How safe do you feel on Central Campus???

Colleges & Universities Duke University
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<p>My daughter will be living on Central Campus second semester after returning from her semester in NYC. She feels very unsafe there, especially at night, after having spent the night on Central with a friend recently. </p>

<p>She understands how males might not feel the same way as she does. Keep in mind, though, that she is a very petite female and feels very vulnerable when returning to campus late at night after studying or attending performances on West. There are just so many shady places around the area, and riding the campus buses still requires walking through areas (even the apt. parking lots) where there are no students around. </p>

<p>If you live on Central, how safe do you feel? Do you have any suggestions for my daughter in regards to staying safe at night?</p>

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<p>no offense. but it seems like she will feel unsafe no matter where she’s at.
(even if they had lighten up the whole street, it’s still sketchy and ‘shaddy’ at 3AM in the morning.)</p>

<p>anyway, i personally think the central is pretty safe.
i am not sure if there can be any suggestion except 1) protective weapons 2) boyfriend 3) work out and eat and get stronger 4) driving and find a parking spot right infront of her apt.</p>

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<p>honestly, i’m a petite female, and i grew up in nyc so i know how to not get scared on central. (thankfully i live on west, but a lot of my friends live on central, so often i’m riding buses alone at night to visit them or to come home). one thing – don’t think about how it’s dark and sketchy and scary. know the bus schedule, briskly walk to the bus stop when it’s about to come, stay with people whenever possible. these are all things she should know from being in nyc for a semester. i’ve never felt unsafe on central - even when by myself walking. granted, i don’t sleep there, but keeping locked apartment doors would make me feel safe enough. granted, i did grow up in nyc and i do know how to think and act in situations that a bunch of duke students honestly don’t.</p>

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<p>Personally, I’ve never felt unsafe on Central Campus. I understand that girls might feel more vulnerable and that things could be done to increase lighting at night, but you never really will be wandering around Central far away from an apartment. There are always people really close by. The majority of the bus stops take you fairly close to your apartment. I do understand your concern, however.</p>

<p>Just to comment on something that bluestar said “thankfully i live on west,” I personally like Central 10 times better than West. I have over three times the space and my own bathroom and kitchen and where I live is in walking distance to West. It is also much quieter, which I appreciate.</p>

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<p>Memie, I’m a Duke Mom - my daughter is a freshman on East Campus. My daughter took a kick boxing class this semester and many of the techniques in the class are useful for self defense. Attitude is part of it - she should be confident, travel in well lit areas and be aware of her surroundings. Her demeanor should be that she knows where she is going and no one is going to stop her - confident stride, arms swinging, etc. I have a few more suggestions besides body language.</p>

<p>I saw an article from the August 2006 Wall Street Journal about flashlights which I saved for future reference. These aren’t ordinary flashlights - they are LED tactical flashlights and they are BRIGHT. </p>

<p>What caught my eye was the story in the article about a family from Atlanta on vacation in D.C. They were walking near the reflecting pool at night when a man wearing black pants, a white tank top and black gloves starting following 40 yards behind them. The father turned his tactical light on the man and “he took off.”</p>

<p>An instructor of self-defense also teaches flashlight tactics in his classes in San Diego. He says the ability to control light prevents someone from seeing you and that is “a huge thing.” </p>

<p>Some of the models listed were Streamlight, SureFire and PentagonLight. The Surefire has models with a weaponized front. Most have LED light sources that last 100,000 hours before burning out and lithium batteries that have a shelf life of more than 10 years.</p>

<p>So, I would suggest that a flashlight with a powerful light source would make your daughter feel more comfortable. Keep in mind these flashlights are not cheap - they are anywhere from $59 to $145.</p>

<p>The reason I saved the article - I plan to get one for my daughter if she is located in a dark area on West Campus.</p>

<p>Also, I would look at the Duke Police website and the actual crime stats:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.duke.edu/web/police/[/url]”>http://www.duke.edu/web/police/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You can call them and ask what recommendations they have for your daughter. </p>

<p>Here is the link to SafeRides run by Duke although my daughter says they always say they’ll get there when they get there and can never give her a good timeframe for their arrival:</p>

<p><a href=“http://aux03.auxserv.duke.edu/parking/saferides/saferides.htm[/url]”>http://aux03.auxserv.duke.edu/parking/saferides/saferides.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I admit I worry when my daughter has late night meetings on West Campus and goes back to East Campus. She knows there is crime in Durham and the first time she rode a DATA bus she heard other riders talking about someone who was robbed at gun point waiting for the bus!</p>

