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It’s hard to ignore the bright pink signs warning students of the recent muggings on and around campus this past week, just as it is hard to disregard the mass e-mails labeled “urgent warning” from the administration that have flooded the e-mail system. And though we are relentlessly reminded that safety is indeed an issue, it is easy to forget that while we are nestled in the heart of the user-friendly Twin Cities, we are also living in the midst of a densely populated urban area.

Moral of the story- be aware of your surroundings. We often fall into the misconception that if we don’t venture off campus, no one else will venture on. None of us should feel the need to walk around in a perpetual state of looking over our shoulders; that’s ridiculous. Events such as that of Wednesday, which occur in broad daylight, are by no means regular occurrences. None-the-less, there are basic precautionary measures that Mac students fail to follow on a regular basis.

Avoid walking alone outside at night. In most urban school settings few females would feel safe venturing out alone after sunset. Mac, after all, provides hideously underused the Safe Walk Program which provides those walking on campus and off to locations within one mile with a safe escort (x6699). Lock your doors when you leave your dorm rooms or apartments or houses. Look out for each other. We certainly can’t prevent all those odd frightening safety violations that are bound to occur from time to time in an urban college campus setting, but we certainly can approach our safety as a matter to take seriously rather than yet another one to brush to the outside of our Macalester Bubble.