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发信人: gourmand (大食客), 信区: AdvancedEdu
标  题: Staying Safe
发信站: BBS 水木清华站 (Mon May  4 19:10:29 1998)

Staying Safe

by William K. Cassell, Ph.D.

"WILL MY child be safe?" is a question parents around the world ask when
their daughter or son leaves home to study in another country. Of course,
safety is relative. If you compare crime statistics, it is easy to say
Tokyo is safer than Los Angeles. But a Japanese student who takes
reasonable precautions may be quite safe while studying in L.A.

Violent Crimes are Rare

It is easy to understand why parents in Japan or Sweden, for example, would
be concerned by incidents of violent crime against students shown on
television or reported in their local newspaper. However, it is important
to remember that these incidents receive so much media attention because
they happen so seldom. As tragic as these incidents are for the people
involved, the odds of a student becoming the victim of a violent crime in
the U.S.A. are extremely low.
In countries where daughters are sheltered at home, parents often expect
that colleges or universities will exercise the same level of control over
female students. It is hard to tell them that dormitories in U.S. colleges
are normally co-educational, and students no longer have curfews.

What I try to explain to parents is that their sons and daughters are now
responsible individuals who must make their own choices. The good news is
that, with few exceptions, their sons and daughters follow the guidelines
they have learned at home and make good, responsible decisions.

Taking an Active Role

Most U.S. programs hold orientation sessions before international students
register for classes. They also assist students with housing and
transportation. During their first semester, all international students at
the Community College of Southern Nevada enroll in a course, Introduction
to Higher Education. Students learn about academic matters, and they also
receive valuable advice on precautions they should take in their daily life
to assure their safety. At Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana, new
ESL students tour the city. They learn where to go, what to do and which
areas of the French Quarter are safe for them to go hear live music.

Parents play an important role in keeping students in contact with people
who can help them. Privacy laws keep colleges and universities from giving
information on students to anyone, including parents, without permission.
Parents should ask their son or daughter to give this permission. Students
should be encouraged to call home regularly. Parents should know where
their son or daughter is living and the names of their roommates.

Campus Police

A college or university will maintain a security staff with police officers
to patrol the buildings, lawns, roads, parks and walkways. Santa Monica
College places members of its security force in all parking structures as
well as central campus locations. Some police patrol in cars or on foot; at
St. Louis University in Missouri, as at many schools, they also ride
bicycles.

At the University of Southern California, special blue lights make it easy
to find emergency telephones located throughout the Los Angeles campus. USC
students equipped with radios operate an escort service on foot, on
bicycles and in cars. Because of these measures and others, USC is among
the safest urban research universities in the country.

At some schools students ride special vans between classroom buildings. In
New Orleans, Tulane University's vans also take students to their homes or
cars at night.

Secure Housing

On a U.S. campus, dormitories and residence halls will be locked at night,
and there will be someone guarding the entrances. Some schools have
installed electromagnetic locks on student housing buildings. In some
residence halls at New York University, students present their palms for
identification in special "hand access machines"; measures like this have
kept NYU's crime rate down.

In some cities, students live in locked dormitory rooms, although in many
areas of the U.S.A. this is not necessary. The Housing Office of your
school or program can help you find a safe place to live off campus as
well. If you rent a private apartment, you can find a building with a
doorman, or with a security system so that you can admit guests by using a
door buzzer.

William K. Cassell, Ph.D. is the Associate Vice President for International
Programs at the Community College of Southern Nevada.

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