The best safety advice I can give in college is that you should do anything you can with a group. If you're feeling uncomfortable at all on a date, be thankful that you're with a group. If you need something to keep your mind off of scary things or hard things in life, be with a group. Do anything you can with a group and it will help you stay safe from mental struggles or physical struggles or people out there that might be not looking for the right things to do.
Driving in the snow in the winter in Rexburg is a whole different monkey if you've never driven in the snow and I have a lot of advice on that topic, but one of the things that I found most useful is to have windshield covers. So get those windshield covers, you can get them pretty cheap on Amazon, the one that goes over the front of your windshield and then you close your front doors of your car around it so it stays on your windshield. It will prevent your windshield from getting snow on it and icing over so that you can much more quickly get to class in the mornings. You can also get one for your back window and that's really helpful. There is, I believe, a law in Rexburg and in the area that your car has to be cleaned off from snow. The windows, the top of the car, everything. So give yourself extra time if you're going to be driving in the winter because you need to clear off the top of your car because if you're driving and you break and the snow falls off of your car onto the car behind you or the road behind you, that's not safe. So if you're driving in the winter, get a windshield cover and make sure you give yourself extra time to clear off the top of your car and all of your windows before you drive because safety first.
People from all over the place come to Rexburg, and Rexburg gets pretty gnarly snow, and the first big snowstorm of the semester, you do not want to be driving your car, because a lot of people are learning how to drive in the snow poorly, and there are a ton of accidents, so the first storm, just stay off the roads with your car. Not a bad idea as a person either, but we used to live by, or I lived by the hill by the Kirkham and Smith, and we would just watch out our windows and watch people slide down the hill and try to miss each other's cars, because everyone was learning how to drive in snow, so stay off the roads the first big storm.
In the winter, there's a lot of safety concerns. One of them is the crosswalk, another one is driving, another one is walking. If you're going to be walking on campus when it's snowy, make sure that you give yourself enough time to get to class, whether you're driving or walking, give yourself enough time to get to class in the winter because it will be colder, you will want to walk slower, and the roads will be icy and the sidewalks will be icy. So don't try to be running around campus on the ice because people do slip and fall and it hurts, especially in areas where there's a lot of shadow and it doesn't get a lot of sun and there could be ice there. So just take your time in the winter walking around campus, just be safe, don't try to run, don't try to rush anywhere, give yourself enough time to get to your classes in the winter so that you're not slipping and falling on the ice.
So although Rexburg is a relatively safe place, lock your doors whether you're in the house or not in the house. Lock them especially at night. You don't want to leave your apartment unattended. Unattended and unlocked, right? Carry pepper spray. Carry your knives. Just be smart. Travel with another person if you're traveling like late at night on campus because that happens all the time and if it's a Sunday night, make sure people know where you are and that you have someone with you because that's where a lot of trouble happens on a Sunday night. So be safe.
A lot of people don't live in areas with pedestrians on the sidewalks, so as a driver, one, when you're going through an intersection, you check all four streets, but also pause and check all four walk corners for pedestrians, and as pedestrians, before you cross, just be super aware. Pretty much every year there was a kid who got hit at a crosswalk because someone didn't do what they were supposed to, so watch out.
While Rexburg is a really safe area, it is important to make sure that you do stay safe. So especially ladies, make sure that you lock your door at night to your apartment, and if you're the only one home, or if you're going to be out for a while, lock the door of your apartment. Because there have been issues in the past, and it's not very common, but it has happened that people have come into the women's dorms. So just make sure that you have your door locked when you leave, or overnight. Just to be safe.
Do not go to people who have bad energy. And if you want to take defense courses, there's only two you need. Jiu-jitsu, to help you to know that no power or size will make a difference. And then, MMA. If you know jiu-jitsu, you take them to the ground in MMA, just beat them up. You'll be fine.
I would say some safety things are to not leave your house when it's like dark out, like not alone anyways, and also BYU-Idaho is pretty nice. I haven't been to many other campuses, but I know that at BYU-Idaho they have a lot of the crosswalks where you can hit the button and it'll show a flashing light so that you can cross the street and it'll let the people driving know that you're there and let them be more alerted to the fact that you're there, so that's really nice. And always have your phone on you so you can call just to be safe, but also just like let people know where you're going so that if you show up after two hours, they know, but if you're gone for like five, then they're like, okay, I can't remember exactly where they said they were going, but then they would have people who knew where they were going.
To be safe on campus, when I was walking, I would always make a mental note for myself of where those blue emergency phones were, like the blue towers, so that I, if I, in the event that I ever needed them, then I already knew where they were and I didn't have to go looking. Also, if I was ever out like later than I thought I was going to be, or like I didn't expect it to be dark when I was done with a class or studying or whatever, then if it was dark, I never felt safe or comfortable walking outside in the dark by myself, and so I would always call like my home teacher or like a friend or whatever to walk with me, so that is also something I would really recommend.
