Barnard student stabbed to death

[Anonymous]

Who remembers a year or so ago on here a mother being worried about her daughter’s very long walk to and from an isolated dorm? Many awful users here were trolling the mom, calling her paranoid, helicopter, etc. smh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in the 90s the school specifically told us over and over again at orientation to stay away from Morningside Park. I wonder if the school has eased upon that. Truthfully when I heard I thought "sounds like something that would happen in DC, not New York"

Wouldn't be PC to say that anymore.

+1. It’s also racist for the girl to run the other way when she sees 4 loitering youth in a park known for stick ups and robberies.

[Anonymous]

I was late meeting my friend in Morningside Heights about 6 years ago, having taken the train to 125th. I wanted to cut through Morningside Park. I was not even 5 steps in when a man got off a bench, approached and demanded my phone. I turned around and walked out of/ around the park. I was still late but still alive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of a student on Morningside Heights, I can't begin to imagine the pain that her family must be suffering now.

When tragedy strikes, it's pretty natural for people to block the sadness of losing such a promising life. But, it's really just small-hearted to blame an entire community (Harlem) or suggest that the student should have known better than to go into Morningside Park. It might make it easier for you, but is it so hard to imagine how hurtful that would be to someone close to the victim?

Is someone close to the victim on this board or something?

[Anonymous]

One think parents can do is teach kids to keep their phone charged. T)at said, there should be some way to call 911 even if phone battery is dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One think parents can do is teach kids to keep their phone charged. T)at said, there should be some way to call 911 even if phone battery is dead.

I haven't seen anything in the news about her phone being dead. Citation? And even if her phone were fully charged, why do you assume she'd be able to make a 911 call in the middle of being surrounded by one to three men, as the news is reporting, with a knife or knives? It's naive to assume that your phone will keep you safe. Terrible things happen all the time to people who did nothing "wrong" to deserve it. Victim-blaming is just a way of reassuring yourself that "well, I would never be stupid enough to do X, so there's no way Y would happen to me."

[Anonymous]

This article made it seem like she resisted being robbed. Is that the case?

I have a DD at Columbia and it’s pretty common knowledge to avoid the 116th St stairs. Not even being in a group makes it safer.

We’ve stressed to our DD to give them anything they want. We also have taught her to carry some cash on her as my relative in law enforcement said not scoring cash makes them angrier. She also has pepper spray.

This is heartbreaking.

[Anonymous]

I’m shocked at everyone casually saying how known it is to NEVER use stairs that literally abut an Ivy League university in what is supposedly the safest major city in the world?

I’m looking at Google street view, the top of the park stairs are really elegant and inviting. And if it’s truly THAT unsafe why aren’t there full time security and NYPD post there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m shocked at everyone casually saying how known it is to NEVER use stairs that literally abut an Ivy League university in what is supposedly the safest major city in the world?

I’m looking at Google street view, the top of the park stairs are really elegant and inviting. And if it’s truly THAT unsafe why aren’t there full time security and NYPD post there?

It's called being aware of your surroundings in the middle of a city - plus the history with Morningside Park and Columbia goes back decades. It's really not shocking at all unless you've never left suburbia. NYC and Columbia are very safe these days but yeah, most people knew not to go into that park alone.

[Anonymous]

Why would such a notorious park not have many full time NYPD and private Columbia security guards and campus police? There’s a large open area at platform of stairs where a guard or officer should and could be posted.

And did nobody at orientation remind kids — she was a freshman — to avoid this park? If she was an active runner, this probably wasn’t her first time running through it.

Better yet, why hasn’t the city cleaned it up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m shocked at everyone casually saying how known it is to NEVER use stairs that literally abut an Ivy League university in what is supposedly the safest major city in the world?

I’m looking at Google street view, the top of the park stairs are really elegant and inviting. And if it’s truly THAT unsafe why aren’t there full time security and NYPD post there?

It's called being aware of your surroundings in the middle of a city - plus the history with Morningside Park and Columbia goes back decades. It's really not shocking at all unless you've never left suburbia. NYC and Columbia are very safe these days but yeah, most people knew not to go into that park alone.

Decades? It’s maybe 1/20th the size of Central Park and abuts an Ivy League university. Why hasn’t the city cleaned up this park? How hard can it be? Sincere questions.

[Anonymous]

The Universities and Chicago and Pennsylvania have security on every corner and bicycle officers riding through campus 24-7. They also have 24-7 escorts if students call. This does not eliminate crime but lessens it greatly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Universities and Chicago and Pennsylvania have security on every corner and bicycle officers riding through campus 24-7. They also have 24-7 escorts if students call. This does not eliminate crime but lessens it greatly.

*universities of Chicago and Pennsylvania*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uh, if you go to Columbia or Barnard, you stay the hell out of Morningside Park when alone.

I have relatives who live in that area and I walk through the park all the time. It is pretty busy during the day. “Stay the hell out of Morningside Park” seems like ridiculous advice to me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One think parents can do is teach kids to keep their phone charged. T)at said, there should be some way to call 911 even if phone battery is dead.

[headdesk]