Student safety: Everything you didn’t know  

Mariantonia Mejia | Staff writer

Fear for safety is not a mindset that anyone should have on a college campus.  While FIU does have resources, the university needs to do more to inform students of what they can do to keep safe. 

When I’m in a place with established security measures, such as a college campus, I should feel secure. 

Far too often though, I’ve heard stories from acquaintances and friends that claim that they have felt ignored by FIUPD after reporting feeling unsafe due to stalking.  

While these accounts are alleged, the four students I personally know claimed they were told that because the perpetrator was an FIU student, they had the right to go wherever they wanted on campus. Of course, there are specific protocols FIUPD must follow when receiving calls like this.  

According to FIUPD Captain Delrish Moss, depending on the severity of the problem, they may arrest the perpetrator if they’ve injured a student. But if this isn’t the case, they may follow the potential stalker to find out more. Then, a restraining order could possibly be filed.  

Essentially, if there isn’t enough evidence of a crime, nothing will be done.  

Fear for safety is not a mindset that anyone should have at a college campus.  While FIU does have resources, the university needs to do more to inform students of what they can do to keep safe. 

When I’m in a place with established security measures, such as a college campus, I should feel secure. 

Far too often though, I’ve heard stories from acquaintances and friends that claim that they have felt ignored by FIUPD after reporting feeling unsafe due to stalking.  

While these accounts are alleged, the four students I personally know claimed they were told that because the perpetrator was an FIU student, they had the right to go wherever they wanted on campus. Of course, there are specific protocols FIUPD must follow when receiving calls like this.  

According to FIUPD Captain Delrish Moss, depending on the severity of the problem, they may arrest the perpetrator if they’ve injured a student. But if this isn’t the case, they may follow the potential stalker to find out more. Then, a restraining order could possibly be filed.  

Essentially, if there isn’t enough evidence of a crime, nothing will be done.  

“If you’re feeling unsafe and you don’t necessarily suspect anyone is following you… you can call us and we will actually escort you to your car,” said Moss. This is a service many students are unaware of and could potentially help save lives.  

Though few students know about its existence, the Rave Guardian app is a handy safety resource. It includes easy access to call FIUPD, allowing you to share your location with other app users in your circle to stay safe and other resources as well. 

Along with this, there are emergency call boxes scattered throughout the campus, designed to connect students with campus security.  

Other resources include the Rape Aggression Defense Program, which according to FIUPD is described as “a self-defense program for women, which consists of easy to learn techniques that have realistic and practical applications.” 

Another program in this same vein is the Self Defense Awareness and Familiarization Exchange, described as a course “designed to provide attendees with information, tactics and options, which we believe may be useful for various types of crimes perpetrated against women.” 

Finally, we have the Victim Empowerment Program, which provides students who have experienced threatened or actual violence assistance after the fact.  

The problem with these programs is that I’m only aware of them because I was writing this piece. Had I not gone out of my way to actively research the different safety resources for students, I’d have no idea about these programs.  

While I do think it’s crucial to be proactive in one’s safety, the burden should not be entirely on the students to keep themselves safe. It’s unfair to ask them to constantly be guarded on top of all the school-related worries they already have.   

One of the only programs actually advertised to students is the Rave Guardian app. FIU informs parents and students about the app during orientation, advertises it on social media and occasionally hands out info cards.  

Despite this, when asking fellow students if they’d seen these ads, they had no clue what Rave Guardian was.  

It’s both administration’s and FIUPD’s responsibility to inform students about their options if they ever feel unsafe or threatened on campus. If I were to be stalked at FIU, I’d refrain from calling the university police, as I already know the protective measures in place for me to use.  

A less resourceful, or simply busier, student may feel like they must contact the police and when they aren’t directed to safety resources by FIUPD, they’d just leave campus. Who knows whether they’ll ever contact university authorities again, for fear of being ignored.  

The bottom line is that students deserve to feel safe on campus.  

It’s time that FIUPD and the university step up and do their job in actively protecting people. Until they do, students may never have peace of mind. 

“If you’re feeling unsafe and you don’t necessarily suspect anyone is following you… you can call us and we will actually escort you to your car,” said Moss. This is a service many students are unaware of and could potentially help save lives.  

Though few students know about its existence, the Rave Guardian app is a handy safety resource. It includes easy access to call FIUPD, allowing you to share your location with other app users in your circle to stay safe and other resources as well. 

Along with this, there are emergency call boxes scattered throughout the campus, designed to connect students with campus security.  

Other resources include the Rape Aggression Defense Program, which according to FIUPD is described as “a self-defense program for women, which consists of easy to learn techniques that have realistic and practical applications.” 

Another program in this same vein is the Self Defense Awareness and Familiarization Exchange, described as a course “designed to provide attendees with information, tactics and options, which we believe may be useful for various types of crimes perpetrated against women.” 

Finally, we have the Victim Empowerment Program, which provides students who have experienced threatened or actual violence assistance after the fact.  

The problem with these programs is that I’m only aware of them because I was writing this piece. Had I not gone out of my way to actively research the different safety resources for students, I’d have no idea about these programs.  

While I do think it’s crucial to be proactive in one’s safety, the burden should not be entirely on the students to keep themselves safe. It’s unfair to ask them to constantly be guarded on top of all the school-related worries they already have.   

One of the only programs actually advertised to students is the Rave Guardian app. FIU informs parents and students about the app during orientation, advertises it on social media and occasionally hands out info cards.  

Despite this, when asking fellow students if they’d seen these ads, they had no clue what Rave Guardian was.  

It’s both administration’s and FIUPD’s responsibility to inform students about their options if they ever feel unsafe or threatened on campus. If I were to be stalked at FIU, I’d refrain from calling the university police, as I already know the protective measures in place for me to use.  

A less resourceful, or simply busier, student may feel like they must contact the police and when they aren’t directed to safety resources by FIUPD, they’d just leave campus. Who knows whether they’ll ever contact university authorities again, for fear of being ignored.  

The bottom line is that students deserve to feel safe on campus.  

It’s time that FIUPD and the university step up and do their job of actively protecting people. Until they do, students may never have peace of mind.  

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.