Old Dominion UniversityHealth & Safety Summary

Written by Bryoney Hayes

Bryoney Hayes

Hometown

The East Coast!

Major

English with a Journalism concentration

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At the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, there were a rash of muggings and violent crimes on Killam Street, and from time to time you still hear about someone getting robbed. Only one of these was a break-in, however, and though it is scary, that sort of thing is fairly uncommon. Muggings sometimes happen, but they generally happen late at night to students who are walking alone or are unaware of their surroundings. Though these things are always going to be uncontrollable to a degree, simple safety tips like walking in groups and being aware of their surroundings (i.e. not walking around loud and drunk) can really help in terms of insuring your safety.

Since then, however, ODU and Norfolk Police have been really proactive in protecting the campus, and the acting president holds periodic meetings to discuss and devise safety strategies with the campus community. Students who leave their GPS sitting out on their dashboard might come back to a broken window and no GPS, but at the same time, Nofolk is a city, and in any city setting it might be a good idea to just go ahead and throw the GPS in your glove compartment. Things like bikes and laptops are the most common things that come up missing, according to the ODU police department, but there are programs in place to at least track and identify your stuff if the crime can’t always be prevented. Again, though, if there are computer labs on campus, maybe it’s not such a good idea to walk around at night carrying a $1400 piece of equipment. And always remember to chain up your bicycle. Common sense can really go a long way toward protecting yourself and your property.