<p>Hey, so I was recently accepted to Yale's Class of 2018, and it seems like I might actually go there. However, I've heard that New Haven is notorious for having a lot of violent crime (e.g. rape, muggings, etc) and I was wondering what some current or past Yalies' opinions on crime in and around Yale might be. I come from a fairly - scratch that, REALLY- sheltered suburb, and I've never so much as seen a someone punch another person in public. So I'm kind of concerned that I might not be able to handle living all the way across the country alone, in New Haven no less.</p>
<p>By the way, from what I've gathered, New Haven seems to be getting better about violent crime. But I watched these videos on YouTube (I know, don't trust everything you see on the internet) that kind of freaked me out:</p>
<p>(Btw, i found many more videos of people egging on two females to fight each other. Is this like a "thing" in New Haven? Or in the East coast in general? Sorry for being so ignorant haha. It's just that I've NEVER seen anything like that before.)
Now, I'm not a hardcore feminist or anything, but this seems incredibly dehumanizing to the girls in the fight. Like what even is the PURPOSE of those fights? To turn the guys on or something? Seriously? Wow... that's just sad. </p>
<p>@coolbeans123, from your posts here and elsewhere, if I were a betting man, I would bet that you won’t be attending Yale next year. But, I’m not a betting man, so …</p>
<p>@IxnayBob what do you mean? There’s a good chance I might be going to New Haven for college.</p>
<p>Also, @entomom, yeah I realize that NYC, Boston, Philly, and etc are probably just as bad if not worse than NH. But either way, I just had never seen anything like what I saw in those videos before - it was pretty eye-opening and kind of scared me. As you can tell, I live in a kind of bubble haha.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t think NH is better/worse than any other similarly sized city. </p>
<p>D1 preferred a somewhat gritty environment compared to somewhere antiseptic like Princeton, she liked having the opportunity to volunteer at a place like the Haven Clinic which works with the underserved community in NH. But that’s a personal choice, and it sounds like it might not be the right one for you. And that’s fine, everyone should spend 4 years where they’ll be happiest (which does not necessarily mean the most comfortable). What is rather off putting is the manner in which you chose to ask your question, you might have gotten more responses if you had appeared to have an open mind. Members of the Y forum tend to be incredibly forthcoming with both the things they like and the shortcomings of Y and the community when not approached in such an inflammatory way.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are plenty of WLers who would be happy to forward you more youtube links .</p>
<p>@coolbeans, I didn’t say that you surely weren’t going to Yale. You yourself said there’s a good chance that you will attend, which means that there’s a chance that you won’t. I’m sure that you’ll make the right decision. </p>
<p>I also come from a small suburb and I didn’t have any exposure to crime going into college. That being said, I have never witnessed a crime or felt unsafe in New Haven. Yale makes a HUGE effort to make everyone feel safe (offering late night shuttle services and security guards to escort you across campus). Yale Police Department emails the entire Yale community when a crime has been reported. So far, it’s been a few sexual assaults (which have all been Yalie-to-Yalie not Townie-to-Yalie), a few muggings (which have been mostly grad students in the more New Haven-y area of campus), and a couple of warnings about non Yale-related crimes near campus (that come along with a warning to walk with other people).</p>
<p>People like to give New Haven a lot of crap for being unsafe, but I really don’t think it is. I mean, don’t go running around the city with your MacBook Pro in one hand and a thousand dollars in cash in the other. Use your head and the chance of something happening is really quite low.</p>
<p>I actually chose Yale in part for the area that it’s in. When you go to a really elite school, it’s easy to get caught up in the “Ivy bubble.” That being said, in New Haven, I feel like you don’t get caught up in your life. In my experience, Yalies are a lot more grounded than Harvardians or Princetonians because we are constantly reminded that we are extremely lucky and blessed to have the opportunities we have.</p>
<p>yeah I’ve never felt unsafe around campus. campus is right in the nicest part of downtown new haven. there are areas off campus you wouldn’t want to go at night or even during the day but you would never need to go there anyways. I don’t see how downtown new haven is any more unsafe than any other urban area to be honest. If you walk around campus at night there are cops and security guards everywhere.</p>
