Looking after yourself and your friends
Published on 29 September 16
1) Friends who play together, stay together
If you're on a night out, it's always best to stay in a group. But it also means that you keep an eye on each other and notice when someone in your group has had a little too much to drink. Stick together, take extra precautions and be aware that drinking can affect your judgement
Not only is it cheaper to jump into a taxi if you're splitting it four ways, but there is safety in numbers.
Whether you’re on a night out, working late at the library or at a friend’s house, make sure someone knows where you are and when you’ll be back.
2) Know how you’re getting home
Consider where you're going and how you're going to get there. Plan where you’re going with friends and the route you’ll take, and then travel with them if you can. It’s always much more fun anyway!
When getting a taxi, make sure you wait in a safe place and check the driver's ID before you get in. Do not flag down private taxis unless you have pre-booked them. Black hackney carriages can be flagged down in the street.
The Students' Union Safe Taxi Scheme means that if you run out of cash and need to get home, you can give StreetCars Taxis your student card in lieu of payment, and pay the following day when you collect your card from the Students' Union Helpdesk.
To book, call StreetCars on 0161 228 7878 and quote 'Manchester SU Safe Taxi Scheme' with your full name and Student ID number.
Taxis in the scheme not only give students a 10% discount and offer fixed fares, but drivers are uniformed and their cars are liveried (all private hire vehicles in the city centre are either silver or white and have yellow stickers with the name of the company printed in black). StreetCars taxis are also GPS tracked, so via the app, you can see exactly how far away your driver is.
Travelling from near campus? The Students’ Union shuttle bus can take you from the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons home or to a train station safely and cheaply. A journey costs £2 - £4. If you don’t have enough cash, you can leave your student card with the driver and pick it up from the Students’ Union in return for your fare the next day!
If you do decide to walk, stick to main roads and avoid poorly lit areas and shortcuts.
3) Know your safety zones
Safe zones are shops, restaurants, and other venues along the Oxford Road Corridor that have agreed to provide a safe environment for students to go to wait if they feel at risk. This could mean asking them to call you a taxi home, wait for a problem to pass, or get help from staff or from the police.
You can find a full list of businesses participating here, and all businesses display a Student Safety Zone sticker in their window.
Always dial 999 in an emergency, or 101 to report a non-emergency crime.
Go ahead
We make our campus as safe as possible, with four security teams patrolling 24/7 on foot and in cars and via CCTV all along Oxford Road. We respond quickly, and work closely with the Students' Union, the police, and other universities to keep Manchester a great place to live and study.
Don't let fear of crime stop you from getting out and about. Taking precautions to minimise any risks will not only make you safer, it should also make you feel safer and give you more confidence when out on the streets.
For further tips and updates check out the Manchester Student Safety page or follow our crime reduction twitter account @UOMCRA.
We Get It!
Feeling safe is not just a physical right we don’t tolerate bullying and sexual harassment – and you shouldn’t either!
Harassment can take any form, not just physical. It could be a joke, a wolfwhistle an inappropriate sexual comment or insult. One person's "banter" could be deeply offensive to someone else; no one should have to feel uncomfortable for the sake of a joke.