<p>Thank you!!!</p>
<p>If you attend Bama Bound the campus police will be participating in one of the sessions. </p>
<p>Basically, like any other time, in any city, and every campus, be smart! Don’t walk across campus or around town after dark by yourself. Know your surroundings. Go with a group and stay together. As for the city, the city of Tuscaloosa has a 10:00pm curfew Sunday-Thursday for anyone under 18, this plays more into the Early College experience.</p>
<p>Today at the Early College parent & student meeting the campus police told us that there are specific lighted pathways all over campus where it is as light as daylight due to the lighting they use. There are also blue emergency phones all over campus. You can also call at any time that the Crimson Ride is not running and ask for a ride. Including to/from Publix. Did not know that Publix is technically ON campus.</p>
<p>Safety tips…</p>
<p>At night, don’t wear dark colors if you’ll be walking or crossing streets.</p>
<p>At night, don’t walk alone.</p>
<p>At night, don’t go out alone.</p>
<p>At night, get your fanny back in before it’s too late. Early morning hours are just more dangerous no matter where you are.</p>
<p>When walking around off campus, don’t be distracted with cell phones, etc. Look around, be aware. People who are “up to no good” will prey on someone who’s distracted.</p>
<p>First, let me say that as far as campuses go, I think that UA’s campus is safe. That doesn’t mean that you can throw caution to the wind, or forget about common sense, so I will add these safety tips:</p>
<p>Don’t wear ear buds (especially when walking alone or at night) you need to always be aware of your surroundings, and able to hear what is going on around you.</p>
<p>Don’t be afraid to trust your instincts, if something or someone feels wrong, take the necessary steps to leave the situation.</p>
<p>Program emergency numbers into your phone. Call for help before you need it.</p>
<p>Never drink and drive, this will keep you and others safe.</p>
<p>Don’t burn candles in dorm rooms, besides the fact that it is not allowed, and it’s unsafe, the fire alarms will go off. This will not earn you any friends if it happens during the night.</p>
<p>I have been telling my son to not text and walk at the same time and if he wants to listen to music or something then do so on a low volume and with “one ear out”. That is to say leave one of the earbuds out of your ears. That way with a low volume and one ear out you can still hear some of what is going on around you. </p>
<p>We live in a low crime area and just this past Friday some young lady was hit in the head while crossing the street. She was texting on her iPhone and the assailant hit her on the head and grabbed her iPhone and ran…luckily there was a police K-9 unit in the area and they released the dog on him when he refused to stop. But it really hit home with my son that this type of thing can and does happen anywhere.</p>
<p>Re: walking alone. I think that earlier in the evening it’s probably fine. There are still a lot of people out going to and from evening classes etc. After 9 p.m., not so much.
Stick to the well-lit areas, of course.</p>
<p>Become best friends with the biggest kids on campus (e.g. football players) and walk next to them after dark! :-)</p>
<p>Don’t wear orange pants, and avoid “Aggie” Maroon and I think you will be just fine… :)</p>
<p>“the city of Tuscaloosa has a 10:00pm curfew Sunday-Thursday for anyone under 18, this plays more into the Early College experience.”</p>
<p>My S is 16. Is the curfew an issue for him if he is studying past 10 outside of his dorm and he’s walking back on campus?</p>
<p>Dr. Causey told us YES yesterday during the student/parent meeting. I honestly don’t know if it really is in reality as you don’t see many TPD patrolling campus. I’d call the campus police and ask them.</p>
<p>I’ll do that. Hopefully he can get a special pass that will allow him to be out past 10 if he’s on campus.</p>
<p>What’s the curfew on Friday and Saturday?</p>
<p>I think a fair number of freshmen are under eighteen when the fall semester starts…and some are still under eighteen when the SPRING semester starts! </p>
<p>Certainly this can not be an issue on campus.</p>
<p>If it is, they’d better have a fat book of passes ready.</p>
<p>It looks like he’s okay.</p>
<p>"The ordinance allows for a number of exceptions. Minors can be out during curfew hours if they are accompanied by a parent or guardian, in a vehicle engaged in interstate travel, going to or from work or involved in a work activity, on a sidewalk or right of way adjoining their residence or attending or en route to or from a legitimate school or religious function.</p>
<p>Also exempt are minors who have been emancipated, college or post-secondary technical or vocational students younger than 18 and minors serving in the military. Students from other school systems that are not in session and minors who have a diploma or a GED certificate are exempt during the school hour portion of the curfew."</p>
<p>[Tuscaloosa</a> passes juvenile curfew aimed at reducing crime | TuscaloosaNews.com](<a href=“http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100106/news/100109759?p=2&tc=pg]Tuscaloosa”>http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100106/news/100109759?p=2&tc=pg)</p>
