I’ve lived on campus at the University of Texas at Austin for the past two years. My habitual long walks back to the dorms after late night study sessions and group projects have thankfully always ended safely. I’ve never had to use the keys I wrap between my knuckles to defend myself, never had to press the panic button on my phone app to call 911, never had to alert the person on the other end of my phone call that I was in danger, and I’ve always been able to text friends that I got home safe. And yet despite all of these precautions, I’ve had my close calls. In fact, just about every female student I know has a story where danger became probable, or unfortunately, very, very real.
After the recent tragedy that ended in the passing of my fellow peer Haruka Weiser, the campus remains shaken. On the days that followed, I talked with friends and classmates who were getting bombarded with phone calls from worried family members and friends back home. Everyone hears about similar tragedies happening, but it never seems to feel real until it hits home. We see the occasional police car cruise by or notice the blue emergency towers around and feel safe. After taking the same route various times, you get comfortable, and you tell yourself that as long as you’re on campus, you’re safe. We often forget that there are others that prey on our comfort.
One of my professors asked a lecture hall filled with over 250 students last semester whether they felt safe walking home alone. He first asked the boys to stand if they felt unsafe, which caused four to five young men to rise. He asked them to remain standing if they felt the need to carry pepper spray or another form of defense, call someone while they were walking, or text their friends when they got home safe. Eventually, all the boys in the room sat down. When he asked the girls in the room the same question, about half of the female students in the lecture hall remained standing until the end. Many of the male students in the room later claimed that they don’t even think twice about taking these precautions.
As a society, we teach our girls the dangers of going out alone, but we rarely explain to our boys all the precautions their mothers, sisters, girlfriends, and female friends go through. The responsibility does not only lie on our university, but also on our community as a whole to stand together and acknowledge the danger that threatens every student anywhere at any time. Every student should feel inclined to ask what they can do to make their friends and peers feel safer.
Walk in groups, be the friend that texts to ask if they got home safe. They may all seem like small acts, but you never know when it can save someone’s life.
