By Clara Snyder | Staff Writer
Headed Home, a third-party safety resource for students, has come to Baylor this fall with the goal of fostering community while helping students arrive safely to their destinations.
Created by class of 2021 Baylor alumnus Caleb Davis, Headed Home will offer two different 10-month payment plans for students walking from a myriad of locations on campus.
“Parents had been talking to me and people I know about how there’s crime on and off campus, like any other university has,” Davis said, “So, we were like, what’s something that we can do to kind of relieve a little bit of that stress?”
Headed Home walkers will be students evaluated through background checks and other resources to ensure an individual will be a trustworthy walker, Davis said.
The program will also have designated stations where students can meet.
“We want to have programs going from major places on campus,” Davis said. “We’re thinking libraries are a big one that people stay late at, as well as the business school, the BSB and other [locations] that are spread out a bit.”
According to Davis, there will be a schedule of times for various routes posted online when available. Walkers will be equipped with identification stickers, knowledge of emergency numbers and emergency pole locations and procedures to lead walkers to safety in the event of danger.
“We have locations spread out so that if you do have to walk alone [to the meeting spot], it’ll be just across the street rather than across campus,” Davis said. “It’ll help students get from place to place and make some new friends along the way.”
According to its website, other activities outside of the walks will be included with program memberships to build community and provide a place for students to make new friends. Possible events include bowling, tailgate parties and movies.
Davis said although he had never personally felt unsafe on campus, he had experienced some of his personal belongings being stolen. He said the stress of wondering what else could happen was a shared concern for a lot of other parents and students.
“We have been talking to a lot of families and heard a couple of stories, as well as stories in the news near campus of muggings, carjackings, [situations] like that where people might be robbed walking alone,” Davis said. “So our thought process is that safety in numbers will really help.”
The Baylor 2021 fire safety and security report cited an increase in sex offenses reported to the university from 2018 to 2020, as well as 103 offenses pertaining to dating violence, domestic violence and stalking over the three years combined. Additionally, Waco’s location puts the community at special risk for human trafficking.
Unbound Waco works to fight human trafficking in the community. According to its website, Waco sits in the middle of the “Texas Triangle,” which is considered one of the most heavily trafficked regions in the U.S. Unbound outreach coordinator Charlie Crockett said because of this, there is an urgency for the community to know about human trafficking.
“The Texas Triangle is the movement of the three major highways that run throughout the state of Texas and the U.S as a whole,” Crockett said. “These highways connect right here and in the heart of Texas, making what we call the Texas Triangle.”
Crockett said these highways are avenues used by traffickers to move victims from place to place, resulting in traffickers stopping in towns around the highways, Crockett said.
“Because we’re in the center, there’s a much higher frequency that these people will be stopping here to stay in motels or hotels, to shop in our grocery stores and just be around,” Crockett said. “We are able to see victims more than we would somewhere else because there’s a higher chance they will be stopping here.”
Davis said Headed Home is very aware of the issue and hopes to help aid this problem.
“This [program] is a great way to prevent that,” Davis said. “Headed Home helps with that problem, probably the most out of all the problems we hope to help.”
Crockett said Headed Home is a great idea because overall safety and awareness is key. Getting people used to coming alongside one another in a protective way helps us notice other things as well, according to Crockett.
“[Having] something where [students] sign up to literally walk alongside somebody to keep them safer than they were is something we absolutely encourage,” Crockett said. “Just by being aware that people are at risk can transfer over into having good conversations with people, being aware of red flags and noticing potentially dangerous relationships — that can make a huge difference.”
Crockett said it is important to educate yourself and identify your personal vulnerabilities that dangerous individuals are looking to use against you.
Unbound works to empower victims, survivors and youth to stay safe, and Crockett encouraged Baylor students to assert their influence by volunteering in their community.
“The impact of a college student coming to talk to a young girl or boy — to speak worth and responsibility into them or just to tell them that they actually can do something better with their life — is immeasurably impactful,” Crockett said.
Austin senior and student body president Hunter Walker said via email that safety is incredibly important to both student government and the greater institution of Baylor. He also said he wishes to remind students to remain vigilant and wise with their decision-making when they return to campus and to understand the other safety resources available to them.
“Baylor Department of Public Safety’s Campus Guardian App [is] free to download and allows the user to send an alert to the Baylor Police Communications Center,” Walker said. “Another Baylor resource is the After-Hours Baylor University Shuttle, which is also free for students and runs from 6:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Mondays through Thursdays.”
Applications for Headed Home walkers are still open and can be found here. For more updates and information to come, visit Headed Home’s Instagram.
