For future readers - the Seattle PDs have nifty “last 7 day” maps for people to do their own research on crime (by type) and UW has a list of last 60 days crime…
I looked it up as UW is possibly on my 27s list. I personally wouldn’t call it “constant” but there are some car thefts and break-ins on campus and near it, which I am not sure is entirely unsurprising for an urban campus … (I would have to do some math to see if worse than other city schools, I would guess better than some and worse than others).
Yeah, honestly it’s not really a big thing. Nobody’s afraid to be in the U District. You’ll have to trust me; I live in the area. Whatever challenges there are, it doesn’t distract from the many aesthetic points of the campus and surrounding area. Sure, if you are on University Ave at night or points west toward I-5, you’re more likely to run into something. But even there it’s not like the really rough parts of cities around the U.S. The central campus itself, points South, East and mostly North are pretty clear. You will see for yourself when you visit.
Back to campus beauty, here is Washington University in St. Louis selling itself using UW’s campus image (I swear I didn’t do this). It’s bad enough they’re using our name without plagiarizing our aesthetics.
Parts are pretty, no doubt, and tailgating by boat is out of this world. Parents and students can come to their own conclusions. It wasn’t for us in terms of a college experience.
That “most dangerous” list is interesting. But on the surface it seems like a list of large schools. It might’ve been interesting to also see the per capital data. Not to rationalize any of the crimes or violence in anyway. Just might shed a different perspective on it.
“Interesting” would be a euphemism if it were coming from me. And here is the updated ranking, linked from the posted article, based on the amount of violent crime:
I don’t see UW. But I do see U of Arizona and U of Alabama in the top 20. So, that’s interesting.
Look, I have no real skin in this game. I no longer attend or teach at the UW, and my professional credentials don’t matter any more. But if you have trouble navigating life at the University of Washington from a safety standpoint, then let me tell you that there are A LOT of places in the country you need to avoid. When the median housing price in surrounding neighborhoods range from $840,000 on the low end to over $2 million on the high, it’s a tell. People who can afford those prices have options. We choose to stay because they’re great places to live.
I’m just glad we’ve moved on from needles, homeless encampments and piles of trash in every direction. Any visitor without an agenda will see that as hyperbole.
When a student’s drink is spiked to the point where she is unconscious, and is then raped, does that get coded as a “violent crime” even if nobody held a knife to her throat? If it’s your daughter, yes, it’s a violent crime. At some colleges, a sympathetic Dean will meet with your D to explain “this is going to turn into a “he said/she said” situation very quickly. Why not take the week to think about it before we involve law enforcement?”
So then it’s NOT tracked as a violent crime.
It’s very easy to lie with statistics. Felonies which got pled down to a misdemeanor. Felonies where the complaint was withdrawn “due to lack of evidence” which on many college campuses is a code for “We don’t rat out our students to law enforcement unless someone dies”.
And which crimes involved a student but off campus so ‘don’t count.’
Some towns/colleges use local police on campus and others use campus police just off campus so an event may get registered even if no students were involved at all.
The linked article at degreechoices.com lists this (violent crimes per 100k students), although I’d hesitate from drawing any kind of significant conclusion. For example, Harvey Mudd was in top 20. Is that because Harvey Mudd is more likely to report in database and/or encourage students to report? Random year-to-year variation with a very small sample size? Or because Harvey Mudd is actually one of the 20 most dangerous campuses? The complete list of reported database crimes in most recent year at Harvey Mudd were:
well if you get a tiny enough school, 1 violent incident is a HUGE percentage as you say, and the math doesn’t really math…you’d have to do it over 10 years or something to really know….and rape is notoriously rarely reported anywhere, but with some biases depending on the school’s handling of it (good or bad), which can impact numbers I believe.
What is a rape which does not get reported to law enforcement due to coercion of the victim by a college administrator? THAT’S my point. The trope “if you press charges this will follow you for the next three years” is a compelling one when the victim was unconscious during the attack, i.e. no knife wounds, no chokehold as physical evidence. The only physical evidence is semen which is further “proof” of a possible consensual liaison. And then days later, the victim realizes she was likely drugged– too late for blood or urine testing.
You clearly love your school and are a “homer.” Nothing wrong with that. Just because others choose differently doesn’t mean they have an “agenda” against your beloved Huskies or your city.
Agreed. Precisely. And especially for a college experience if a family is lucky enough to have options.
I think there’s 2 types of safety to be concerned about:
For schools like Indiana, Michigan and Texas A&M (and others in college towns), the town itself is extremely safe, almost like a suburb. Many student clubs and organizations will routinely host events, meetings, speakers, networking sessions in the evenings and it is completely normal to see students at the library until Midnight and walk back to the dorms. Most of the safety issues stem from Greek Life, with the alocol consumption, sexual violence and other issues that stem from parties that go out of control. If you are not into Greek Life, or have friends looking out for you, it can be mitigated significantly.
The other bucket of schools are urban schools - Yale, Johns Hopkins, WashU, UChicago, Columbia. These school have literally 0 greek life, and most of the students there aren’t inclined to party like the state flagships, if but nothing else due to the academic requirements and reputations they have. Campus itself is extremely safe, with multiple police patrols and ID card scans, but off-campus can be sketchy at night. Due to the nature of these schools, it is unusual if student club activities stretch late into the night, and students often go back home to their appartments early if there is nothing left for them to do on campus.
Some of us here have personal and family experience with these events. I really wish you didn’t have to be so graphic. You could probably make your point without it.
I see what you mean with your categories, but Columbia doesn’t really fit where you’ve put it. Yes, the gates are closed, and ID is needed to enter, but there is absolutely a Greek presence (avoid walking near the frat row trash cans at certain times). The party scene is robust, and an evening out tends to start at 9:00 or 10:00pm. A lot of university housing is outside the gates, so students are out and around the neighborhood late into the night. Morningside Heights is a relatively safe area as long as one has decent situational awareness.
I was recently there visiting my youngest, and she had a rehearsal that started at 11:00pm. Space is at a premium, so clubs and activities use every available time slot. The libraries are crowded late into the night. It’s a fun environment.
I do too. Thats why I get so upset when people misuse crime statistics, not understanding that an unreported crime is still a crime. And that it is completely traumatizing for the victims and families when people paper over what has happened. I will bow out and apologies to you…
Just because there are no fraternities or sororities does not necessarily mean that students do not party, use alcohol (or other intoxicating drugs), or engage in sexual misconduct.
Indeed, the buckets of risk are not types of schools, but situations of risk. One type is that of risks encountered with respect to parties, alcohol, and sexual situations with other students in a residential setting (likely much lower for commuter students and commuter campuses). The other would be other types of crime in the area.
