You were being nice. You swiped your Husky Card and let a stranger enter the dorm. You even smiled at the rain-soaked visitor, thinking about how your own karma was definitely going up a few notches for this one.

Coincidentally, you both are going to the same floor. He follows you up, because once again it’s your Husky Card that allows him access. You say goodbye on your floor with the satisfaction of a good deed and a new acquaintance occupying your mind. You don’t see the perpetrator slip away to steal laptops, iPods, a camera and some poor guy’s homemade chocolate chip cookies.

As a student in a major metropolitan area, it’s imperative to remember that not everyone on the street is “the guy next door.” Underneath a friendly facade can lurk harmful intentions that could compromise the safety of on-campus residents.

Consider that in the first two weeks of class, two separate reports sent by the UWPD alerted students to crimes on campus: a man attempted a forced robbery in the Parrington Hall coffee shop and a woman had sexual indecent liberties inflicted on her north of Northeast 45th Street.

If that is not enough to convince students that campus isn’t as safe as their back yard, according to the UWPD Web site, there were seven aggravated assault incidents and 70 burglaries in 2007 on campus alone. According to Seattle Police Department reports, both numbers more than double within the immediate area.

While Housing and Food Services and the UWPD have shuttle services, 24-7 hotlines for help and e-mails alerting students to threats on campus, all of this results in nothing if students do not understand their surroundings.

Do students think these crimes will never impact them? There is no invisible fence protecting them and their possessions from miscreants, especially when they do not take responsibility for themselves. Once on campus, there is absolutely nothing stopping a possible criminal from waiting outside a dorm to be let in by some unobservant student.

Don’t abandon prudence on the doorstep of your home in order to make space for a thief. Granted, not everyone waiting for a friend is a threat, but it is impossible to differentiate between the hapless and the harmful.

Rather than mindlessly letting individuals in, there are some safety measures that can be taken to ensure that noone ends up hurt. Consider anyone not immediately recognizable a stranger. Before letting them in, ask what floor they are on and who their RA is. This eliminates the awkward demand to see a Husky Card, while keeping the residence hall safe.

Lock the windows and doors when leaving your room. It only takes a few seconds to slip into an insecure dorm.

Immediately report lost or stolen residence hall keys or Husky Cards. The importance of these precautions cannot be understated. Anyone can enter with that small piece of plastic.

Ultimately, responsibility for safety remains in the students’ hands. They need to have the competence to recognize the great potential for danger in the midst of a welcoming campus.

Reach contributing writer Heather Milligan at opinion@dailyuw.com.