The 3P's of College Safety
The waiting period when students and parents eagerly anticipate the arrival of college acceptance letters is a great time to start conversations about values, boundaries, and safety. For many students heading off to college, this will be their first experience living on their own. They’ll be in a new environment, with new friends, and exposed to new health risks. No matter where our children end up, we want them prepared with a skill set to improve their college success.
Part of that skill set involves knowing how to maintain safety through prevention. We need to help our children identify certain safety risks so they can avoid them. And there are plenty of risks—The 2019 National Safety Council Injury Facts listed 173,404 preventable deaths and 48.3 million preventable injuries, resulting in billions in cost and human suffering. And at colleges and universities, every year students suffer falls, alcohol poisoning, sexual assault, and mental health issues both on and off-campus. We need to help our kids identify and calculate their responses to these dangerous new situations.
As an example, let’s look at dorm rooms and the particular hazard of bunk and loft beds. Roommates sometimes stack their beds in bunks. Other students elevate their beds to create unique storage, work, or living space below. The extra space is great, but it comes with substantial risk. Students have rolled off from these elevated sleeping areas and suffered catastrophic injuries. Need proof? Inside Edition has a quick 2-minute video explaining that over 36,000 people suffer bunk bed-related injuries each year. One such injury happened on the show The Bachelor, where a contestant suffered multiple facial injuries after falling from a bunk bed. Another example is a student named Clark who suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling off his elevated bed in his dorm at college. A quick and simple preventative measure that minimizes the risk of falling from an elevated bed is to install a bed rail. Students can ask their college housing department for a bedrail. They can also purchase bed rails online at college dorm accessory stores and other locations.
The goal here is to be proactive. Help prepare your children to recognize hazards so they can protect themselves and bring both of you peace of mind. Refer to our Global Secure Resources checklist and use it. In just a few minutes, you can cover risk factors, like the hidden dangers around campus during the Red Zone, the alcohol 3A’s, and mental health. Students who feel overwhelmed and have anxiety need on-the-spot stress-reducing strategies and resources ready, so they don’t have to suffer in silence. Experts always say, “it is better to have a plan in place and not use it, than to need a plan and not have one.”
3P’s of College Safety - Conversation Checklist
3P’s of College Safety - Conversation Checklist links
National Safety Council Injury Facts https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/
Inside Edition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxLBsYTvvaw&ab_channel=InsideEdition
Rail Against the Danger https://railagainstthedanger.org/
Statista - College Student Health https://www.statista.com/topics/4553/college-student-health-in-the-us/#dossierKeyfigures
Global Secure Resources - The Box Breath Technique https://www.globalsecurestudent.com/boxbreath
BetterHelp - Licensed and accredited therapists https://www.betterhelp.com/
About the author:
Carrie Pasquarello, CEO, and Co-Founder of Global Secure Resources Inc. is a victim advocate and author of Study Abroad Safety, A Parent's Guide to Sending Your Child Abroad. Her company is certified Women-Owned.
