Urban campuses & CRIME

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Also, get off the parents FB page. Your kid is an adult.

Their kid is likely a teen. And the parents worrying on Facebook are smart. You sound like you are whistling in the dark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The overwhelming majority of college students don’t get murdered or even mugged, OP. Relax.

But there are urban campuses where it is routine for kids to get mugged/attacked and shots to be fired in the area. One of my kids attended an urban campus like that. Routine safety alerts and they are not just between midnight and 5am.
So it is smart for parents/students to be aware of what a campus is actually like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The overwhelming majority of college students don’t get murdered or even mugged, OP. Relax.

PP, I’m on a parent’s page where this is an ongoing discussion. We are living it. Don’t tell me not to worry. Tell me what we can do to help our kids.

Have them live at home and take online classes. Or get therapy.

Have some empathy!

My kid attended a university in an urban environment. I routinely got twitter alerts/warning from the police dept. Sophomore year a stray bullet from 5 blocks away somehow bounced off vehicles and hit an 8th floor of a dorm--thankfully nobody was injured but there were students in that study lounge when it happened and my own kid lived on that floor and was often in that lounge (thank god they were not in the dorm that night). There were police alerts almost every 3-4 days and it's gotten worse in the last 2 years. At graduation, as we walked campus and went to see my kid's rental house, we encountered an attempted carjacking in the alley behind their house---car was 20 ft from my kid's door and 10 ft from where they parked their own car---this was at 3pm in broad daylight. As we left there we heard noises, Hubby asked where the fireworks were---rest of us informed him it was gunfire. Again, at 3/4pm/middle of the day.

Now, we knew this was an urban campus going in, it's what my kid wanted, and they were always very cautious---don't carry wallet if not needed, always carry $20 bill so if attacked you have something to give and if needed knew to give up belongings to stay safe. They learned life skills of city living and learned to help keep friends safe (ie....you never ever let a female friend walk alone after dark and even the guys should try to be in a group of at least 2) and never wear headphones while walking, especially at night

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The overwhelming majority of college students don’t get murdered or even mugged, OP. Relax.

PP, I’m on a parent’s page where this is an ongoing discussion. We are living it. Don’t tell me not to worry. Tell me what we can do to help our kids.

Has it happened to your kid?

OMG---you can still be concerned if it hasn't happened to your own kid. Especially if they are on a campus that has higher crime levels. The whole goal is to help ensure it doesn't happen to any more kids, especially your own

[Anonymous]

Remember when this huge focus on crime happened right before the midterms then went....poof?

Now we're talking about crime in "urban" areas around colleges.

This is America. With the proliferation of guns, what do you expect?

Go to a nice rural SLAC.

Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP back. No, I’m talking about 20-year-old young men being held at gunpoint, being shot, death threats as part of attempted robberies etc. My kid went to HS in DC - he’s “not worried,” but it sucks to have a friend undergoing multiple surgeries due to gun shots. This week there have been at least three gun involved muggings, and it is finals week.

I know a 7' tall African (ie: from Africa) black man who was a student at Catholic, who was not only held at gunpoint in the middle of late morning, but also carjacked. Not to mention several students who have been robbed at the metro station there - during the day - at gunpoint.

If you think you should not choose a city, then don't choose a city.

Are you saying we need to expect this in all cities? I disagree. These incidents should be rare!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP back. No, I’m talking about 20-year-old young men being held at gunpoint, being shot, death threats as part of attempted robberies etc. My kid went to HS in DC - he’s “not worried,” but it sucks to have a friend undergoing multiple surgeries due to gun shots. This week there have been at least three gun involved muggings, and it is finals week.

OP i am 4 feet 10 inches tall. I am 61 years old.

I have never felt unsafe in a city ever.

Never walk alone at night.
Pay attention to souroundings
Do not talk on your cell phone at night.
Don't be stupid,,,,,,,,,

Okay, I'm 60 and 6 inches taller. I live in a city, walk alone at night, and follow your other guidelines. There are times I've felt unsafe, but less so as I age as I can now afford taxi/uber at night and where I visit/hang is much more narrow than it was 30 years ago. I still live in a big city and largely find it safer than smaller cities/towns as i really have no idea what might be going on there (too many true crime podcasts perhaps).

How safe you feel can have zero relationship to how safe you actually are.

There are statistics that reflect the reality of how safe your kid will be in a given city. Ignore them at your own peril.

Don't leave 22101 or 22102.

[Anonymous]

[u]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The overwhelming majority of college students don’t get murdered or even mugged, OP. Relax.

PP, I’m on a parent’s page where this is an ongoing discussion. We are living it. Don’t tell me not to worry. Tell me what we can do to help our kids.

Has it happened to your kid?

b

No, thankfully, but a close friend was shot. There have been multiple incidents this week which has the Parents FB page all abuzz. I am just trying to think of what more can be done to keep the students - and other residents - safe. Good news is cops came quickly today and they made an arrest, but it seems the perpetrator may be a juvenile and it’s unclear if they will be able to detain him.

My kid is like, “Oh, if anyone touches me, I’ll fight back,” and so I’ve told him to just give up his $$ and not to risk anything.

I would pray my child transfers.

Otherwise, I would have trouble sleeping every night.

