In the recent wake of violent and scary events on campus, the police services and others have issued warnings and concerns about safety on campus.

As safety on this campus can only be controlled so much because of the lack of gates and other blocking equipment on campus, the real responsibility is on the students.

There are no guards, there are no check-in points.

So, to keep this beautiful and large campus safe, students need to take matters into their own hands.

There are a few simple rules everyone can follow to guarantee safety for all.

Don’t prop doors, and if you see one propped, close it.

If students aren’t responsible enough to remember their keys, that’s their problem.

Everyone needs to take his/her own responsibilty and act maturely. Such adult actions include locking doors.

No one’s going to prop open a house or apartment door in the real world, so don’t get used to it now.

Propped doors just invite in people who don’t belong through the doors.

Granted, for someone who has a premeditated notion to come into a dorm, a locked door won’t stop him/her, but it will cut down on convienence or easy crimes like theft.

Furthermore, students should be aware of who is in their dorms.

Especially in dorms with dining halls, there are so many entries and open doors throughout the day.

If one thinks that people only come in and commit crimes at night, one is wrong. People need to remember that the robbery happened at 3:00 in the afternoon-not at 2 a.m.

If someone is looking suspicious in the dorm, one doesn’t have to be a cop or an RA to stop and ask the suspect if he/she has his/her UVM ID and if he/she is a student.

Many people come in and wander around in the dorms, these people let in by others who have no qualms about letting just anyone in the dorms.

If people are asking you to let them in, have no problems with telling them you would feel more comfortable if they used the call box every dorm has to call their friends down to let them in.

You have no responsibility to let anyone in that you don’t think belongs in the dorm.

Students are the biggest deterrent in preventing crime-not the police or the administration. Nevertheless, police are in the dorms to help.

Yet people complain about how much presence the said police have in the dorms-but we can do something to curb their presence.

We can reduce police presence by being our own “police” and making sure that we all make a concerted effort to be on top of the safety on this campus.

Nobody wants their tvs stolen, their computers missing or their roommates held up at knifepoint.

The easiest way to prevent such atrocities is to look around, ask questions and be careful.

Using caution will make this campus a much safer place.