newmassdad

To use the common word in this thread, WHOA.

UCA, have you seen this so called wasteland in recent years? It is gentrifying rapidly. Just because it has become a middle class african american neighborhood does not mean it is rough. Believe it or not, some neighborhoods of color can be quite attractive and safe. (sarcasm deliberate)

That said, this newcomer to our section from UCLA has some strange ideas - "posh environment of the U of Chicago", when you can't even buy basic clothing within a three mile radius?

When the opening of a Barnes and Noble bookstore was greeted as a great improvement for the neighborhood?

When the crime rate of neighborhoods to the south and west speak for themselves? Perhaps this poster remembers the day when neighborhoods like South Shore were in fact up and coming. That was, unfortunately, before many of the poor folks living in the projects were forced out by demolition and settled there or further south.

uchicagoalum

I think the racial remarks are pointless, and total in contrast with the spirit of the posts. There are plenty of other cities dominated by poor whites where much of the same prudence regarding individual safety would apply. In Chicago alone, the newer Eastern European immigrant enclaves are fairly unsafe. After all, a guy who robs you at gun point is still a guy who robs you at gunpoint irrespective of his skin tone.

Furthermore, you would not touch UChicago with a ten foot pole if you had a problem interacting with a large number of African Americans on a day to day basis. There are plenty of elite colleges in predominantly White / Asian areas to easily substitute. This is not to say that the university entirely lacks subtle, even outspoken racists, but we are talking about one percent of the student body at best. Most people who have serious issues with minorities I would wager avoid applying altogether.

The situation does become absurdly politically correct though when you have individuals who go out of their way to flaunt common knowledge about the area’s crime. Trying to earn partisan merit badges by unconstructively passing free time in zones where the majority of residents themselves aspire to earn enough money to move out does not make you Barack Obama’s protégé.

Finally, as for the area between the UChicago and downtown, the nicer neighborhoods do not afford the kind of savings these cost cutter students are looking for. It’s the little spots in between that have been totally lost to meaningful development that are sought out. In the more immediate vicinity of the school, there are plenty of people who cut their rent by half by moving to the 63rd-67th street areas and then walk north to campus.

jack4640

I know this wasn't the main point of your post, but it really irritates me when people jump on the "racist" point. Generally, most people don't feel at ease with being in or near any poor, run-down area with a high rate of crime. Students don't really fear the areas south of the Midway because of BLACK PEOPLE, they fear it because people shoot each other down there.

I myself am enlightened enough to see completely past race; I fear all poor people equally.

1990Dad

I have to admit, as the father of a soon to be UofC student, I saw these articles this weekend and it concerned me.

UCLA, Ph.D.

Typical "some of my best friends are black" response. And really Jack you see "past race" ? So if you get held up at gunpoint by someone are you going to tell the cops "i see past race so I can't tell you what color he was." Right buddy....The only people who see past race are people who ignore reality. As for fearing poor people, I fear Dick Cheney, IMF bankers and Real estate lenders a hell of a lot more than any poor person.

One more thing, my point about U of Chicago and comparing it to USC was not that it was in Beverly Hills or the Hamptons, so I stand corrected newmassdad, but that when something happens to someone on campus the cops are on it quick, when it is just a bunch of blacks or mexicans (or for those who see "past race" poor people) getting shot, no one cares.

All this aside, U of Chicago is a great institution with many opportunities but if you want Westwood or Evanston, and are not acclimated to realities of urban life than you have a couple of options 1) keep hiding out in the burbs or 2) get your head of out the sand (or as much out of the sand as a college bubble can provide) Of course all financial aid being equal (if money is an issue). Because I am all about the best offer first and foremost.

ohio_mom

"I have to admit, as the father of a soon to be UofC student, I saw these articles this weekend and it concerned me."

