Students may be excited about the prospect of returning home for the holidays, but many never stop to think about what they leave behind or the risks they take. University Police Chief Gerald Schoenle suggests making safety and security a priority over Thanksgiving break.
"The primary safety message is of course for students to be safe traveling home for the holidays because invariably one of our students has a car accident," Schoenle said. "One of our former students lost their life a month ago in this area, and it appears that they were not wearing their seatbelt. So we encourage our students to wear a seatbelt and drive safely when they're traveling home for the holidays."
University Police, in collaboration with Campus Dining and Shops, issues a safety flier every year during the holiday season. This year's flier focuses on anti-car theft. The police's recommendations for keeping cars safe include making sure to not leave valuables in plain sight in the car, and to secure valuables such as GPS units, radar detectors and radios.
Students driving home should also take precautions in protecting and preparing their automobiles for the ride home, according to Shreya Thakar, a junior fine arts major.
"Make sure you get your car checked," Thakar said. "Get your windshield wipers checked because mine were broken, and I didn't find out until winter."
Practicing safe driving is important at any time of year, but especially during this season when the roads become icy and traffic becomes congested, according to Shawn Baisley, a senior exercise science major.
"I'll probably drive the day before break at night when there's the least amount of traffic," Baisley said
Joseph Crane, a freshman biomedical sciences major, believes making good time home isn't worth getting in a car accident.
"Don't be in a hurry. Watch where you're going," Crane said. "Make sure you know the weather conditions so that you can prepare."
Mary Clare Fahey, a coordinator for the Office of Student Life, urges students to take special precautions if they plan on driving home for Thanksgiving or winter break.
"You want to make sure you have a cell phone with you when you're traveling, and a charger for it," Fahey said. "More than once I talked to a student who got a flat tire and...couldn't call roadside assistance because their phone was dead."
It's also important to practice fire safety over the holiday breaks by unplugging electronics, Fahey said, as certain appliances could cause a fire.
"Students should make sure that things that don't need to be plugged in while they're gone are unplugged," Fahey said. "Particularly space heaters, curling irons, clothes irons, coffeepots. Whoever is the last person to leave should be charged with going around and making sure that the stuff that doesn't need to be plugged in is unplugged."
Cassandra Bowens, a senior health and human services major, will be taking special precautions to unplugging and securing her belongings before going home for break.
"I'm going to unplug everything in my room and check the stove to make sure it's off," Bowens said. "I'm the last one leaving my apartment, so I'll make sure everything's set."
Students should take anti-theft precautions when leaving for the holidays this season, according to Schoenle. Locking doors and windows and asking a neighbor to keep an eye on the house are standard anti-theft measures to take.
"We always encourage (students) to leave a light on and lock everything up," Schoenle said.
Schoenle also recommends canceling a newspaper service or any mail coming to the door, or to have a neighbor or friend pick up mail and other deliveries while students are away.
"If you have a newspaper service, you don't want those things piling up on the door," Schoenle said.
Emma Jamalkowski, a freshman pre-pharmacy major, plans on taking her most valuable possessions home with her to ensure they're not stolen during winter break.
"I'm taking most of my stuff that I think is valuable home: my laptop and any of my expensive jewelry," Jamalkowski said.
Besides having their belongings stolen, students leaving their dorms and apartments for winter should make sure not to leave behind any important documentation, according to Narasimhan Ramesh, a graduate computer science major.
Students should make sure to bring important identification, credit card and other billing statements, banking statements, and any other paperwork with confidential information on it with them, as this could lead to identity theft, Ramesh said.
"Never leave behind any paperwork, like passports and identification, and don't keep too much cash in the house," Ramesh said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
