Close Menu
The Baylor Lariat
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    Trending
    • Students react to emergency alert following campus lockdown
    • Baylor shelter-in-place lifted following police pursuit of robbery suspects
    • Baylor graduate charged after killing cats with pellet gun, hanging bodies over utility lines
    • Baylor Football’s Alex Foster dies at 18
    • Board of Regents confirms budget, renovations, new leadership in May meeting
    • How facilities responds to storms, flooding in campus buildings
    • Welcome Week leaders now paid in hopes of increasing numbers
    • 5 Baylor sports storylines to look forward to in 2025-26
    • About us
      • Spring 2025 Staff Page
      • Copyright Information
    • Contact
      • Contact Information
      • Letters to the Editor
      • Subscribe to The Morning Buzz
      • Department of Student Media
    • Employment
    • PDF Archives
    • RSS Feeds
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    The Baylor LariatThe Baylor Lariat
    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz
    Saturday, July 5
    • News
      • State and National News
        • State
        • National
      • Politics
        • 2025 Inauguration Page
        • Election Page
      • Homecoming Page
      • Baylor News
      • Waco Updates
      • Campus and Waco Crime
    • Arts & Life
      • Wedding Edition 2025
      • What to Do in Waco
      • Campus Culture
      • Indy and Belle
      • Sing 2025
      • Leisure and Travel
        • Leisure
        • Travel
          • Baylor in Ireland
      • Student Spotlight
      • Local Scene
        • Small Businesses
        • Social Media
      • Arts and Entertainment
        • Art
        • Fashion
        • Food
        • Literature
        • Music
        • Film and Television
    • Opinion
      • Editorials
      • Points of View
      • Lariat Letters
    • Sports
      • March Madness 2025
      • Football
      • Basketball
        • Men’s Basketball
        • Women’s Basketball
      • Soccer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
      • Volleyball
      • Equestrian
      • Cross Country and Track & Field
      • Acrobatics & Tumbling
      • Tennis
      • Golf
      • Pro Sports
      • Sports Takes
      • Club Sports
    • Lariat TV News
    • Multimedia
      • Video Features
      • Podcasts
        • Don’t Feed the Bears
      • Slideshows
    • Advertising
    The Baylor Lariat
    Home»Featured

    Self-defense is not the same as using a weapon

    Alexandra LaurenceBy Alexandra LaurenceFebruary 9, 2022 Featured No Comments3 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Alexandra Laurence | LTVN Reporter/Anchor

    Coming to college at Baylor means it’s essentially the first time in some students’ lives to be on their own. Moving into the dorms on campus has great benefits but of course comes with some restrictions. For example, Baylor allows pepper spray on campus but does not allow it in residence halls.

    This is an alarming discovery, as I keep pepper spray on me at all times as a means of self-defense. Take a look on campus at girls’ key rings; it won’t take you very long to see girls doing the same thing and keeping pepper spray on them just in case. Waco’s total crime rates have gone up and down over the years, and tons of people walk home at night from the library, go on a late-night ice cream run or even find themselves in the middle of the day on a walk outside by themselves just a little ways off campus and want that sense of security when they walk into their dorm.

    The scariest statistic of them all is that there were 710 violent crime incidents reported in Waco in 2020. And yet, the residence halls will not let us have in our possession an effective self-defense device? We are young adults who want to protect ourselves and will use it appropriately. As Texas is one of the top states for sex trafficking, a college campus where thousands of young adults — specifically women ages 18 to 22 — live seems like the most ideal place for something bad like this to happen.

    The thing about pepper spray is that it is a highly effective deterrent with immediate results. When you use pepper spray, it creates a burning sensation in the eyes, nose, mouth and throat and causes difficulty breathing; you can possibly go blind as well, as eyes are swollen shut. The effects can last up to a few hours.

    Pepper spray leaves people feeling more confident and safe when they are on their own and gives them a valuable advantage when being alone. Pepper spray can be the difference in having a near-death experience and can help people get out of situations unscathed. In a city that has a statistically high crime rate, it can end an attack without physical force or violent action and is non-lethal. Pepper spray is legal in Texas, and we should be encouraged to have it on hand in our residence halls.

    Alexandra Laurence

    Keep Reading

    Students react to emergency alert following campus lockdown

    Baylor shelter-in-place lifted following police pursuit of robbery suspects

    Baylor graduate charged after killing cats with pellet gun, hanging bodies over utility lines

    Baylor Football’s Alex Foster dies at 18

    Board of Regents confirms budget, renovations, new leadership in May meeting

    How facilities responds to storms, flooding in campus buildings

    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Recent Posts
    • Students react to emergency alert following campus lockdown June 27, 2025
    • Baylor shelter-in-place lifted following police pursuit of robbery suspects June 26, 2025
    About

    The award-winning student newspaper of Baylor University since 1900.

    Articles, photos, and other works by staff of The Baylor Lariat are Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.

    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz

    Get the latest Lariat News by just Clicking Subscribe!

    Follow the Live Coverage
    Tweets by @bulariat

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    • Featured
    • News
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Arts and Life
    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.