<p>So, your daughter should make sure her laptop is always backed up and she might want to carry a “throw away wallet” - one with an old ID and $10 or so dollars. </p>

<p>The Chronicle On Line has also been carrying an advertisement for this website which carries personal alarms, pepper spray, etc. If you don’t already subscribe to the Chronicle On Line - do, because they carry articles about safety incidents.</p>

<p><a href=“https://storesense2.megawebservers.com/HS5055/Search.bok?category=Other%20Products[/url]”>https://storesense2.megawebservers.com/HS5055/Search.bok?category=Other%20Products&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>My daughter will sometimes call us and be on the phone until she gets to her destination - this is easier for me as I am on the West Coast and if she is somewhere at midnight it is only 8PM here and she’ll says things like I am getting off the bus, I am walking down the street to XYZ, etc. A cellphone should be a protective device in this situation - not chatting up friends and being distracted!</p>

<p>Just think - if your daughter has a bright flashlight that can blind someone and a cell phone with a camera she can be ready to snap a photo of anyone who approaches her.</p>

<p>Hope this information helps. She might even want to look into a self defense class. The type of criminal who preys on students is looking for easy cash and items that can be pawned like laptops and cellphones that can be sold.</p>

<p>On the city of Durham website they have a link to maps which will show you where crimes were committed:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ci.durham.nc.us/gis_apps/crimedata/dsp_entryform.cfm[/url]”>http://www.ci.durham.nc.us/gis_apps/crimedata/dsp_entryform.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>So, if your daughter is going off campus you can check to see what the crime in that area is like. I did that when my daughter visited one of the local malls and found a murder had been committed there. And it was a destination mall. Read the articles in the on line Durham paper and you’ll see that Durham tends to be pretty soft on crime. The Duke police even patrol 9th street on Thursday nights and the weekend at the request of neighborhood residents. Makes you wonder where the Durham police are.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all of your helpful responses. Honestly, my daughter feels safer in NYC than on Central Campus - mainly because there are always lots of people present at all hours in NYC, whereas on Central, she saw nobody around when the bus dropped her off late one evening after visiting friends on West. She was, in fact, the only bus rider at the time. Then, she had to walk around to the back of the apartment building to get to her friend’s place. It was not well-lit back there, and there were many possible “hiding places.” </p>

<p>Westcoastmom, I really like the flashlight suggestion and will look into that for her. Also, she often does as your daughter and calls us on her cell phone while she is in transit. She has done that many times in NYC this fall.</p>

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<p>There are really small but amazingly loud and piercing whistles that are for sale for self defense/hiking etc. Worn around the neck or on your key chain these along with the flashlight are great passive defense mechanisms.</p>

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<p>Memie - I’d contact housing and ask them about the lighting for the apartment of your daughter’s friend. They emphasize to students who live off campus to look for security gates and well lit premises.</p>

<p>So, Duke should make certain the area around the apartments are also well lit. The maintenance staff could even cut back brush around the apartments that serve as hiding places.</p>

<p>Here’s a list of contacts from their website:</p>

<p><a href=“http://rlhs.studentaffairs.duke.edu/contact_us/index.html[/url]”>http://rlhs.studentaffairs.duke.edu/contact_us/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Just call them and say your daughter will be living on Central Campus and what she noted when she visited her friend. Find out what apartment her friend is located in and ask them to inspect the area so they can see if lights are burnt out and if brush needs to be trimmed back.</p>

<p>Many times students just accept things the way they are without taking action - sometimes they don’t want to “rock the boat” and other times they feel they would just get the run around from administrative staff and waste a lot of time. I know Duke is concerned about safety and this is an issue they’d like to know aobut.</p>

<p>Failing that Richard Brodhead in a meeting with parents said he is reads all his e-mail from students and parents. He said he has an address just like every faculty member and student does so you can reach him directly instead of using the Duke office of the president e-mail address!</p>

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<p>On Duiki.com</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.duiki.com/wiki/Self_Defense[/url]”>http://www.duiki.com/wiki/Self_Defense&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>it looks like Duke offers Physedu 55 Self-defense Karate. The classes are .5 credits. Your daughter might want to look into it.</p>