Warning to parents - before your kids leave home for college

[jym626]

Not that it really matters, but the student killed at UGA was a nursing student at a nearby college who happened to be on the UGA campus.

[Mjkacmom]

I have 2 daughters away at college (Clemson and BU) who are avid runners, I did not need to see that on the news yesterday.

[DcMdVaMom]

When I was 9, I was almost kidnapped by a stranger. So I’ve tended to be more cautious throughout most of my life compared to other kids. I’ve been giving my kids age-appropriate safety advice since they were young even though we live in a “safe” neighborhood. I loved to run when I was young too. I always had a running partner, ran at the gym, or ran in places that had very clear access to people or help if I needed to yell for help (like homes, roads, stores, blue lights, etc).

[sflawyermom]

@MWolf

Juries will determine whether a man is guilty on rape trial not based on facts but on the victim’s sexual history. Even the slightest hint of impropriety on the part of the victim can result in the accused rapist being acquitted. It was far worse in previous decades.

Almost all states and the federal government have “rape shield” laws that limit the ability to introduce evidence of past sexual conduct of the complainant in a sexual assault trial or limits the cross-examination of a complainant’s past sexual behavior. The federal law was enacted as part of the Violence Against Women Act.

And, as a former sorority member and frat party goer, I will just chime in that in my late 80s/early 90s experience, we all knew not to “drink the punch”, go check out some guys “fish tank” in his room, and to always have a buddy and never leave your buddy alone. We looked out for each other at every party. We also always asked for escorts by the on-campus police if it was late. There were also multiple PSAs on consent in both the sororities and frats. As someone above said, I don’t think it’s gotten worse we are just learning more about the instances. And, some of the best friends I made in college were my sorority sisters. We still meet up yearly and have chats going regularly; we all still support each other. At a large state school, it was an easy way to make friends.

Now, my S24 is interested in possibly joining a frat, despite my hope that he doesn’t go that route, but I know that he’s a good kid and respects women and has been raised better than some of the kids I grew up with. He’s gonna make his own choices and if he chooses that route I will reiterate my concerns to him (and share that article someone shared above).

And thanks to OP (I think) for suggesting the birdies, I purchased a bundle for my C21 to pass out to their friends, and reiterated my advice of never walking along at night, going into parking garages alone, opening the dorm door to unknown people, etc. She was like: “Mom, stay off of social media!”