<p>@Hunt I’m familiar with that list and am on the board of a Dwight Hall organization. Obviously, it doesn’t say in our mission statement that we exist to give students a resume line. I’m merely explaining the attitude that (from my experience) underlies students’ decision to participate in those groups.</p>
<p>To be clear, I don’t think this is a problem specific to Yale. It exists wherever large groups of privileged, careerist people assemble.</p>
<p>The neighborhoods around the Yale bowl are fairly upscale and as others have mentioned, many walk to games, shuttles take a while sometimes. I’ve covered many miles running and walking in those neighborhoods for many years, not late at night of course, but never had any issues. </p>
<p>I think college students in general tend to overestimate their importance and their abilities when they try to “save the world.” Most college community involvement (not just Yale) is more about voluntourism than anything else (and voluntourism has its benefits, especially from an education perspective). They mean well, but they’re naive 20 year olds with a whole bunch of other stuff on their plant and only a tangential relationship to the community. That’s not to say, though, that Dwight Hall doesn’t do good work, because they do. I’m not sure what all they do now, but I know they’ve raised a good bit of money to help the homeless in New Haven among other things.</p>
<p>As for the Yale bowl, most people take the shuttle. Not because walking is unsafe at all, just that it’s kind of far. The neighborhood near the Yale Bowl is great. I’d be living there now if I could afford it. I settled for a nice place in between campus and the Bowl and am perfectly happy with it. </p>
<p>I think many people find it prudent to take the shuttle back to campus after football games, but it’s not because of the neighborhood.</p>
<p>All of this is good to know. From just viewing the Chapel/Sherman area…which is in the middle of the route between campus and Yale Bowl…it looked a little dicey. Once again, looks can deceive.</p>
<p>The Chapel/Sherman area (between between the wealthier Downtown and Westville neighborhoods) is kind of dumpy and low income but it’s fine. Walking to the Bowl is the only time you’ll ever find yourself there. </p>
<p>I think Chapel/Sherman is near the hospital (Old St Rapheal’s campus) also. My dentist is also there. It’s old, lots of apartment houses and business’s but during the day, shouldn’t be a big issue.</p>
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<p>Right, let me give you quick sketch of what the average Dwight Hall, advocacy, or activism org looks like: an overabundance of people sitting on their hands trying desperately to convince others as well as themselves that they are being useful, good people; an absolute dearth of competence, respect for the issues or people involved in them; and absolutely fantastic resume lines about how you spent a summer teaching yoga to “underserved” populations that really transformed the lives of the people you saved, but how that doesn’t even compare to how they transformed yours. </p>
<p>I’ve been a long time.member of many Dwight Hall and activism orgs. There are certainly gems to be found among them. But the vast majority will have only the most superficial commitments, even the leadership, who more often than not like the title and not the work involved. You will almost certainly not find these gems at the forefront of things with fancy titles like “executive director,” “coordinator,” or, dear god, “organizer.” No, they’ll be the poor saps doing the day to day, the paperwork, the real guts of things. The rest of them will be the ones who will go on forever about privilege and not do a thing about it, become absolutely incensed about “classism” and think that their posh behinds can really be in-tune with “the struggle” or the “community” or whatever other inane thing those types are going on bout these days, and think that because they can exchange a few pleasantries with the flower lady they’re just really down with the issues of homelessness and poverty in New Haven. It’s the facile voyeurism of good liberals, absolving themselves of their privilege or whatever.</p>
<p>And if you’re concerned about crime in New Haven, just don’t be a massive dunce and walk around in 3 in the morning thinking it’ll be dandy and them be shocked when someone decides that a person this foolish is easy pickings. Not that this isn’t just a coded discussion about how obviously dangerous those townies are. Sure is comfortable sniping from the other side of the class line, isn’t it?</p>
<p>Just as there is crime everywhere, there are cynical people everywhere.</p>
<p>Hah. There might be a cynic or two here, but it seems there are far more gutless sycophants around. I’m not even that concerned with the minimal competence and devotion these volunteer-y and activist-y types put into their work. I’m just astounded that they won’t own up to and don’t even recognize their own flagrant voyeurism and that they’ve got the same sort of gutless sycophants–you–thinking they’re all just dears for giving so much back to the community or some other godforsaken thing like that.</p>
<p>Wait, let me sprinkle some smilies in here to show I’m a helpful member of this community.</p>
<p>:) =D> :o3 
B-) </p>
<p>As a NHV resident, I have had the pleasure of meeting many a “sycophant”, as you so politely label them. I have found them to be very sincere in their efforts. Please explain to me, with all of the other pursuits that one can involve oneself with on campus, why would they waste their valuable time and mix with the poor natives if they weren’t serious about bringing about change??? Am I a bad read of sincerity? </p>
