By Solé Scott
Editor-in-Chief
There has been an increase in students crossing streets while being distracted by their phones and headphones.
Chief of Police Makiem Miller issued a campuswide announcement on behalf of the university police urging students to look both ways before crossing at crosswalks.
“These intersections experience heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and distractions can quickly lead to dangerous situations,” Miller said.
University police observed students wearing headphones and looking down at their phones.
This frequent habit has led to warnings at intersections such as Fitch Street, Crescent Street, Wintergreen Avenue and Farnham Avenue.
Social work major Brianna McCalla, a senior, admitted to being one of the students distracted while walking.
“I cross the street with headphones on, but I always look both ways before crossing the street. I think the more that I’ve listened to music while walking, you don’t even realize that you’re crossing a street with cars moving 24/7,” McCalla said.
To address these concerns, university police have offered safety tips to the community including staying alert, removing or lowering music volume, avoiding moving between cars and following traffic signals.
Communication disorders major Genesis Brown, a senior, noticed a rise in students not paying attention at intersections.
“They’re looking down on their phone, and they don’t realize it’s time to cross the street or like when it’s time to cross the street their head is in their phone,” Brown said.
Despite her observation, Brown also confessed to being one of those distracted students during her route to class.
“I’ve been realizing that it is kind of a bad habit because there have been times where I haven’t been watching while I was walking and I’ve almost either bumped into someone or I haven’t really been paying attention,” Brown said.
According to a 2018 study published by the National Institutes of Health, college students have a higher rate of pedestrian injuries than other demographics.
The study also found that college students who were too distracted by listening to music or texting were more likely to be hit by a car, especially in cities.
“The only thing I’ll say else is that we all need to pay attention and put the phones down when we cross the street because even when you use the crosswalk, some drivers aren’t paying attention either while driving, and it would be terrible for one of our students to be hit because we ourselves wasn’t aware,” McCalla said.
This behavior lingers on other campuses, as another article published by Tampa Bay Times in 2019, more than 35% of college students were frequent distracted walkers.
“Let’s all do our part to keep our campus community safe. A few extra seconds of attention can prevent serious injury,” Miller said.
