The University of Washington issues current UofW students and staff emails to let us know about any criminal activity in and around the campus. This is helpful for me because I always check the time the incident occurred, where the incident occurred, and what were the specifics of the particular situation. Enclosed in the emails from the University is a list of recommendations that one should follow. I don't have a problem with what they recommend. However, I do see a better way to approach this.
College students are easy prey for criminals. They're young and naive, usually, but not always, financially well off, and they tend to have more gadgets and electronic devices than most people. These alone make criminals salivate. When students are "encouraged" to avoid confrontation, this only adds to the problem. Why is this so? One cannot deny how tempting it is for a criminal to approach, demand, and threaten a submissive, potential victim in order to get what they want. Why do criminals do this? The reason: criminals know that most people give in and avoid confrontation. Merely agreeing to a criminal's demands without a fight make muggings and robberies more apt to occur.
In light of this fact, I propose a partial or potential solution: providing self-defense classes on campus to help students protect themselves. As a student, I understand how dangerous the University District can be. This is the case on and around the confines of University District as well as the places that we choose to be from here on out.
A student that knows how to properly take control of a potentially dangerous situation has a better chance of staying out of harms way than a student that does not. If a criminal understands that most (nearly all) students are just going to give them their wallet, cell phone, and laptop without a fight, they will continue to prey upon students. However, if a student successfully fights off a potential criminal, it will make criminals start thinking twice before choosing to rob/mug someone.
Teaching students to stand up and protect themselves should be a no-brainer. The University is not providing or allowing students to carry guns; they are merely providing them with potentially life saving skills that can be utilized to prevent death and/or harm in the future. Most people during the course of their life will end up being in a potentially violent situation. Why not provide them with skills that could, potentially, save their life? Universities should do more to help their students prepare for life in the real world.
If a potential criminal approaches the student with a gun, the student should know that they probably should do what the criminal demands. However, if the student sees an opportunity to take control of the situation, they should be able to make this decision. Why do people download music illegally? Because they know and understand that the odds of them getting caught are very slim. If the odds of getting caught were increased then most people would refrain from downloading music illegally. This same principle should apply to confrontational criminals. When their chances of failing and getting arrested increase, crime will decrease. It's that simple.