<p>I think a lot of them are sincere, but naive and overly ideological. They’re students who want to save the world, and think that they, (maybe because they’re special Ivy Leaguers? maybe because they have a simplistic view of how society works and what its problems are?) just need to put in some effort to make it happen. The result is some wonderful organizations and some that just take up space. I say this having been one of those people. I think Ivy League students (my experience is mostly with Yale students, but I have no reason to think it’s any different here than at similar schools) often have a bit misguided view of their place in the world. </p>
<p>Aside from the poisonous cynicism of antidewey above, even baby steps, naive or not – have to be taken. I’d rather my classmates be shown something as opposed to never getting a chance to roll up their sleeves. Not everyone is going to be the community organizer. Sometimes you just need bodies, willing to pass out flyers or man a phone bank or work a weekend fair.</p>
<p>“Aside from the poisonous cynicism…”</p>
<p>rly tho? I’ll take one smart realistic person (aka a poisonous cynic) over 100 naively optimistic and self-important careerists any day. </p>
<p>“Sometimes you just need bodies, willing to pass out flyers or man a phone bank or work a weekend fair.”</p>
<p>Exactly right. Coincidentally, exactly the problem with activism and community involvement at Yale. Nobody wants to just pass out flyers on weekends or work at a phone bank. They’re Yalies, for God’s sakes! Get some Q-packer to hold a sign all day; I’m far to important for that. I’d much rather be a director, say, or a person who delivers impassioned speeches. Actually scratch that – activism is icky. I’ll just debate and drink with the YPU and pride myself as part of the intellectual vanguard. </p>
<p>Here’s something I’ve never understood: It’s extremely common for Yalies (and, as I’m sure you know, tons of overeager teenagers on this board), to go on six-week voluntourism trips to Africa. Yes, sure they spend most of their time on a Safari / climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro / finding themselves and learning traditional African meditation, but most importantly, they go because they want to help people who are less fortunate than them. Then go use their superior construction skill to help build a well, say, or they go to teach the savages about germs and pass out water filters. I went on a trip like this to Cambodia. Our white savior project involved spending a week planting rice. Nevermind the fact that planting rice is actually pretty hard, and Yalies, most of who have never even worked in a garden, suck at planting rice. Nevermind that when we left, the Cambodian farmers had to spend a day pulling up all our crooked rows of rice and replanting them correctly. (It’s OK, because Yale paid them and thanked them for giving us the opportunity to experience their culture.) Most people on the trip kept blogs to document their terrible rice planting and the emotional/spiritual/academic journey that accompanied it. </p>
<p>How could anyone except the world’s most entitled teenage think this a good idea? Do you think they realize how many wells could be dug if they didn’t waste $2000 on a ticket and donated the money instead? Nah, I doubt it. Most of them were really grateful for the opportunity to get to understand the exotic native peoples, absorb traditional culture, and share their lived experience with the people they were supposed to be helping. White man’s burden, anyone? </p>
<p>Everyone always criticizes the sell-outs who go work for Wall Street and acknowledge that they’re greedy parasites. At least they’re honest.</p>
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<p>Oh, they’re obviously sincere, and that’s the audaciously shameless thing about it. All these types are literally trying so hard to show that they are being sincere and self-sacrificing that they’ve managed to convince themselves that they are actually making a difference (the nice little cover letter line about how they really just gave back to the community that taught them so much, or something like that, doesn’t hurt). It wouldn’t be voyeurism if it was just someone who was obviously in it for a resume line and nothing else. It’s flagrant voyeurism because it’s using people with ■■■■■■ up and ■■■■■■■■ lives as a cause they can throw themselves at and then feel like they’re being good people, which is reinforced by almost every other Yale student because they think like that, too. It’s the resume line and that fine feeling of moral gratification. </p>
<p>That’s why you can have people unironically call themselves “part of the community” because they do things like go to a candlelight vigil attended by just other Yale students, canvass other Yale students to try to vote in a Yale student, or received a Yale (through Dwight Hall or Amy Rossborough) fellowship to teach yoga classes or promote “arts management,” or some other inane thing that Yale students and liberals drool over and everyone else realizes is a huge waste of time and money. These people not just worse than useless, they’re sincere in their thinking that this is obviously making such a dramatic impact in the community you have no idea, and that makes them self-righteous twats. </p>
<p>Take “art projects that examine social inequalities in New Haven” (Social Justice Fellowship/Amy Rossborough Fellowship)–how much more self-righteously liberal and voyeuristic can you get? The people who are on the wrong side of the “social inequalities” obviously already know that they are, so these kinds of projects are literally just documenting it for the benefit of their peers–that is, to pat each on the back for being so in the know. Oh, I know, it’s all about “raising awareness,” “highlighting important issues,” or something like that. What, you need someone to tell you that for most people life ain’t always grand? </p>
