Neighborhood around Occidental

I am the parent of a high school senior (graduating in 2022). We recently visited Southern California and visited Occidental. I have a question about the neighborhood around the school- do students go into the neighborhood much? Is it safe? We walked down Campus Drive to York and were a bit surprised at the area- multiple very dilapidated homes, and a marijuana dispensary at the corner of York and Campus with literally about 40 half drunk bottles of malt liquor on the sidewalk outside it.

It was also pronounced how many signs we saw on the tour (including in the lobby of the student center) touting the school’s opposition to gentrification of the neighborhood. The tour guide also mentioned this. We wondered if there was some kind of history to this issue at the school.

Would appreciate any perspective on the neighborhood as well as the gentrification issue.

Thank you!

This New York Times article may be of interest:

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