Perk #23: Safety at UCI
May 28th, 2012 | Author: Angela
Greetings everyone! I hope every one of you had a relaxing Memorial Weekend! I finally got to go home after a couple weeks of staying at school, and it felt soooo good. Nothing says “home, sweet home” like some of momma’s homemade meals and your own soft bed. Of course, for many of us, nothing beats coming back to where we feel safest and most loved.
For me, one of the best feelings of being at UC Irvine is feeling like I can walk anywhere, anytime, and make it to my destination in one piece. I feel like safety is one of the best luxuries that UCI and perhaps, even Irvine itself, has to offer. This is of course, apparent through the very active police department of Irvine as well as the escort service, and more services that Carlos included in his post. On top of that though, it’s really a general feeling of security that I get from being here at UCI. Recently, I’ve been taking a good amount of after-midnight walks back and forth from campus for various reasons. I suppose there are various reasons why one might feel safe wandering about the area late at night — the streets are still pretty well lit, the streets aren’t dead-quiet or empty even in the wee hours of the morning, and the general atmosphere in Irvine is simply… Peaceful. It feels even safer on campus and around the housing areas both on and off campus, especially with the blue-light emergency phones situated around every other corner. I’ve always felt like these emergency phones were a great idea for those scary situations where someone might be being followed. Thankfully, I have never felt the need to use it for myself, nor have I heard of any of my friends who have needed to use them.
I don’t know which one came first — the feeling of being safe, or the feeling of being at home. Either way, for me, both feelings exist and that makes being at UC Irvine so much more fulfilling. Of course, that isn’t to say that there’s absolutely no safety concerns to be worried about — I am in no way condoning reckless behavior! One can never be too safe, and as Carlos said, “it never hurts to have precautions”. At the same time though, have fun, Anteaters! Have a delightful and safe Week 9!
