I’m an upcoming freshman, really interested in a course that occurs from 7pm-10pm, on Tuesdays. The campus is generally safe, but I’m still a bit nervous. Does anyone have any experience with late night classes?
Walk home with a friend, find out where the blue light phones are. In D3’s first year, some of her male friends offered to walk her back from practice rooms at night, which was nice.
I’ve always felt comfortable walking around campus between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
My school offers [safety escorts](http://www.police.uci.edu/services/safety_escorts.html) for those who are worried. Check if your school has something like this.
Look around if you recognize any of the students in the class from your dorm.
Then approach that person and suggest to walk home together.
You may have just found a study buddy.
Double score.
I’m probably going to take a film studies class that’s Tuesdays from 6:30-9:30, so I know where you’re coming from! On college campuses, there’s always a ton of people out and about during the night. My advice is to stay on well-lit, highly travelled paths and if you have an opportunity to walk with a buddy, definitely do that.
3 hour classes are tough! See if there is someone from your class to walk back to the dorm with…if not, see if your campus has safety escorts.
At 10 PM there are still going to be enough people walking around campus that it won’t seem dead. (Assuming students live ON campus and don’t commute).
I taught a course last semester that got out after 9 and it was no big deal. I used to use that time walking home to call people and was never bothered nor did I ever feel unsafe.
I had a few classes like that. Off-hand I think I had one that ran 6:30-10, one that ran 5:30-9, one that ran 7-10, and one that ran 6-8. Might be slightly off with those times though. Had no problems or anything. What are you worried about?
Late night classes- not the best idea. Your brain just isn’t ready to absorb as much at that time in the day- unless you’re starting your day later and sleeping in- and also if you’re getting home late, it’s most probable that you will go to bed late. This will throw you off for the entire week.
I had one lab that was late at night, thinking it wouldn’t be so bad, but it really was a burden at times.
Not only was I worried about walking across campus alone in the dark, it sucks for your day to end that late, especially if you have studying or work to do for the following day. I’d suggest finding another time slot unless you absolutely have no other choice.
A lot of schools call it SafeWalk: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=safewalk
My cousin took late night courses, and told me that she had no problems walking home, despite her campus being pretty dark at night. She did carry around a little kitten keychain: http://www.wickedclothes.com/products/cat-self-defense-keychain
It’s deadly enough to gouge your eyes out, and cute! She’s a tiny Asian girl, so naturally she got worried when she was stuck doing labs late at night on a deserted campus.
EDIT: I asked her, and she said she felt a lot safer knowing she had the keychain with her, just in case someone attacked her.
First off, try to make a friend in your class who also lives in your dorm if possible. That way, you have a new buddy, study partner, and backup muscle is something goes down (which it most likely won’t).
Like others suggested, try finding out and getting used to safe escort services offered by the school. In ours, we have the police, and community service officers that escort students around any time of day.
The rest is common sense: don’t walk in secluded spots, stick to the lights, carry a makeshift weapon on you as a last resort, and hide your wallet/valuables on your person in secluded spots. I think that’s it.
I took lots of night classes (1-2 every semester) and never had a safety issue. As long as you take reasonable precautions such as those mentioned above, you shouldn’t have a problem. Be considerate of your daily schedule though when taking a night class. If you have an early class the next day, you should reconsider one of them. The college I attended discouraged freshman from taking night classes so they could get used to college life before throwing in odd hours. If you’re usually up late and the class won’t affect your sleep/study habits, go for it.