3 robberies in one month?

<p>Any of you guys seeing this in your inboxes with concern?</p>

<p>Is C'ville usually like this? Is it something to be concerned about when going Off-Grounds or heck, even living out in places like Copeley? And is Old Cabell Hall that dangerous during Spring Break? :S</p>

<p>Well, the last one was just dumb. Who the heck invites two dudes into his apartment? Unless he knew them, which is highly doubtful, that was his bad. </p>

<p>As for the other two, they were at night. I know it's hard to walk with people and such at night sometimes, but that's why there's SafeRide. I know I've done my fair share of going places at night, but I never have my iPod on and often have my keys in my hand ready to kill if necessary :P I try to park my car behind Thornton where others have their cars, or across the street in the Physics lot (thanks for the ticket UVA Police..), and that way I can walk with someone to my car. It's these safety measures that keep me, a young woman, safe.
Robberies like this are crimes of opportunities: someone (robber) sees a young person walking at night alone, and pounces. People ***** when they are robbed at 4:30AM while walking in a dark place, or leave their GPS systems out in view in the cars which get stolen, or when they leave their stuff around on-grounds and it disappears. People need to learn to think: this may be a trustworthy university, but others live in c'ville. At the rate these things are happening and people are getting away with it, I think stuff like this will only increase until people learn to be smart and be safe.<br>
As for living off-grounds, I lived on-grounds last year in Lambeth and didn't think it was any safer, except for that fact tons of people were always walking around and it was lit pretty well. If you live in an area like that, you should be fine. That's why I chose to live right behind the corner. Yes, rent is more expensive, but I'm not trucking down JPA or Rugby late at night, and safety>money. I also don't cut behind and across the train tracks really late at night unless I'm with a male or if there are a ton of students around.
I've said this a million times before, and I try my best to practice what I preach: you need to use that brain and think and be smart about what you're doing! Don't walk alone late at night, use a car/SafeRide, and walk in populated areas if you can!</p>

<p>I've gone to some pretty sketchy places in C'ville in winter break at 0350 in the morning. I was trying to catch a greyhound bus. Greyhound busses have some of the sketchiest people ever seen. If you never let your guard down tho (and are pretty athletic), most criminals should stay away, right?</p>

<p>The other thing is that I wouldn't expect to be robbed in that covered walkway that leads into Cabell. I mean, thousands of students use that walkway every morning!</p>

<p>Criminals nationwide seem to have discovered college towns and college students as good targets. I have seen it in college areas from Seattle to Madison to C'Ville. I think college towns tend to be very soft on criminals and cops are better at busting student parties than protecting students. You quickly run into complaints of racial profiling and the like if thug types hanging around college areas are watched or targeted. Tough problem and kids are even getting killed or severely hurt.</p>

<p>Hmm, but the police in C'ville are very lax on student alcohol and parties, from what I have seen. Party-busting is what happens at home. It's the RAs that bust behaviour, be it pot-smoking or underage drinking.</p>

<p>LOL, for my STAT212 homework, one problem took a hypothetical simple random sample (maybe grounded in some fact?) of male and female UVA students and their alcoholic drinks consumed over a given weekend, and there wasn't a single data point reading 0. It's almost as the profs and instructors cynically take it as a given, even though the number of non-drinkers (not even talking about the number of first-year and second-year non-drinkers) is a fairly large minority.</p>

<p>
[quote]
police in C'ville are very lax on student alcohol and parties

[/quote]

No they're not. They're only "lax" on the kids who are minding their own business and being responsible about drinking, underage or not. But if you're visibly drunk, causing problems, or your party is too loud, they will arrest you without hesitation. Also, ABC has been covering bars A TON recently, preventing underage people with/without fakes from entering, and keeping drunks out.</p>

<p>
[quote]
It's the RAs that bust behaviour, be it pot-smoking or underage drinking.

[/quote]

That's because drinking in dorms is an easy target. Duh. Smoking pot in dorms is even freaking stupider. Cops don't mess with people and pot unless it's in public or some shady crap is going down. People who smoke weed are less likely to cause trouble than an idiot who is drunk, so cops direct their resources to better problems (see below)</p>

<p>
[quote]
It's almost as the profs and instructors cynically take it as a given

[/quote]

It's college, what should they expect? My professor the other day joked about bringing beer to our review sessions, hoping more people would show up. It's better them knowing and understanding, because they're not going to purposely screw over kids as punishment for drinking.</p>

<p>
[quote]
number of non-drinkers (not even talking about the number of first-year and second-year non-drinkers) is a fairly large minority.

[/quote]

National</a> Social Norms Institute Not true man, a majority of students at UVA drink on weekends. Doesn't mean they get drunk though. This is college, it's not a crime to drink.</p>

<p>Re: Police resources: the cops only have so many cops on the force. On weekends, they have to prioritize. Thus, idiots/unsafe people/violence is going to take the front seat. That's why a normal, responsible person, even if underage, is not going to get arrested for drinking. Also, remember, lots of kids are 21+ and you really can't be arrested unless you're acting visibly drunk in public. I think one alcohol arrest takes a cop off the streets for an average of an hour, and who knows what else could be more important in that hour. That, and they have hearts, and don't want to arrest every poor kid for just trying to have a good time in college.</p>

<p>Is there really THAT much drinking at UVa? This thread has made me question my consideration of the school...
Is partying easy to avoid for those of us that don't want to be involved?</p>

<p>No matter where you go to school, you can ALWAYS find a way to avoid partying if you don't want to.</p>

<p>Most D-1 large schools like UVa have a party scene. Most major colleges do, in fact. Can you participate? You bet. Can you avoid it? All the time. It's easier to avoid it, I think, than join the scene. There's plenty of things to do besides drinking/partying, and plenty of people "party" without drinking even. It's just what you make of it.</p>

<p>
[quote]
It's easier to avoid it, I think, than join the scene.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Aye.</p>

<p>You'll only notice the parties if you are actively seeking them out. The stuff on Rugby Road and 14th Street is pretty well-contained. You can walk all over Grounds on a Friday night and be oblivious to what's going on just a quarter of a mile away from the chapel.</p>

<p>(And well, occasionally your roommmate might host guests, but yeah.)</p>

<p>Cops in C'Ville are responsible about what they enforce, someone who is being an unruly drunk will get arrested, a kid having a good time on a Saturday night (or Wednesday is that's your thing ;)) generally wont. But as shoe said, ABC has been out a ton recently, be careful. </p>

<p>If you don't want to party, you don't have to, there are always people in Club Clem on a Saturday night.</p>

<p>for our prospies: Club Clems is one of our libraries; there was a flashmob rave (you can see a video on Dean J's blog) and so it's now affectionately referred to as Club Clems haha. :)</p>

<p>luked, there is a good number of people who don't drink at UVa. There's also a weekly e-mail that gets sent out called Hoo's Sober which tells you what events are happening that don't involve alcohol. I remember in the beginning of the year there was a root beer keg party lol. A lot of students drink at UVa, but they don't drink every weekend. A few of my friends that don't drink go to parties with alcohol just to see all the drunk people. (we are entertaining at times. ;))</p>