Winter safety and winter driving safety is a really big one. If you plan to be driving in the winter, there's a lot of stuff. Driving on ice is really different and really difficult. But one of the biggest difficulties that I had in the winter was getting out of the parking lot. I lived at Greenbrier and half that parking lot is shaded. Most of the parking lot is shaded all winter. So just keep that in mind. It would be a good idea to have like kitty litter or something in your car or in your apartment so that if your car gets stuck in the ice, you can put that underneath or maybe a little rug that you can put underneath your tires to help your car get out of that ice initially because your car is going to get stuck in the parking lot. There were so many cars that get stuck in our parking lot because they didn't, it didn't get any sun and so there was so much ice in the winter. So just be prepared for that and give yourself extra time to get to class if you're going to be driving in the winter because your car might get stuck in the parking lot.
Lock your doors. Even if you have lots of roommates, lock your doors all the time. Make sure everyone has a key and lock your doors.
I often see women in pairs of two, and it always looks like the missionaries are outside, but I think that is a really good piece of safety advice, is to stick in groups of two at the very least if you're walking outside at night. Reiksburg is really safe, but anything can happen. Dangerous people exist everywhere, so if it's nighttime, get your sister missionary, walk together, and you will be all good.
People come to BYU-Idaho and think that every single person is a great person and no one is going to be there to harm you. That is absolutely wrong. There is some terrible people everywhere. And so, Nick Ramble, who is over all the sexual assault stuff, says that stuff has been rising recently. And it just continues to keep rising, sexual assault specifically. And he has said that there has never been any sexual assault that's happened in a well-lit area with lots of people. If you are having a date with somebody, make sure that your roommates know where you are. Make sure that if it's a first date, it's in a well-lit area with lots of people, and that you can get to know people that way. And I would try to stay away from mutual, but then most people succumb to that anyway. I know I have. And if you're having a mutual date, make sure your roommates know what the guy looks like. Make sure that you are meeting up in a public place, and I wouldn't let them know where your apartment is.
This is especially important in the winter, but any time of year. Make sure that when you are using the crosswalk, push that button that makes those little lights flash to show cars that you are crossing the street. And then stop and make sure that the car that is coming sees you and sees you walking into the street. Because there are a lot of times, especially during the winter, when it's difficult for cars to stop or slow down because of ice. And students will just walk out into the crosswalk expecting that a car can stop and sometimes they can't and sometimes they don't see you. So make sure when you're going to cross the crosswalk to make sure that the car can see you because it is a really big safety concern. So that's just something to keep in mind because there's a lot of crosswalks around BYU-Idaho. And as you are walking across the street, it's really, really important for your safety and for the cars around you to just make sure that it is clear and that the driver that's approaching can see you before you cross the street.
College is busy and it's easy to want to get things done as you're going from place to place in between classes, but don't be on your phone when you're in the crosswalks. There are signs saying that there will be fines for it, but there are so many accidents in the crosswalks. I have people that I worked with in the math study center who got hit by cars. Get off your phones, look up, talk to people, and be aware of what's going on around you.
So if you are a woman at BYUI, we have what's called the RAD class, or the Rape Aggression Defense class, and it's a national class that's run by police departments in every state of the U.S. It's the biggest self-defense program in the U.S. as well. And so I help out that, and it's kind of put on by campus security. Anyway, it's an awesome class led by women, and sometimes the police officers come and help as well when we need more people some days. But it teaches the basics of self-defense, and it is a free class, at least for the moment. Usually it costs a little bit, but once you attend once, you get the booklet signed if you attend every class. You can miss up to one class. And if you get it signed, then you can go anywhere in the U.S. to retake that class for free for the rest of your life. Pretty cool.
Don't give out your location to people who you don't know or just met. Always tell somebody where you're going if you're going out with somebody you don't know, and even if you aren't, I would also recommend always going with at least one other person, if not more.
I can't stress this enough. You're at BYU-Idaho. You're in a place where you can benefit from the presence of the Spirit while being as worthy as you possibly can, but just remember to be careful. Don't automatically presume that everybody there has the same intentions you do. And if somebody you barely know invites you over to their place for a date, really hesitate on that. The first date should be in a group setting, in a public area. You know, don't automatically trust someone just because you're at BYU-Idaho. But there are a lot of excellent students. Just practice caution, okay? Because you don't want to end up in a very tricky situation. And I mean that honestly.
Never go somewhere without telling someone else where you're going to be. You never know just because you're going with someone who says they're a member of the church or just because you have a class with them does not mean that you will be safe. Making sure you have your phone, being in public places with other people, and making sure you aren't alone with that person until you are able to feel safe with them. You never know what can happen and you always want to protect yourself and be on the extra cautious side to do that.
Rexburg unfortunately has one of the highest teen and young adult suicide rates per capita in the United States, so it's very important to make yourself aware of the various mental health resources offered both by the university and in the local community, and to be self-aware, and as well to be mindful of your roommates, people in your ward, and if you can let people know of resources so that if they are struggling they can get the help that they need.
Okay, Rexburg is generally a very safe place, but I would say if you want to keep safe from the police that is something that you should consider is that you should make sure that you do not leave your car out overnight anywhere because it will get ticketed because the police love driving around and ticketing as many people as they can because they just can. It seems like.