<p>I am not saying to avoid volunteer work. Rather, there is a huge difference between tutoring low income students somewhere in Hyde Park proper vs. a school on 72nd street (where, when you get out past dark seven months out of the year, you have to wait around on the corner for an oftentimes unreliable CTA bus that rolls through several areas where altercations on public transit are not out of the ordinary). Likewise, you don’t need to go far to find a food kitchen or a battered women’s shelter to work with. Exposing yourself to added risk just does not make sense. </p>
<p>As for the green line, unless you pick it up on 55th and go directly north, it is a bad idea in my book. Just look at the crime statistics. Likewise for the bus routes that run horizontally across the city south of the midway. </p>
<p>Finally, mock me if you will, but I have lived in urban areas with crime rates commiserate to Chicago for years now, never owned a car, and not once have been subject to any harm or petty theft. It all politically correct fun and games until you get punched randomly by a drunk, get your purse stolen, or worse. And sorry, I am not crying for the student who gets his tires slashed and his hubcaps stolen after a 3 AM jaunt to oh so authentic JJ’s Fish Chicken. Yes, I heard they had good “fish-chicken.” No, it is still a dumb idea.</p>