This is in response to the article titled, Unknown suspects assault MSU students (SN 10/18).
Anyone getting attacked like this is never a good thing. After feeling sorry for the girls who experienced this, the next thing that came to my mind: When are people finally going to learn? It doesn’t take that much intelligence to know that walking alone at night, in low-traffic areas, is not safe for someone to do, especially for a female. If I had to guess, at least one of the two women was wearing a backpack at the time, and the other one was talking on her cell phone. If I were going to attack someone, those would be good targets to go after. The first one can’t take off running because of the heavy books attached to her back, and the second one is completely oblivious to her surroundings, enveloped in conversation. The only thing that would make someone a better target is if one had been drinking.
And while this may be sexist, it seems as though women think the useless can of pepper spray in their purses will protect them. Most attacks happen from behind, so when you are startled and your adrenaline kicks in, someone inexperienced in that situation will have a difficult time reaching for their spray, removing the safety and aiming it properly. That stuff is difficult to aim, and if you are in close quarters you will end up getting it all over yourself, which defeats the purpose.
The reason this continues to happen is because people don’t use common sense. There are so many simple things people can do to protect themselves. First, MSU police offer escort services. All you have to do is call and an officer will be happy to escort you to your location safely. How much safer can it get than that? If you don’t want to do that, then get a friend to walk with you. There’s always strength in numbers. Hang up your cell phone so you can pay attention; your conversation was most likely not important anyway. Walk with your backpack on one shoulder, so you can leave it if you need to take off quickly. No matter where you live and what you do, there will always be bad people out looking to hurt others. The best things you can do, is be proactive and use common sense.
Steve Schauer
osteopathic medicine graduate student
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