As the mom of a current U of C student I wasn't too pleased either. Bad weekend. In our county, however, I think we lose more people (proportionally) to deer/car and farm accidents. Not to mention the ever-popular drunk driving by high schoolers. City crime is scary, but so is hitting a deer, believe it or not. The world is not a safe place.

cottonwood513

1990Dad, as a Chicago resident, hearing in Monday's news that thirty (?) people were shot over three days, not something I wanted to hear either. Yes, there are six million people in the region...

I have a first-year and none of this weekend's violence was near campus.

'Alum', I didn't know I was supposed to avoid the newer Eastern European immigrant areas. Where are they?

justakidoy

"Furthermore, you would not touch UChicago with a ten foot pole if you had a problem interacting with a large number of African Americans on a day to day basis. There are plenty of elite colleges in predominantly White / Asian areas to easily substitute."


The gunman at Va. Tech is Asian and the one at NIU is White! So who poses the greatest danger now to an average student, some gangs shooting at each other around the neighborhood or an unstable person on campus?

jack4640

It's still gangs.

im_blue

Sorry, but this argument does not fly. Just because two tragedies happened in which multiple people were killed does not discount the fact that random violence happens all the time in far higher numbers.

JHS

Random violence does NOT happen all the time in far higher numbers. The number of University of Chicago undergraduates killed on or near campus stands at 0 for I don't know how many years . . . at least 30. I have no idea how to research it, but I would be surprised if in the entire history of the University of Chicago as many students were seriously injured in the campus area as were killed or wounded at Virginia Tech last year.

justakidoy

OP was concerned about safety at the uchicago, not Chicagoland, not Cook County. Gun violence in big cities is common. The headline seemed to suggest that it was bloody even by Chicago's standard. Welcome to Chicago, home of Al Capone.

The campus shootings should be a wakeup call to all that danger from within is more real than one would want to believe and it can happen anywhere at anytime. All one needs is a deranged copycat with access to firearms.

wbwa

These arguments sound remarkably reminiscent of the posts at the time of the U Chicago grad student's murder last year - this can happen anywhere, always watch your back, you have to exercise sound judgement and caution after dark, off campus, etc.
Graduate Student Shot

UCLA PhD tells readers to go to school elsewhere if you want to "keep hiding out in the burbs." What of the sheltered confines that are the Hyde Park campus? Just how much of an urban immersion experience does Chicago offer when one is "hiding" instead within the confines of a heavily patrolled campus for reasons of safety? I, for one, don't believe Chicago undergrads face great risk. Not because significant risk isn't around the corner, but because students learn not to venture around the corner. Unfortunately, this lack of ability to integrate into the immediate surrounding community, the need for just the isolation people like UCLA PhD abhor, the need to constantly watch your back and accommodate your behavior to the real world risks of the south side, are some of the unfortunate facts of life faced when reaping the benefits of U Chicago.

jack4640

Perhaps he was looking at the question in a general (non-UC-specific) stance, in which case it's very fair to say that random violence (like car accidents and drug overdoses) kills more college students than campus shootings.

At UC, the odds of either happening are astronomical. However, the prevalence of both gang activity and available guns on the South Side means that, if I have to rank, I'm going to put "hit by a stray bullet" over "deranged campus shooting." People do kill each other in the neighborhood - last month there was a gang shooting so close that people in apartments could hear the shots, in mid-afternoon - and so if I was putting morbid odds on what was more likely to end my life, I'd pick that.

But like I said, I'm about 400 times more worried about my analysis midterm than any sort of violence happening on campus, which I think was JHS's issue in the first place (random violence occurring in "far higher numbers").

uchicagoalum

"Unfortunately, this lack of ability to integrate into the immediate surrounding community, the need for just the isolation people like UCLA PhD abhor, the need to constantly watch your back and accommodate your behavior to the real world risks of the south side, are some of the unfortunate facts of life faced when reaping the benefits of U Chicago."

This is true, but as I was saying prior, it is not something that enough students take to heart.