it with my best friend Matthew Owens. Together we mapped every building I would have a class in. Every classroom I needed to find. Every exit out of every building. Every security office. Every emergency phone. Every safe space I might need if something went wrong.
By the time my first class started, I knew that campus like I had been there a year. I could have walked it in the dark.
The First Two Weeks Matter Most
Every college has a first two weeks. And in those first two weeks, you are the newest, the most confused, and the least prepared version of yourself you will be all year. That is exactly when you need the environment locked down. Not day thirty. Day one. Predators do not pick students who look like they know the place. They pick the freshman with a schedule in one hand, headphones in the ears, and no idea which door leads outside.
The campus doesn’t care that you’re new. Learn it before it teaches you a lesson you’d rather not learn.
What to Walk. What to Look For.
When you walk your campus in the first two weeks, walk it with intent. And don't walk it alone. Do it with your parents when they drop you off. Do it with your roommate. Do it with a friend from home who is also new. Classrooms. Know where every one of your classes is. Walk to each one from wherever you park or wherever your dorm is. Time it. Know the route in daylight and in the dark.
Exits. Every building has more than one way out. Find them all. Every classroom has an exit that isn't the door you came in. Find it. The three emergency locations. Before your first class, know where three places are: the nearest campus security office, the nearest police station off campus, and the nearest hospital. Save all three numbers in your phone. Drive to each one during daylight in your first week so you know the route. Because when something goes wrong, you don't want to be looking it up on Google Maps.
The question most students never ask. When you find campus safety, ask them this: on this campus, are there any places I should avoid? They respond to the calls. They know which parking lots have incidents. They know which shortcuts turn dangerous after dark. They will not put that in the brochure. They will tell you if you ask them face to face. Emergency phones. Most campuses still have blue-light emergency phones. Find every one on your route. If you don't know where they are, you can't sprint to one when you need one.
Emergency alerts. Sign up for your college's emergency alert system, and if the town around your campus has one, sign up for that too. When something goes wrong, you want the message from the source. Not third-hand from a group chat. Not thirty minutes late from a friend who heard from somebody. From the source. Safe spaces. Which library stays open late. Which building is always staffed. Which parking lot has cameras and lighting. Which parking lot doesn't.
Every College. Every Campus.
This applies whether you're at a community college like I was, a commuter school, a state university, or a private four-year with dorms and Greek life. Community college and commuter students, the walk from your car to your classroom is your responsibility. Nobody else is checking on you. Residential students, your dorm is your home now. Learn it the way you learned your childhood house. Every exit. Every stairwell. Every door that locks and every door that doesn't.
Learn the Town Around the Campus
Your campus is not the only place you need to know. You will step off campus to eat, to shop, to meet friends. The town around your school needs to be mapped too. Ask yourself these questions in the first month. What are the biggest public places to be around here? Where do people gather that is well-lit and busy? Where should I never walk alone at night?
Where do the juniors and seniors go for what they need, and what routes do they use to get there? Follow the paths upperclassmen have already tested. They know which streets are safe and which are not. That is your intel. Use it. And when you go off campus, go with a group. Every time. There is no reason to walk a new town alone in your first semester.
Party Rules That Will Save Your Life
You are going to be invited to parties. That is college. I am not going to tell you to stay in your dorm. I am going to tell you how to come home. Never take a drink from anyone. Not from a stranger. Not from a new friend. Not from someone who seems trustworthy. Pour your own or open it yourself. Watch it get poured or opened. If you set it down, get a new one.
Always be aware of the crowd. Where the exits are. Where your friends are. Who is watching you. Who is watching too long. If someone or something makes you feel off, leave. Not later. Not after one more song. Now. And leave with your group, back to the dorms.
You went to that party as a group. You leave that party as a group. That is the rule.
For Parents Sending a Kid Off
If your kid is heading off to college, sit them down before they go. Give them the assignment. Two weeks. Walk the campus. Map the exits. Find security. Locate the emergency phones. Sign up for emergency alerts. Report back to you with what they found. Then have one more talk before you drive off. Party rules. Buddy system. Never take a drink from anyone. Everything I said above. Because they need to hear it from you, not just from a Grand Master in the newspaper.
That is not helicopter parenting. That is a self-defense assignment.
Evan Henry
Reflection
If something happened on your campus tonight, would you know the fastest route to a lit, safe, staffed space? Let's learn that this week!
Guard up!
For Speaking, Seminars, or Self-Defense Training Contact:
Grand Master Evan R. Henry
Founder, New Creation Taekwondo • Senior Pastor, Infinite Hope Global
Bachelor's Degree in Pastoral Leadership, Newburgh Theological Seminary
Follow @TheGrandMasterPastor on TikTok
Business: (848) 217-2202
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