<p>Though we can extol the wisdom of not walking alone at night, I should probably point out things that were highly unusual about this crime:</p>
<p>1) Somebody associated with the University was killed. Apparently, nobody from the University has been killed since the 70s. (If somebody has information that refutes that, that would be great).</p>
<p>2) The killing occurred pretty late. Most crime happens much earlier (between 8 and midnight or so), because, as somebody pointed out, criminals are opportunistic and are not going to stay up late to find people to mug when they can do it earlier.</p>
<p>3) There was a real gun involved.</p>
<p>The vast majority of student-experienced crime is through muggings. Muggings stink, but those of my friends who have been mugged (and again, most of them were alone, drunk, in deserted areas, or a combination of the three) say that the “transaction” is relatively smooth. If the perp has a gun, it’s usually a toy gun, and he (or she) usually flees after taking the wallet. They’re only out for money and don’t want to hurt you.</p>
<p>Probably preaching to the choir here, but a few safety tips…
- Don’t walk alone at night. Use the police escort, the reg shuttles, walk with a friend, walk in the same direction as a “buddy” (somebody you see in front of you or behind you. My friends who live off campus and like to walk home alone make sure that they’re not the only ones out on the street and that they see other students walking home too.
- Don’t wear your ipod if you’re walking alone. Be aware of your surroundings, both sights and sounds.
- If you see somebody standing on a corner with no purpose whatsoever, and you are pretty sure that that person is not affiliated with the University, that qualifies as “sketchy.” My one near unpleasant run-in in my year and a third here and a friend of mine’s one unpleaseant run-in both had to do with dudes loitering and waiting for bait. Turn around and go a different route, call police to take you back, or a combination of the two.</p>