When you first arrive on campus, the gated entrances and keycard access system may seem like more than enough security to keep you safe and sound throughout your four years on campus. Those safety measures are usually proficient in ensuring the wellbeing of the student body, but Wake Forest still occasionally has safety issues. For those rare moments, it’s important to keep these safety tips in mind as you settle in to your new home.

1. University Police Is Your Friends, Not Foes

The University Police is there to help you throughout your college career, and they will work with you if you ever need their services. The WFUPD dispatch office, located in the basement of Davis Hall is a great place to go if you ever find anything wrong. Being truthful and working with them is your best bet, because they will find out if you lie to them.

2. Medical Amnesty Is Your Best Asset 

Medical amnesty is essentially your “get out of jail free” card in college, and is a policy that you should not hesitate to use if the situation calls for it. The medical amnesty policy states that if you or your friend seek medical assistance while intoxicated or for another individual who is intoxicated, even if you are under 21, neither you, nor the individual receiving medical assistance will be charged for underage drinking. This policy is incredibly beneficial for all students and ensures that no student will be injured as a result of forgoing medical assistance for fear of being written up for drinking.

3. Use the Buddy System 

While it may sound juvenile, the buddy system is a great way for you and your friend to keep track of each other and look out for each other if you’re in an unfamiliar place. Use it to make sure that neither of you are taken advantage of or to avoid becoming overly intoxicated if you want to go out at night.

4. Don’t Drink and Drive

This rule has been ingrained in you since you were in junior high, but it will always be the most important rule if you decide to drink. Options such as Über, the university shuttle or local Winston-Salem taxi services are there to prevent the dangers of drunk driving. Any alternative is safer than driving drunk.

5. Southern Hospitality Has Its Limits

Wake Forest is commonly referred to as a bubble, and the university knows who should be entering and exiting at all times. With this in mind, take caution of who you hold the door open for and who you offer to scan into a dorm or locked building.

Making the right decision as to who you let into a hall or dorm could make a huge difference for the safety of you and your peers.