5 Points is honestly area right off campus (about a 5 min walk from the Capstone/Columbia dorms) where students go to drink. There's over a dozen bars, so yes it can get a little dangerous at night but it's perfectly fine as long as you aren't walking alone, especially as a girl.
There was a Carolina Alert that went out last night just before midnight. A girl got robbed at gunpoint.
The thing was, she was walking alone on the very end of campus to her house that was off-campus. It was 11:30 at night. Just not a safe thing to do.
I happened to be at the gym, and we ended up waiting on one of our guy friends to walk us back, but they were warning everybody as they were leaving to be careful and not walk back alone.
That's the only incident that we've actually had since I got here in August, which in my opinion, isn't bad. I mean there are 30,000 students at USC. It's basically a small city in itself, so things like this are going to happen, but they're pretty rare.
they should really come down hard on these thugs... Sorry but that isnt common place for most college campuses.... its nice to put money into a new business school building but something should be done in Cloumbia about crime... put money there.... south carolina as a whole is in the top 3 most dangerous states... thats horrible
Pretty sad when you cant walk home from your campus gym because you might get held up at gunpoint...... That is not normal on most campuses... Usc should be putting money to keep students safe......... Thats rediculous
Yes, they do offer a shuttle service to football and baseball games. Students are picked up from the Russell House Student Union or the Coliseum on Assembly Street. Shuttles pick up 3 hours before the games and run until 1.5 hours after the games end.
The Carolina Shuttle operates Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Evening Shuttle operates from 6pm to 12:30 a.m. Any students with late classes or who are leaving the library late can take the shuttle back to their residence halls.
You can walk home alone if you want to and make it back fine, safe and sound. That is what happens 99% of the time. That does not mean it's the smart thing to do. This could have happened anywhere, not just USC or in Columbia. USC is a pretty safe campus and there are definitely services available to students so they can get around campus at night without having to be by themselves in a safe manner.
If you can't take the evening shuttle or the APO, then you can get the police to escort you.
This is just a unfortunate incident that really is a rarity and I'd say USC is a pretty safe campus, but because it is in a city, you do have to keep some common sense.
Where the state of South Carolina ranks in terms of crime is irrelevant to how safe it is on and around the USC campus. New Hampshire has the lowest crime rate of any state in the U.S. By your line of reasoning, this would mean that every neighborhood in New Hampshire is perfectly safe. AUGirl was correct when she said that USC is “basically a small city in itself, so things like this are going to happen, but they're pretty rare.” Here’s another way to look at things:
At UNC-Chapel Hill, Eve Carson -- the student body president -- was dragged out of her near-campus home at gunpoint several years ago and murdered. Likewise, we all know what Virginia Tech has been through. Does that make UNC-Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech dangerous places? I have been to both, and I have walked around them at night. Dangerous certainly is not an adjective that springs to mind! The same is true of USC.
There is also a fairly well developed "crime alert" (or whatever they call it) system where emails and text messages are sent out if their have been any violent crimes in the area. My son has only gotten a few of these, one was earlier this week and it gave the location of a robbery (off campus a few blocks from his dorm).
My son has a car on campus, but the only time he uses it is on weekends. It's just more convinient for him to walk or take shuttles. He walks to the Strom several days a week.
First of all, it occurred to me when I woke up this morning that I might have been a bit harsh yesterday in my response to your post. It was at the end of a long, stressful day at work. I am happy to see that you seem to have not been offended. As for a comparison of the UNC and USC campuses, I will start with attractiveness and then move onto safety:
In terms of attractiveness, they are both impressive for large public universities, although very different. Chapel Hill is within the Northern Forest, so the entire look and feel of the central campus around the Quad reminds me of the liberal arts colleges in New England…lots of classic old brick buildings surrounded by stately oaks, etc.
Columbia, on the other hand, is within the Southern Forest, so the look and feel of the central campus around the Horseshoe is classic “old south.” I find USC’s central campus to be breathtakingly beautiful…just about the most striking university setting I have ever seen. To be fair to UNC, I grew up in the northeast, and have never lived in the “old south.” Therefore, the Horseshoe has an exotic, unfamiliar look – and, therefore, is much more striking to me. However, in terms of beauty, you’re not going to go wrong with the central campus of either UNC or USC. Now, as for safety…
I have not reviewed the crime statistics on either, but my sense is that UNC and USC are equivalent in terms of safety. The unfortunate fact is that, when you concentrate tens of thousands of students in a small area – with all of the bars, nightclubs, etc. that cater to that demographic – it’s going to be a magnet for some number of punks and thugs.
There are some areas just off the USC campus that I would not feel comfortable walking around by myself late at night, because I find them too dark and isolated. You’re just asking for trouble. The same is true of UNC. One example is portions of Rosemary Street, even though it is the next street off the Franklin Street “main drag.” In fact, there are even sections of Franklin Street that I would be careful about late at night.
The bottom line is that I would not hesitate to allow one of my kids to attend either UNC or USC because of safety concerns. In fact, at the end of the entire college application process last year, those two schools were our son’s top choices… the Honors College and a McNair Scholarship at USC, or the Honors Program and an annual merit scholarship at UNC. He chose USC, but I would have been equally thrilled is he had selected UNC. In fact, it would be much more entertaining for me during basketball season because I am a college hoops aficionado :-)
Yeah I would like to point out that the girl was walking off-campus at the time of the robbery. There are many safer options that she could have chosen including calling the night shuttle that USC operates for situations like this. Columbia isn't a dangerous city, but not being careful is just asking for trouble.
I wasnt offended at all. I am also from the Northeast maybe that is why I felt comfortable with your response.... I am in the midst of the same situation you were in.. My daughter loved USC, in fact I could not believe how nice the campus and the amenities are... I am on this site for honesty... and therefore I appreciated your comments.. Being from the Northeast (Long Island) I cant get to all the areas often enough to make a well informed decision so your experiences help.... It certainly wont stop me and my daughter from making the right choice for her. UNC vs USC. Most people tell me UNC hands down is a better school but my feeling is both schools are good and its up to the student to excel...she will get a job from either institution....So thanks for taking the time to answer... I benefit from your experience and I appreciate you sharing it..I liked Columbia, it had a small town feel which is fine for me growing up in Queens and NYC..If it were my choice and I were attending it would be USC.. I love football and Spurrier was always my guy so thanks...........
