YOU’RE IN THE RED ZONE.
Or didn’t you know?  The Red Zone is a term advocacy groups use to describe September, the most dangerous month for collegians.  Sexual assault reports spike with the beginning of the school year. Hazing often gets out of hand. And defenses drop when slamming beers with friends, discovering new terrain and opening up to new experiences.
 
This summer, the U.S. House of Representatives officially declared September as National Campus Safety Awareness Month. Do you need to be reminded of all the criminal opportunities you leave in your wake? Unzipped pocketbooks, unlocked doors, drunken stupors. . . .all are invitations to criminal opportunists. Why not just wear a sign that says “Willing Victim?”
Know your stuff. Many colleges would prefer not to reveal campus crime statistics. But Security On Campus, a non-profit organization dedicated improving safety on college grounds, believes that students and parents have the right to know exactly what’s on the campus police blotter. You ought to be able to find out exactly which areas have higher incidences of crime.

• You can always run. If you think someone might be following you, stop and look. If someone is trying to surprise you, the surprise will be theirs.
• Follow the light. At night, plot your course along paths you know are lighted. It might take a little longer, but it’s less risky.
• Two is company. Avoid walking alone at night whenever possible.
• Sweaty but safe. Don’t prop open a door or a ground-floor window, no matter how hot it gets.
• No need to give it away. Watch what you post on the Internet, especially on Web-based social networks like Facebook and Myspace. Details you post are windows into your life.
• Drink now, pay later. Never, ever accept a drink from someone you don’t know or just met.
• Keep your head. Ninety-five percent of violent campus crimes are drug- or alcohol-related. Indulge enough, and you could be on either end of a mishap. This year, like every other year, approximately 1,700 college students will die from alcohol-related injuries alone, including car accidents.

HELPFUL WEBSITES
http://www.securityoncampus.org
http://www.ncsam.org
http://www.campussafetymagazine.com
http://www.campussafety.net
http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov

AREA CAMPUS SECURITY WEBSITES
http://www.vcu.edu/police
http://www.jsr.vccs.edu/security
http://www.rmc.edu
http://www.virginia.edu/uvapolice

don’t forget Ucrime.com

online campus crime maps.