College Drinking and Crimes

Recently moving to college has opened my eyes to how big of a problem college parties and drinking are. Just this past weekend, on my college campus, there was a shooting incident and a robbery, Although these were not directly linked to drinking, both incidents took place late at night and early in the morning. Knowing that both incidents involved students, it is extremely likely that those students were either heading to a party or returning home from one. Even if these students were not involved in partying, most crimes on weekend nights on college campuses someone who has been drinking. Parties will always take place on college campuses, so a solution can't be telling people not to party. Instead, we need to make safety more of a priority. Yes, campus faculty tells students not to walk home alone at night, but the danger of walking home alone does not seem to worry all students. Most crimes happen because someone spots an opportunity to take advantage of a vulnerable individual. If a student is walking home with someone else, they are less likely to be the victim of a crime. We have made progress with safety by adding SafeWalks, a company that provides escorts to students that need someone to walk home with. However, if a student has been heavily drinking, it is likely that the student will not think to call SafeWalks or they will be too scared of the consequences, such as being reprimanded for underage alcohol consumption. I suggest that SafeWalks patrols areas where most parties take place, such as fraternity houses, during a few hours at night. Because they are available on call, it should not be too difficult to patrol the campus. The main advantage of this suggestion would be getting students home safely without any punishment for drinking. We need to make sure students trust organizations, such as SafeWalks, to call them for help. If this was successful, it would likely limit the amount of crime that takes place on college campuses due to drinking, which would improve community health.