SAFETY TIPS

by Paula Ramos Perez design by Irvin Castaneda

Through an educational program, seniors and juniors learn the importance of safety and staying alert

With the end of the school year quickly approaching, seniors prepare to enter a new stage in life: adulthood and the real world. Though this phase can be overwhelming to navigate, school resource officer Eric Stevens hopes to prepare students with the Situational Awareness For Everyday (S.A.F.E.) program.

“S.A.F.E. started with the women's program, and the idea was that a lot of folks go through their whole lives up to high school where someone else is looking out for them,” Stevens said. “Now, they’re getting ready to graduate high school, and [we wanted] to create a crash course to get them thinking, ‘How do I keep myself safe?’”

Taking place at North on March 7 and 8, the program was offered to senior women and junior and senior men, respectively.

“We structure [the programs] conference style; it’s more relaxed than a classroom setting, but we’re giving talks, Powerpoints, and conversations,” Stevens said.

Though the two programs will cover different topics of situational awareness, both have the same overarching goal of teaching students how to keep themselves safe.

“For the women’s [program], we talk about sex crimes, what rape and other things mean, physical tactics and safer partying,” Stevens said. “For the guys, [we talk about] sex crimes, some things you need to know to become a man in today’s society, and trusting your gut.”

Encouraging students to sign up, Stevens stresses the message of being prepared.

“I feel like both men and women should sign up because you are about to take a big step,” Stevens said. “[We’re] trying to take the surprise out of it and trying to give some real world, real life examples of things that can happen so folks aren’t walking in completely blind.”

Taking action, various students have already signed up for the programs. Participating in the Dude Version, senior Lukas Iorio finds the program helpful.

“Personal safety is important to me because I don’t want to get hurt or mess up my future,” Iorio said. “I just hope to put myself in a position to not endanger myself when I’m in college,”

Likewise, senior Paige Rice thinks the program is a step in the right direction to prepare for college.

“It’s important to be aware of your surroundings at all times, and keeping yourself safe is something that you have to be able to do to function as an adult,” Rice said.