You see her, with mid-length hair, wearing a pair of leggings and a bright pink shirt, walking alone in the dark. You notice that she constantly looks around herself to ensure no one is following her, including you.
So, as a decent human being, you cross onto a different street, but you still see the fear on her face and the grip on her keys that she holds on for dear life.
If you’re confused by any of this, well, this is the typical experience of a woman being alone in the dark.
As a young woman, one of my greatest fears is the dark, not because of the darkness itself but because of the many horrible things that have happened to women when they’re alone in it.
This fear runs so deep in my body that I avoid going out in the dark alone, or if I do, I remain in my car. However, there are some moments, especially when I’m on campus late at night, when I must walk alone.
These are the worst moments of my days because I constantly look behind me and feel my heart beat faster with every step I take. If you’ve never experienced the queasy feelings of believing that you’re in harm’s way, I consider you lucky and, perhaps, privileged.
It is an absolute gift to walk around aimlessly in the dark, alone, without a care in the world. If you feel that way, I will admit that I envy you. However, as a woman, I don’t have the same privilege.
This leads me to applaud a fellow colleague of mine who recently, after a required meeting that I hosted, walked me to my car.
To be frank, during my collegiate career, no one has ever done that for me. It surprised me, but it was a rather pleasant surprise.
The person in question didn’t do it for their own advantage; in fact, they were going in a different direction to the library; they did it out of the goodness of their heart.
Even though I repeatedly apologized, they didn’t make me feel bad that my car was parked further from where we were. They just wanted to ensure that I was safe. This was a nice feeling, and it got me thinking about how more people, including myself, should do this.
Though there are resources on campus, such as the LSU Police and Girls Rides, they are only resources for people who need rides to and from a location. I am not in any way trying to condemn these resources; they are amazing, and I highly advise anybody who feels unsafe on campus to use them.
Nevertheless, they do not necessarily help anyone when they need to walk to their car or are out in the public sphere. That is why we should all have more good friends or even colleagues who walk and/or drive us to our vehicles and vice versa.
No matter who you are, you deserve to feel safe and not like everything at nighttime is out to get you. I wish many women, including myself, didn’t have to feel this way, but maybe we’ll get there someday.
In the meantime, let’s all try to be good samaritans and make each other feel safe, loved and comforted.
Taylor Hamilton is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from Tallahassee, Fla.
