OPINION Girl Code: How women at LSU can stay safe during a night out

JEMIAH’S

Justifications

JEMIAH CLEMONS @Miclemah

In light of the tragic Madison Brooks case, many women at LSU may be wondering what to do to stay safe. Here are a few recommendations and tips.

Stick together

Many women are told to stick together from a young age, yet this teaching is commonly ignored. There’s safety in numbers, and you never know who’s watching you. If one person in a group of seven needs to use the bathroom, then all seven people should be in the bathroom line.

Any kind of separation throughout the night is an opportunity for danger to creep in. Even in the Tigerland lines, there are always random people lurking. These people might be watching and looking for an opportunity.

Other tactics like watching your drink and drinking responsibly can help protect young women. The Nightcap and Cup Condoms can be bought on Amazon for a low price, and they come in bulk. In the case of separation, using Life 360 and other tracking apps can be utilized for safety.

Prior to going out with a group, you should get to know the people you’ll be hanging out with. Also come up with a plan. Having a designated driver, sober friend and an emergency contact might drastically reduce the risk of an emergency.

You should go home with ev- eryone you came with. Be a girl’s girl

Obviously no one goes to the club to babysit, but Baton Rouge is far from safe. We owe it to each other to look out for one another. You’ve heard it a million times, but if you see something, say something. Even if you don’t want to spend your night looking after someone, at least contact the police.

It’s no secret that Tigerland has a prominent rape culture. For a freshman, the first time in a club at Tigerland can be exhilarating, but after a while, most people have to be drunk to have a decent time. This coupled with the lurkers outside the clubs, can create a whirlpool of danger.

The Baton Rouge Police Department doesn’t just stand in Ti- gerland to twiddle their thumbs. The officers are there in case of an emergency. So the cute man you were flirting with at the bar can wait. If you see a woman that’s drunk and alone, you either need to find her friends, a club employee or the police. If you don’t take care of her, the streets of Baton Rouge will.

Avoid Tigerland

Doing this may be hard for a lot of students, but it’s truly worth it. The amount of money, time and energy that can be saved from doing this is astronomical. Now I’m no mathematician, but paying a $10 cover for 18 weeks at the bar doesn’t add up to a pretty number.

This also doesn’t take into account the people who go twice on weekends or bar hop. Drinks and Uber rides aren’t cheap either, so a large amount of money is being wasted on dirty nightclubs full of strangers and mediocre music.

There are several alternatives to clubbing at Tigerland. A girls’ night in with wine, dinner parties, house parties and kickbacks can be safer and more cost-effective. Though we live in a city with limited options, it’s not impossible to find safer alternatives with your friends.

If Madison Brooks’s story has taught us anything, it’s that everyone, women especially, should look out for one another. Having safer party habits is important because someone’s life may depend on it.

Jemiah Clemons is a 19-year-old kinesiology major from Miami, Florida.