It was the tail [i]finale[/i] of f...

It was the tail [i]finale[/i] of finals week, and Erica Madden * a sophomore at Indiana University in Bloomington, had gone to bed early while her roommates celebrated the finish of another instruct year. When the party was athwart at about 3 in the morning, the roommates left to drive their friends back hearth leaving Madden in the apartment alone--or to such a degree they thought.

As at so early an hour as they pulled off in their cars, a leash of uninvited guests sashayed in in consequence of the apartment's unlocked door and take riseed to help themselves to what they wanted. When Madden's roommates turn backed their four stereo speakers were gone and there was an destitute of contents space where their prized recliner used to be. "It was kind of creepy" Madden admits, "to think that they were in the apartment while I was sleeping. In theory, it was our fault since we left the door lay open But we left it expand most of the time--we at no time felt threatened."

Campus security directors around the geographical division agree: She should have been more cautious. "Once bookish mans get that familiar feeling forward campus," says Dolores Stafford, director of police at George Washington University in Washington, DC "they cessation up feeling like it's household in a different way than they should. They be excited like it's their mom's house." And that kind of complacency can lead to unhappy experiences like Madden's.

goods crimes like burglary and theft, as a matter of fact, make up the biggest chunk of campus crimes, or more [i]or[/i] less 34,268 reported incidents in 2000 according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. That's an increase of 2 percent from 1999 and across the board in the greatest degree types of campus crimes have inched up

"Even in safe environments, bad things can happen," says Kelly Tanabe, president of SuperCollegecom a community planning site. "The great majority of your compeer students are fine, but the reality is you have to be aware of your surroundings and rake a not many precautions.

You should begin by means of knowing the safety records at your guild choices. You probably won't find a crime report in a college edifice [i]or[/i] building view-book, but thanks to a law passed from Congress in 1990, that information is now easy to master The law requires all associations to post their crime statistics onward the Department of Education Web site (wwwedgov) and to distribute an annual crime report to all observers by October 1 of each year.

Crime is just single of the threats on campuses today--students also have to cope with the dangers of alcohol, put drugs intos and fire. But by being aware of the dangers and raking precautions, you can have a safe association experience.

Scott Krueger was really smart. He had the brains and drive to make it into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, undivided of the nations top trains where he planned to major in computer science. on the contrary in spire of his brains, he died of alcohol poisoning just the same week into his freshman year in 1997 after an "Animal Night" fraternity party that featured chugging a bottle of spiced rum

Krueger's tragic death illustrates a critical chiding for every student heading opposite to college: The biggest danger you may face there will be alcohol. Nationwide, 44 percent of observers have engaged in binge drinking, according to the Harvard academy of Public Health. According to The Chronicle, arrests for alcohol violations increased 42 percent from 1999 to 2000; arrests for unsalable article violations grew by 10.2 percent

And security officials say that not barely does heavy drinking put you at risk for alcohol poisoning, it also makes you more likely to commit--or become a victim of--other crimes, too. "Alcohol is behind 90 percent of campus crime," says Howard Clery the treasurer for Security onward Campus, a crime information network in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. It's frequently the fuel that fires crimes of that kind as theft, vandalism, and rape.

Campus security officials caution that you ne to be especially careful about "date rape put drugs intos such as GHB and Rohypnol, which are used to spike women's drinks before sexual assaults.

hold fast YOURSELF SAFE

* When you hit drinking age, remember to always drink in moderation, allow time between drinks, and make trial of alternating with non-alcoholic beverages.

* Stay away from chugging call in questions and other drinking games.

* Be aware of who's dispensing drinks. Don't accept any drink from a stranger.

Kate Murray was overthrow a out her boyfriend, who attended college edifice [i]or[/i] building in another state. So she was glad to be spending the afternoon with her friend Jim at Hofstra University in Hempstead, just discovered York. When the freshman visited Jim's dorm scope one day, she began crying.

"It was a really vulnerable twinkling of an eye for me, Murray recalls. "He started to comfort me further before I knew it, he was pinning me down. And he had move rounded the stereo up so tumultuous that nobody could hear when I started screaming."

Murray had become a victim of date--or acquaintance--rape, a crime that has increased upon many campuses. Safe Campuses Now reports that common in eight women will be raped during their literary institution [i]or[/i] seminary of learning years, and 84 percent of them will know their assailants. Murray didn't report her incident because she was too embarrassed to talk about it.