Since we didn’t take a tour of any college, large, small, public or private that DIDN’T mention those call boxes, I’d be surprised if a student wasn’t aware of them. It’s also harder to dig out a cell phone than to just grab a handset. But as with the session where I heard about the call boxes and cameras being synced up, my mention of this was more for the parent’s peace of mind.
I agree with @carachel2 that this has the feel of a media-induced panic. The fact that your mother has a co-worker who’s doubling down on her only makes it worse. I can imagine a scenario where the co-worker blindsided your mother with all sorts of suggestions that made your mom feel like she was a neglectful parent. Depending on the politics of her workplace, this might be a person who isn’t easy to dismiss with a polite “mind your own business”.
Call the admissions office of the OOS college you want to go to (or colleges if you’re still trying to decide) and ask if they can pull out the big reassurance guns on your behalf. Your mom isn’t the first parent to feel like this and it’s in your future college’s interest to convince her that they’re wonderful. They may have someone with a fancy sounding title give her a personal call or maybe they can enlist local alumni to reassure her.
Good luck.
I don’t know your mom, but I’m betting some of this is about you being a girl.
Why does she think that being OOS is somehow magically more dangerous? She does realize that OOS for you is in-state for lots of other people, doesn’t she? Does she think that muggers, rapists and shooters are carefully researching their victims and only targeting people from out of state? How could the mere fact that you cross a state line to attend college automatically make you less safe?
TEXAS? SHE THINKS TEXAS IS SAFE?!?! Yeah, because college kids, liquor and guns are a combination to inspire confidence in any worried parent’s mind.
Your OOS is others’ instate. Tell your mom there will be plenty of instate freshmen women where you will be going. They will be coming from many places outside of the college town. You will be no more/less safe than if you came from that state. Distance from home will not make you any more/less safe.
Too late to give up on your preferred schools to apply to any who still accept applications since your choices are likely a better fit for you (or you would have applied to those schools last fall). Your mom had her chance- last fall.
I suspect reality is hitting her. Her baby girl is leaving home for the dangerous world. Plan on a school you have been admitted to. Go ahead and finalize your college plans with one of the two you are already admitted to. If both are equally favorable in your eyes let your mom help you choose among them to give her a voice. Perhaps discussing the reasons for choosing each school- with an emphasis on the academic programs good for your plans will help.
I must admit we did not mention the U of Chicago to our son when he was considering colleges. We were leery of the bad neighborhoods surrounding it knowing our young (16 when he started college) son was a distance runner likely to ignore safety admonitions. He went instate to a large flagship known for partying- and did well. Some parents feared that school for its reputation. Every school will have its detractors for some issue.
You could pull up the Clery Act stats on the school you want to attend and see if there’s anything alarming there. If not, maybe that will put your mother more at ease (or give her ammunition to use with busybody work colleagues).
Would it be Cleveland State or Case Western?
Update: So, I talked to my mom last night and brought up some of the things that you guys mentioned. She seems to be okay with everything now 
She admitted that it was he co-worker (who is one of her best friend) that was really the cause of her concerns. I reassured her that I’ll be safe and not put myself in any compromising situations.
I know which school I’m attending (CSU) and I’ll have 3 other roommates in my dorm. The dorms give priority to people living more than 50 miles away from the university, so I think at least one of my roommates will also be OOS. I told her that if I want to explore the city or go out at night, I’ll make sure to be with my roommates. This gave her more peace of mind
@MYOS1634 Cleveland State, I’m not smart enough to get into Case lol
Since you live in Texas, your mother’s co-worker probably doesn’t know much about Cleveland and thinks of it as a scary place… But type 'university circle’in YouTube and show the resulting video to your mom.
Sure, it’s not exactly where Cleveland State is located, but it IS Cleveland and it probably doesn’t match what her coworker 's said about the city .
This being said, yes it’s a bit dangerous in that area of the city, but nothing like the scary parts of NOLA.