CAmonto3, overall my daughter feels pretty safe. She lives in an apartment 7 or 8 blocks from campus and works at UW as well. When she does need to walk home without her roommate, she is cognizant of which routes are well traveled and relatively safe. She makes a point of asking her supervisor for shifts that end before dark, especially important during late fall and winter.
That said, I feel things have become more sketchy around UW since the pandemic but are slowly improving.
My daughter has one friend who majors in Political Science and really seems to like the program. From what I understand, it’s one of the more popular majors at UW and has a strong reputation with interdisciplinary support from other departments.
Wishing your daughter the absolute best with her choice!