When you are getting ready to go to college, you have a lot of things to think about. You have to choose your classes, figure out your roommate situation, and start packing for move-in day. But one of the most important things you need to do is to make sure that you are prepared to protect yourself

APR 14, 2023

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“Bulletproof inserts provide you with active shooter protection that can be removed to cover your head, your chest or other vital organs.”


College Ready: 5 Must Haves for Safety on Campus

There are a lot of things that you can do to make sure that you are safe on campus. Here are five of the most important things you need to have to stay safe while you enjoy college life:

Bulletproof Backpack Insert

It’s an unfortunate fact that carrying bulletproof protection on campus has become an absolute necessity. Active shooter crisis seem to happen on a monthly basis now, everywhere from college campuses to grocery stores. A bulletproof insert will arm you with a ballistic shield to protect your head or vital organs in an active shooter scenario.

Bulletproof inserts come in various sizes to fit backpacks, laptop bags, purses and everything in between. Unlike traditional bulletproof backpacks that are sewn into the bag itself, these Kevlar inserts can be moved from one bag to another so you are carrying bulletproof body armor all day on campus or all night in the club.
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Learn about How to Survive an Active Shooter Crisis so that you have the best chance of surviving if a gunman appears. In reading this article you will learn valuable survival tactics. Some of them will be contrary to what your natural reaction in a crisis would be. Educate yourself now so that you will be a survivor if, God forbid, you are ever in an active shooter emergency.

Date Rape Drink Test Kit

Even if you don’t drink alcohol, your drink can still be drugged. This is because the three most common date rape drugs are odorless, colorless and tasteless. You should watch your drink at all times when you are at a party or club. However, things happen sometimes. You get distracted. Someone in the crowd bumps you. Someone pours a toast for everyone at an after party. Never worry if you’re drink has been tampered with if you are carrying a date rape drink test kit.
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Each kit contains 20 drink tests in a sturdy tin box that can be thrown in your purse until you need it. Simply place a drop of your drink onto the test strip, gently rub it in and wait until it dries. If either of the test results turn blue, your drink should be thrown away immediately.

Rape is never your fault. However, you should empower yourself with the knowledge and skills to minimize your risk and exposure to being a rape victim. Learn some great tips on party safety by reading our article College Game Day Safety. Another excellent read to level up your safety awareness and preventions skills is 15 Date Rape Prevention Tips.

Self-Defense Weapon

Having the means to defend yourself from an attacker is critical to your safety on and off campus. A non-lethal, self-defense weapon can be the difference between life and death. Because universities have different rules depending on where you go to school, we recommend finding out what self-defense weapons you are allowed to carry on campus.

Most will permit a pepper spray and all will allow you to carry a kubotan self-defense keychain. However, stun guns may not be permitted on campus. If that is the case, you should have a pepper spray that you carry on campus and a stun gun that you carry when off campus.
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Discreet personal defense products such as a perfume bottle stun gun or a pepper spay disguised to look like a pen will allow you to carry self-defense protection without drawing a lot of attention to the fact that you are doing so. Fight Fobs self-defense keychains are another excellent choice. The Luxe models come with multiple self-defense options that can be added or removed from your keychain depending on the weapons policy where you are at any given time.

Diversion Safe

Living in a dorm environment or renting a house with friends are both scenarios where you will want to keep your valuables hidden from the many people that will have access to your living space. While you may trust your friends completely, study group members, first dates and house party guests may not be so well known. Never worry about someone stealing your cash stash or your treasured gold necklace if you keep them stashed in a diversion safe.


Diversion safes are also known as stash cans. These clever products are made to look like everyday products you would find in a typical home. For example, a hairbrush, a Dasani water bottle and any number of other common products. They weigh, look and feel exactly like the actual product with one exception. These stash cans have a secret compartment inside them to store your valuables in plain sight.

“Hide your valuables in plain sight. No one will ever know  your valuables are inside a diversion safe. Unless you tell them.”


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The size of the secret compartment varies depending on which diversion safe you choose, but the safety value is the same. You never have to worry about someone with sticky fingers walking away with your tip money if they don’t know it’s hidden inside the barrel of your hairbrush diversion safe.

Personal Panic Alarm

Last but not least, carrying a personal panic alarm is a must for campus safety. Often overlooked because they are not scary, a personal panic alarm’s importance cannot be overstated. Studies have proven that anything which draws attention to an attack in progress is a huge detractor that will often cause the attacker to abort their mission and flee the scene.


A panic alarm can also be your voice when you don’t have one. If you are kidnapped and your mouth is gagged, pulling a panic alarm will alert others in the area that an emergency is happening and draw attention to the situation.

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If you are in a car accident and get thrown from the car, you may be unable to scream if your ribs are broken. Pulling a personal panic alarm will alert first responders of your location so they can tend to your injuries.


Personal panic alarms are legal to carry everywhere so you never have to worry about weapons policies. While this should not be your only form of self-defense, it should definitely be a part of your self-defense plan.

Take Action

Most universities offer a free self-defense class at least once each semester. Contact your college’s Campus Security Department to get more information and sign up for a self-defense class. Further reading on personal safety tips for college can be found in our article College Bound: 5 Must Do’s to Stay Safe at School.

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There are a lot of things to do when you are getting prepared to go to college. Make sure that getting equipped to protect yourself is one of them. While a bulletproof insert is on the more expensive side, all of the other college campus safety items can be purchased for less than $50 depending on what you select as your self-defense weapon.


To make this easy, we’ve compiled a Campus Safety Collection with self-defense options to fit any budget. Our goal at Defense Divas is to educate and equip you to defend yourself so that you can truly enjoy all that college life has to offer.


Defense Divas® wants you to be equipped to defend yourself not only with a self-defense weapon, but also with the practical knowledge of safety awareness and prevention.


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Copyright©2023 All rights reserved. This article or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of Defense Divas®.


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