How to Stay Safe
It’s a given that as a fresher, you’d be super excited to start university, as you should be!
University is an amazing experience where you’ll get your first tastes of real freedom and the opportunity to learn what you are truly passionate about before you have to enter the working world and be almost completely financially responsible for yourself. However, like any experience, university can also be dangerous if you don’t take any precautions, especially if you’re doing university abroad where your support system is timezones and oceans away. We want everyone to have fun while staying safe, so let us present to you our student’s guide to staying safe! Here, we’ll be giving you a variety of info and tips to know as well as the wonderful resources the university provides to ensure we all stay safe even if we’re going for a long and crazy night out.
Cooking and Kitchen Safety
Whether you’re a seasoned chef or someone who’s only ever made instant noodles, kitchen and cooking safety are extremely important. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re in the kitchen or cooking!
Don’t leave any fires unattended
Don’t leave appliances on unattended
Don’t put metals, plastics or grapes in the microwave
Don’t cross-contaminate raw food with cooked food, ensure all food is cooked thoroughly before eating it
Ensure food isn’t rotten or expired before consuming them
Don’t drink hot tap water (but normal tap water is fine)
Ensure plastic containers aren’t placed on hot surfaces or near hot objects (and don’t fill plastic water bottles with hot water!)
Don’tuse metal utensils on non-stick pans
After getting a burn on your skin, immediately run the burnt area under cold water for a few minutes
Throw away expired food and close all containers, lids and caps on properly so that nothing spills, especially if you use a higher rack on a shared communal fridge
Don’t cook foods straight from frozen unless specifically stated otherwise
Don’t leave food out for longer than a few hours
Keep your knife sharp
Don’t lean over hot oil
Turn off sockets when you’re leaving for extended periods of time
Traffic Safety
Pedestrians
Look both ways before crossing the road
Walk on the sidewalk
Stick to well-lite and safe routes, and plan your route ahead so you don’t get lost
Don’t carry large amounts of cash or valuables
Travel in groups at night
Avoid isolated and dark alleys or areas
Cyclists
Obey traffic regulations and traffic lights
Wear a cycling helmet
Ensure your bike is in a good and usable condition
Ensure you lock your bicycle when you park it
Only park your bicycles in specified parking areas
Drivers
Obey traffic regulations, ensure you’re familiar with UK regulations and have a UK driving license
Watch out for pedestrians
Ensure your car has the appropriate conditions for the appropriate weather conditions (eg. snow tires for snow)
Wear your seatbelt
Don’t drive drowsy or drunk
Ensure you lock your car and hide or avoid keeping valuables in the car
A Safe Night Out
Having fun doesn’t necessarily mean becoming vulnerable! Keep our tips in mind and you’ll dance the night away without a fear.
Inform people you trust about where you’re going and when you’ll return
Make sure you have a plan on how you’ll come back
Make sure your phone’s fully charged when you go out or bring a power bank
Don’t go off with people you don’t trust, stick with your friends
Stay in contact if you and your friends are going to separate areas of the club, update them when you’re moving
In a club, keep regular checkups with your friends on whether you’re all feeling safe and how drunk you are (if you’re drinking)
Don’t drink anything a stranger has offered you or drinks that haven’t been poured in front of your eyes
Don’t leave drinks unattended and have your hand over your drink when not drinking
Know your limits - knowing how much alcohol you can handle safely is extremely important on a night out, plus clubs won't let you in too intoxicated
Turn your location on (whether that be Snapchat or WhatsApp)!
Avoiding Scams
Ensure you only use safe and secure websites, typos are a huge red flag
Don’t download anything from suspicious websites
Don’t click on random links from your messages or emails
Try to meet people you’re dating online in person before sending any money or sharing very personal information
Use strong passwords
Use security software on all your appliances
Do not connect to password-less or unsecured wifi networks
Ensure your device’s operating system is updated
Report scams or any suspicious calls or messages
Report and get help quickly if you’ve been scammed
Block your card by calling your bank or through your bank’s app if there’s been any suspicious activity on your card
Common scam to watch out for: messages from a supposed mailing company that they couldn’t deliver your package with a link to reappoint a different time to mail the package
University Resources
Want to give yourself extra protection? The University of Warwick provides the following resources to ensure students stay safe.
Warwick Report + Support
Anonymously report an incident or speak to an advisor if an incident has happened and
Get support and information on safety issues like sexual misconduct, discrimination,
Bullying and harassment, hate incidents and hate crime, relationship abuse and the university’s policy, process and FAQs.
Warwick’s Student Safety Tips Webpage
The Wellbeing and Student Support Webpage
The Wellbeing and Student Support Personal Safety Tips
The Community Safety Team’s Information and Contact Page
Phew, that was a lot of bullet points we threw at you, wasn’t it? It never hurts to be prepared, and beyond even this article, there are many things you can do to keep yourself safe. We at WAC hope that even if not everything here was useful for you, everyone stays safe and sound while we journey through university far away from home. Let’s have fun and make sure our parents don’t need to worry about us too much! Stay safe, WACsters.
Additionally, as this is the last of the Fresher’s series articles, we at the marketing team at WAC sincerely hope that you enjoyed and found our Fresher’s series of articles helpful! You can check the rest of the articles out on our WAC website, link in our Instagram (handle name: warwickaseanconference). We hope to see you soon on campus at Warwick! Definitely check out the fresher’s week events we’re holding too, okay?
Signing off on the fresher’s series articles, your publications team head, Isabella :)