<p>"I think a fair number of freshmen are under eighteen when the fall semester starts…and some are still under eighteen when the SPRING semester starts! </p>
<p>“Certainly this can not be an issue on campus.”</p>
<p>If it is, they’d better have a fat book of passes ready."</p>
<p>See above.</p>
<p>It’s a non-issue. I thought he might need a special pass to show he has a legitimate reason for being out. He does need to remember to carry his Bama ID.</p>
<p>Since the police arrest individuals violating the curfew and hold them until a parent picks them up and we are 15 hrs away, I wanted to get the facts.</p>
<p>This may all sound like teaching our kids to cross streets and drive for the first time …but D and friends have been on both sides of the fence having shared many stories of driving when student walkers come right out into moving traffic with ear buds in, texting/completely unaware…or as walkers having drivers not making the complete stops or watching out for pedestrians as they should. </p>
<p>Please…Remind your student if they will be a new driver on campus/on the strip, where student walker volume is high how important it is to approach intersections and crosswalks on campus and on the strip cautiously. When /if you are there with them for move in is a good time to point out the importance of making those complete stops at the stop line and proceeding with caution watching out for walkers. This is especially important in front of the Tutwiler dorm where students are almost always crossing, at the major bus stops, and near Publix, TCBY etc., on the strip. Many country and suburban students who have not previously driven on a large campus or done much city driving need these reminders during move in and particularly in their early weeks on campus until being more aware of heavy pedestrian crosswalk traffic becomes habit-same for country and suburban walkers used to walking along with earbuds in, texting or talking not having to worry much about oncoming traffic.</p>
<p>Remind your walkers to keep their eye out for the drivers, they need to be aware that there are many new drivers to campus every Fall who are as unfamiliar with the roads as your student walker is walking a new campus –everyone being a bit more cautious and watching out for one another is the best approach. Remind your walkers to be sure the driver has seen them before beginning into a crosswalk, and as others have suggested to wear brighter cloths at night-although black North Face jackets are very popular they are not the best choice for walking at night!</p>
<p>One of the things that impressed me about UA was campus safety. On my first visit, we rolled into town and onto campus at 11:00 PM. I saw young ladies jogging, and sitting on park benches. There were students still milling around and a lot of police presence; both Tuscaloosa and campus police. I saw NO signs gang tags or graffiti. Maybe this is a reflection about where I’m from, but campus safety dropped off my list of concerns after my first visit. Like others have said, anything can happen anywhere, and I have read about violence on campus at Alabama. I honestly believe that the University of Alabama campus is as safe as any public school in the country.</p>
<p>Perhaps I tend not to think about these things as much as the parent of a Daughter would, but I think UA handles security quite well, especially given the size of the school. I am pleased with the visibility and presence of the campus PD on every visit.</p>
<p>FWIW, Our son, a rising junior, has walked alone or ridden his bike to and/or from the lab he works in at all hours of the night and early morning several times a week, year round (he works in the lab during the summers) since he started at UA and hasn’t had any safety issues except for one time when one person in a group of guys lunged toward him as our son and the group passed by each other in a campus parking lot. The person pulled up short and the group of guys kept walking while laughing at what they must have thought was a funny prank. It is not uncommon for our son to walk or ride his bike to the lab anywhere between 9:00pm and midnight, and return from the lab anywhere between 1:00 am and 4:00 a.m. Other students in the lab also work late hours (perhaps not as often or as late as our son) and he has never mentioned to us that any of those students have had any problems.</p>
<p>My impression is that the campus is pretty safe, but regardless of how safe, we would still prefer if our son wasn’t out alone so late so often.</p>
<p>D had one unsettling event last year that she thinks was more of a prank than anything else. She had ridden her bike to cover a game for the CW on the other side of campus. When she was done it was dark and most the people were gone. She came out to the bike rack to discover someone had removed her seat. There were some guys nearby removing a seat from another bike. D yelled at the guys (I guess her first instinct in the fight or flight scenario is to fight!) and they told her where they’d hidden her seat and ran off. </p>
<p>She will have her car this year so she won’t need to use her bike after dark.</p>