One of the most important lessons students need to learn while in a college city is difficult… One of the most important lessons students need to learn while in a college city is difficult to teach in class: personal safety.

Officer Ashley Thompson, crime prevention officer for Zone 4 of the city police department, said personal safety comes down to three basic issues: instincts, awareness and routine.

“Routine is the hardest for college students,” he said. “One you’ve gotten into a certain routine, people can pick up on it, such as how you walk to school [and] when you go to class, which is hard to change,” he said.

Thompson said instincts and awareness are more important — and more easily adjusted — for students. He added that students must be aware of their surroundings and know what is going on when they are out walking.

“You need to trust that little voice inside,” he said. “If you’re in Oakland at 1 or 2 in the morning, if you don’t have a reason for being there, what are you doing?”