<p>edit: also i don’t know what the heck is up with all these catfight youtube videos… I’ve never seen nor heard of such a thing ever happening. i honestly think you could search anything on youtube and there’d be a video of it.</p>
<p>@litotes Yeah those catfight videos are pretty weird. I literally was just typing in “new haven” in the youtube search bar, and “new haven fights” came up as one of the suggestions. So I was just curious and I clicked on that, and those catfights were the first results I found. I guess it’s probably not representative of New Haven in general, but it’s still pretty weird nonetheless.</p>
<p>I attended Yale at probably one of its worst times (when gang activity over crack turf was particularly violent across the country). But I wouldn’t hesitate one second in sending either of my daughters to attend Yale. I’d recommend your not drawing conclusions from posted youtube videos as you make life decisions. It’d be like going to watch archived Jerry Springer shows for life advice on choosing a mate.</p>
<p>My daughter did attend Yale a few years ago and also came from a fairly sheltered suburb. She did fine. She learned how to navigate her way around a city, which helped her feel more confident when she went abroad on her own. She felt comfortable enough in the area around the university to run (she was a HS runner) several miles around the city in the daytime, alone. I don’t think she ever had a problem with crime or found herself in sketchy circumstances that she couldn’t handle- at least none she told me about. Once I got a call that she was locked out of the campus gate after hours because she had forgotten to take her key. She managed. Part of going away to college is the opportunity to live away from home and the familiar, and learning how to take care of yourself.<br>
The campus itself is quite safe. Honestly, if you go I think you’ll fall in love with it. </p>
<p>new haven is a dirty city – nowhere safe to go outside the campus area . . . police constantly seem to be resentful of the yale parents/students . … i have gotten a parking ticket every time except this time, my last time hopefully ever going there . . . i have been shouted at by police for not going fast enough – or for other reasons . . . new haven is just not a good place to be – just being honest from my own experience here . . . </p>
<p>@bugsliberty that is ridiculous. As for getting parking tickets, yeah, you tend to get them when you park illegally or don’t feed the meter. As far as not safe, and resentful police, I have no idea what you are talking about. I’m a suburban-born and bred middle-aged woman, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the environment around Yale. </p>
<p>Born & raised in NHV. Never had a problem, the police are great and YES, the meter maids are ravenous, but one must follow the parking guidelines. I always see loads of joggers passing through town all the time and I’ve never heard of an incident about their safety. There was one tragic case a few years back, but it had nothing to do with NHV natives. </p>
<p>One thing to tell your students…Be very careful how you cross the street. They only have the right of way in the crosswalks!! Yale students love to run out into into oncoming traffic. Something I have never been able to figure out! </p>
<p>A few students have been very seriously injured/lost their lives. </p>
<p>I tried to be respectful of your opinions last year when you posted about your D not enjoying Y, but this current barrage is really too much. You would get a lot more mileage if:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Rather than digging up old threads, you’d just start your own.</p></li>
<li><p>You explained in full sentences/thoughts exactly what you/she didn’t like about Y rather than just taking drive by shots.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’m only a Yale hopeful but I’ve lived and worked in New Haven for the past 10 years. I am proud to call this little gem of a city my second home. We have diversity and culture and yes we have crime. But this is real life America. This is what we are about. Gritty inner city struggles within a stone’s throw of amazing art galleries and libraries. </p>
<p>I’ve lived in New Haven for over 20 years, not perfect but I never had any major issues. You have to be careful, Yale students have more issues crossing the street. You have to be smart, listen to the advice the cops give you and security, but New Haven has a lot to offer and many who move away to the “burbs” tell me they really miss many things they thought they wouldn’t. My daughter went to Yale and the crime she saw was internal, rooms missing computers/phones, things like that. One student did get mugged (although not hurt) going to ATM down the street late at night alone. I worried a little, but I would worry if she were in Boston, Philly, DC…you always have to be on guard, no matter what city you are in. </p>
.</p>