Public transit is a great way for students to get to and from school without having to deal with traffic or fluctuating gas prices. But with students coming and going at all times of day being safe becomes very important.

Luckily, City College has a transit stop across the street from campus. However, many students using the public transit system must walk to a transit stop before getting on the actual bus or trolley to ride to school, which can be dangerous.

Walking alone puts a person at risk, especially at night. Listening to music or texting while walking put a person’s focus on something else rather than what is going on around them, which could also put them in harm’s way.

Sgt. Jordan Mirakian, of campus police advises that students should “not travel alone, late at night, or in dark areas on or off campus.”

More importantly Mirakian wrote in an email, “we always recommend being

aware of your surroundings”. So often we see students’ texting on their phones or wearing headphones at night, and we generally discourage this.”

While on the bus or trolley, many of the same safety tips apply.

As with walking, the bus and trolley’s are safer during the day because there are more people around.

Campus police does offer safety escorts for student to vehicles at any time of day.

To request an escort call campus police dispatch at (619) 388-6405 or use any call box on campus.

MTS website currently does not have any safety tips. Mirakian has offered to post safety tips on the San Diego Community College District Police Department’s website, http://police.sdccd.edu, as well as their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/collegepolice, for students to access whenever they need to.