It was Monday evening when I received the email. I’m sure I was procrastinating and that’s why I decided to check my email. There, in between two online bank notifications, was an email with the subject line, “Campus Safety Notification.”

To be honest had I not been trying to procrastinate, I wouldn’t have immediately opened the email. It was an inconspicuous email with a pretty passive subject line. Yet within thirty seconds of reading, I realized this email was anything but unimportant.

It described an armed robbery that had taken place the night before on a street less than a five-minute walk away from my hall. Luckily, no one was harmed. I brought up the email up to a group of my friends later that night. Most of them were shocked - they hadn’t read the email, supposedly sent to all the students living on the main campus. This display of blatant ignorance of the crimes happening, literally next door, was frightening to me. I later found out it had been two girls, walking back to their dorms after finishing their daily Rush activities.

Not even an hour later, I heard more horrible news - this time by word of mouth. At the time, all the details were murky. All anyone knew was that a sorority girl, later identified as Jasmine Madarang, a SDSU student, had been hit by a car and killed during the football game the night before. Before I even knew her name, I heard the rumor that she had been roofied at the pregame tailgate. The only information given in the official news report is that she was last seen around 6 PM, “while attempting to cross Interstate 8 on foot” (KUSI News) and had been pronounced dead on site. As of the following Wednesday, I have not received any official notifications regarding this tragedy.

Two horrific events, taking place in a weekend, both with little to no notification from SDSU. Other students have also noticed a trend in unsafe behavior during this Rush season. Freshmen student Kiki, who lives in South Campus Plaza, commented, “Walking on the streets by campus has felt a lot less safe recently. Boys roll down their windows and catcall the girls who are rushing. [The girls] are in short dresses, and people will yell things like ‘sit on my face’ at the crowd of us walking by.”

As a fellow SDSU student and Odyssey Creator, I have felt the need to not only report on these events but also offer some reminders.

Do not walk alone at night.

This goes for everyone, but especially our SDSU sorority sisters. Find a group or even just a buddy to walk with. Try to find people who live in the same hall as you, so you can all go back together

Utilize the SDSU Safety Escorts.

If you don’t have anyone to walk you back to your dorm, please contact the Safety Escort Services. They operate “from dusk to dawn, seven days a week” (University Police). A Community Service Officer or police officer will escort you back to any hall or parking lot, as well as back to Albert’s apartments and Greek houses. The number is (619) 594-6659. You can also call from the “blue light” emergency phones located across campus.

Tell someone where you are going.

If you have to go out at night, let someone know where you are going when you are supposed to be there, and, most importantly, when you plan on being back. Keep that person updated if your plans change. If necessary, plan check-ins - just shooting them a quick thumbs up emoji to let them know you are okay if enough. This way, if something happens to you, someone will notice sooner rather than later.

Carry some sort of self-defense.

Whether it be pepper spray, a taser, or just your keys, try to have some sort of self-defense tool with you at all times, but especially at night. I personally carry around a whistle, but you can also use the alarm button on your car keys. Do not place your keys in between your fingers: this will NOT provide a good angle for self-defense if you are attacked. Instead, hold your keys bunched together in your fist.

Do not instigate “cat-callers.”

Although it might seem empowering to yell something nasty back at catcallers - don’t. Drawing attention to yourself in these situations is unsafe. A few harmless remarks could quickly turn into violence if your cat-caller doesn’t like you yelling back

Trust your gut.

If something seems off, trust your instincts and get out of there! If you can't immediately leave the scene, remain alert. We've all heard the saying - better safe than sorry.

Stay safe, SDSU.