OP here. Well, he’s going abroad next semester and then senior year he’ll be in a safer neighborhood several miles from campus, so I’m not losing any sleep! But I have another son behind him who is looking at urban universities - I wish there was a better way to assess actual crime, but schools are not obligated by Clery to report off campus crime.

[Anonymous]

Parents at Temple hired their own private security:

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/03/16/temple-parents-hire-private-security-campus-patrols

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[u]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The overwhelming majority of college students don’t get murdered or even mugged, OP. Relax.

PP, I’m on a parent’s page where this is an ongoing discussion. We are living it. Don’t tell me not to worry. Tell me what we can do to help our kids.

Has it happened to your kid?

b

No, thankfully, but a close friend was shot. There have been multiple incidents this week which has the Parents FB page all abuzz. I am just trying to think of what more can be done to keep the students - and other residents - safe. Good news is cops came quickly today and they made an arrest, but it seems the perpetrator may be a juvenile and it’s unclear if they will be able to detain him.

My kid is like, “Oh, if anyone touches me, I’ll fight back,” and so I’ve told him to just give up his $$ and not to risk anything.

I would pray my child transfers.

Otherwise, I would have trouble sleeping every night.

OP here. Well, he’s going abroad next semester and then senior year he’ll be in a safer neighborhood several miles from campus, so I’m not losing any sleep! But I have another son behind him who is looking at urban universities - I wish there was a better way to assess actual crime, but schools are not obligated by Clery to report off campus crime.

Join the parents FB pages, especially if they are not run by the school (filtered by them). You can often get the real story on there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents at Temple hired their own private security:

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/03/16/temple-parents-hire-private-security-campus-patrols

Wow! Thank you for sharing this, and thank you to the other kind posters who shared their experiences dealing with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[u]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The overwhelming majority of college students don’t get murdered or even mugged, OP. Relax.

PP, I’m on a parent’s page where this is an ongoing discussion. We are living it. Don’t tell me not to worry. Tell me what we can do to help our kids.

Has it happened to your kid?

b

No, thankfully, but a close friend was shot. There have been multiple incidents this week which has the Parents FB page all abuzz. I am just trying to think of what more can be done to keep the students - and other residents - safe. Good news is cops came quickly today and they made an arrest, but it seems the perpetrator may be a juvenile and it’s unclear if they will be able to detain him.

My kid is like, “Oh, if anyone touches me, I’ll fight back,” and so I’ve told him to just give up his $$ and not to risk anything.

I would pray my child transfers.

Otherwise, I would have trouble sleeping every night.

OP here. Well, he’s going abroad next semester and then senior year he’ll be in a safer neighborhood several miles from campus, so I’m not losing any sleep! But I have another son behind him who is looking at urban universities - I wish there was a better way to assess actual crime, but schools are not obligated by Clery to report off campus crime.

Crime statistics by city are public. You said you were concerned about crime off campus.

You might even call the police or see if the local papers have some kind of crime blotter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you with students attending universities situated in high crime areas of various cities, can you share what your university does to help keep kids safe from muggings as they walk off-campus?

Would love to hear stories about what’s worked vs not worked. Thank you so much.

Young men may need to learn the safety tips that young woman have to incorporate every day of their lives to avoid sexual assault and murder. The college may provide security on campus and rides even off campus. But ultimately the students need to take standard city precautions. I’d love for my kid to choose a safer campus but if not, she’ll be worried about more than muggings. But I will tell her to hand over her money and carry at least $20. For women, even campus security escorts aren’t necessarily safe.

Really? You want your kid to be navigating this environment while they are trying to learn, and adult for the first time. No thank you.

Huh? I wrote, and I quote, “I’d love for my kid to choose a safer campus.” Are you trying to respond to someone else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[u]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The overwhelming majority of college students don’t get murdered or even mugged, OP. Relax.

PP, I’m on a parent’s page where this is an ongoing discussion. We are living it. Don’t tell me not to worry. Tell me what we can do to help our kids.

Has it happened to your kid?

b

No, thankfully, but a close friend was shot. There have been multiple incidents this week which has the Parents FB page all abuzz. I am just trying to think of what more can be done to keep the students - and other residents - safe. Good news is cops came quickly today and they made an arrest, but it seems the perpetrator may be a juvenile and it’s unclear if they will be able to detain him.

My kid is like, “Oh, if anyone touches me, I’ll fight back,” and so I’ve told him to just give up his $$ and not to risk anything.

I would pray my child transfers.

Otherwise, I would have trouble sleeping every night.

OP here. Well, he’s going abroad next semester and then senior year he’ll be in a safer neighborhood several miles from campus, so I’m not losing any sleep! But I have another son behind him who is looking at urban universities - I wish there was a better way to assess actual crime, but schools are not obligated by Clery to report off campus crime.

Crime statistics by city are public. You said you were concerned about crime off campus.

You might even call the police or see if the local papers have some kind of crime blotter.

And crime on campus must be reported to the community, thanks to the Clery Act. If only this applied to K-12 also...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be aware of your surroundings and travel another person in late evenings. Also if your paranoid about crime, your kid should probably take certain schools off their list. But my DD went to school in a somewhat unsafe neighborhood and worst thing that happened was her bike got stolen from inside.

Okay. She did not get raped or murdered, therefore…???????

DP. My girl did get raped freshman year. At a rural SLAC where there’s nothing to do but go to alcohol-drenched frat parties. That’s where the real danger lies.