When it comes to alcohol awareness, there are plenty of posters, mandatory seminars and other materials advocating for students to properly research and practice certain precautions when drinking. There are significantly fewer advertisements for safety measures against crime, which is just as prevalent an issue on a campus in New Orleans.

The responsibilities for improving the knowledge surrounding crime prevention fall on both students and Tulane as an institution. It is dangerously ignorant for the student body to be unaware of certain steps to take when a crime is occurring. This should not fall entirely on the student body, though. Tulane must be just as active in promoting the education of this matter. 

This campus is a well-equipped with information concerning standard drink sizes, guides to certain alcohol-related circumstances and what to do if a student or someone they know is in danger from alcohol. All incoming freshman are required to complete a series of sessions online regarding alcohol and sexual violence. TheWELL works throughout the year to convince students to educate themselves on alcohol policy and how to stay safe while drinking.

Meanwhile, the presence of public information about safety regarding crime around campus is much less prevalent. There are no mandatory courses, sessions or advising of any kind and the many organizations that table and present on campus don’t address it. The free self-defense program on campus, RAD (Rape Aggression Defense), is not well known and is exclusively for women. The only consistent message regarding crime prevention is the ending message in TUPD’s incident report emails.

For the general student walking around off or on campus in the middle of the night, advice is not being dispensed actively enough, nor are students looking for it thoroughly enough.

More needs to be done by both parties. Tulane has the responsibility to educate students on all facets of safety on this campus, to the same degree as alcohol and sexual violence. Visual presentations, mandatory information sessions and promotion of resources available will, particularly for freshmen, encourage and motivate students to remain aware, even if it’s in the back of their minds.

Additionally, the student body at Tulane needs to acknowledge that crimes are prone to happen on an open campus within an urban area and prepare themselves appropriately. The combined effort will ultimately result in a safer college experience for everyone.