<p>Now, for all my scorn for the self-righteous twats and barely submerged careerism that I still find myself having a soft spot for things that actually manage to get useful work done, but that’s so few and far between it doesn’t even come close to redeeming the overall incompetence of Dwight Hall and the activist-y, volunteer-y types at Yale, nor the voyeurism of all involved. </p>
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<p>God, who the hell wants the kind of “community organizer” that Yale produces? Other self-righteous twats going around organizing this and that (largely other self-proclaimed “organizers”) to do an “action” or something? Stains the very idea of organizers and organization. As for the bodies they recruit, and gee willy are there lots of people willing to be guilted by people who seem more self-righteously sincere than you are, they get sucked into the same stupid projects these twats have going in the first place. Better they just stay home and literally don’t even think about it than pretend to even give the slightest damn. </p>
<p>Face facts, people–Yale’s made up of people who have no skin in the game and so their ideas of how to make a difference, so the things they try to do tend to end up being absurdly out of touch with the people they are apparently serving and all their effort becomes more self-serving and voyeuristic than anything else. </p>
<p>:-S :-/ :-B :-S :-?? POISONOUS CYNICISM 
:> 
:(( </p>
<p>New Haven was just listed by Table Talk as the number 1 Foodie City for 2014. Boston ranked third. There are major changes going on in New Haven. Having gone to Yale from 1978-82, I can say for a fact that the city has changed tremendously since that time. I know, because I was there for my 30th reunion in 2012 and my daughter is going to be a freshman in the fall and I have been there quite a bit during the application/decision process. New Haven is no more dangerous than a lot of cities. Anyone coming from an urban environment who knows basic safety precautions should be fine. Of course I would walk no where alone in the middle of the night. I live in Washington, DC and wouldn’t do that here. Now, of course I have a student’s point of view and I don’t know what the crime is like in the rest of the city. But since you really have no need to be trolling through New Haven’s neighborhoods alone at night or any other time, you should be fine.</p>
<p>As a New Haven resident who has three children who have gone through the New Haven public school system, and who have participated in a variety of Yale programs, I can say that the student volunteers are a mixed bag. Some are very respectful, recognize their limits, yet provide a good service. Others, not so much. One asked me if we have a dictionary at home. I have a PhD too. I refrained from calling her a twit, or asking her to define eleemosynary. </p>
<p>Overall, there is great educational value in Yale volunteering. Educational value for the volunteers. </p>
<p>More about the food/restaurants (since somebody mentioned Foodie Cities) rather than the crime here:</p>
<p>Has anybody here been to Oaxaca Kitchen on College Street ( & Crown Street)? Will it be very crowded on Saturday, at 6 pm? There will be a free concert on the Green tonight starting at 7:00 pm so I am concerned that there may be a larger crowd near downtown this evening (even though I think DS likely has made a reservation.)</p>
<p>When there is an evening concert on New Haven Green, will we usually have a large crowd there?</p>
<p>Also, Is Chipotle (I think this “semi-fast-food” chain, which is very popular in the south) was opened less than a year ago) usually crowded on weekends? How about the Apple store on Broadway? Is the waiting line long?</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, I looked up the “number 1 Foodie city” info posted by Tperry1982, for some of us who are more interested in the foodie (rather than crime) aspect of New Haven:</p>
<p>“From the soul food served at Sandra’s Next Generation to the falafels at Mamoun’s, restaurants in New Haven, Connecticut, cover the gamut of food genres. Students attending Yale University can get a culinary education simply by walking through downtown New Haven and sampling the cuisine found in the city’s eclectic restaurants, some of which date back to the late 1800s.</p>
<p>“Among the oldest and most beloved establishments in New Haven is Louis’ Lunch, which claims to be the birthplace of the hamburger sandwich. With the addition of Snapple, the menu here is only a bit more complex than it was in the last century. Savory beef served between two pieces of bread, potato salad, chips and homemade pie are the only food items on the menu. They do one thing, and they do it well.</p>
<p>“On perhaps the opposite end of the spectrum is Claire’s Corner Copia, a vegetarian restaurant offering Mexican, Italian and Mediterranean dishes along with sandwiches, veggie burgers and a bounty of desserts. Open since 1975, everything at Claire’s, from the spicy buffalo soy chicken burritos to the Lithuanian coffee cake, is handmade with local ingredients.</p>
<p>“Just as revered as Louis’ is Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, which most folks just call Pepe’s. Founded in 1925, Pepe’s draws crowds with its somewhat unusual pizza toppings. Among the most requested is the white clam pizza, but shrimp, anchovies and over-roasted chicken are also popular toppings.</p>
<p>“New Haven residents spend more on eating out than most Americans. Many frequent neighborhood bistros and cafes that get their ingredients from nearby farms. The city’s farmers markets make it easy for home cooks to prepare fresh meals.”</p>
<p>Sally’s pizza is great too…and Royal Palace for Chinese…so many places. I love the selection in New Haven for food, so many tasty restaurants.</p>