<p>I've never really heard of the "right to be afraid". I do sort of feel that we have a right to not be afraid. </p>
<p>It's kind of naive to believe that the police are going to be able to protect you. Besides, some people fear the "blue lights" more than they do random acts of violence.</p>
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<p>The inspiration for blue blood actually came from a murder in cambridge - and Pamela Thomas-Graham never attended Yale:</p>
<p>"Pamela Thomas-Graham: There was a real-life incident that occurred in 1991 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which many people still probably remember: The wife of a Harvard professor, who was also a professor herself, named Mary Jo Frug, was found on a deserted street in Cambridge, a victim of stab wounds that she later died from. The case has never been solved. It's one of those notorious unsolved incidents where it's never been clear whether her attacker was a stranger or someone who knew her. At the time that it occurred many people said there were so many interesting facets of the case that would have made an interesting novel, and I thought to myself, "Yes, it would be an interesting starting point for a novel."</p>
<p>Isn't a harvard student currently on trial for murder -Pring wilson or something? And you worry about getting burglarized by fellow students.</p>
<p>Well, you must admit that there have been more murders of or involving Harvard people in the past 20 years than there have been involving Yalies. Just the bad luck of John Harvard, I suppose.</p>
<p>I would just like to point out that while Byerly often proclaims that often "Yalies doggedly compare themselves to Harvard", Byerly will always doggedly compare Harvard to Yale. </p>
<p>Really, aren't you doing just what you say you so much despise Yalies for doing? What does this say about you?</p>
<p>byerly you are borderline offensive, and I take offense to your claims of democratic corruption. Republicans do not have a monopoly on values. Remember Enron anybody? Ken Lay was Bush's biggest campaign donor. Republicans are rife with corporate corruption.</p>
<p>Look at the facts. Lobbying firms have increased from around 2000 in 1992 to above 11000 in 2004. People know that money buys access and so, they bribe politicians. Delay himself is under threat of indictment for shady dealings.</p>
<p>But, back to the OP</p>
<p>I attended the Explo program at Yale where I lived in the undergraduate dorms for 3 weeks. Not once did I feel unsafe during the daytime. However, at night some of the neighborhoods a few blocks from campus were places I would NOT want to go. One time I got lost and veered into those neighborhoods by accident and say people pushing drugs on street corners.</p>
<p>Last year, when visiting I noticed that the crime problem had been reduced very much and the place felt much safer. </p>
<p>Yale used to be a scay place to be, but, with the biotech boom, the neighborhood is getting better.</p>
<p>Has anyone walked through Harvard Sq. after 10pm? At the risk of sounding sexist, I would not want a sister, daughter or niece doing that alone. That place can become quite scary.</p>
<p>Once again Byerly tries to discourage kids from applying to Yale, this time with fear for their lives! Heh. </p>
<p>I love the fact that my somewhat overly protected suburban white daughter has learned how to handle herself in a city such as New Haven. You learn where it's safe to go and, you don't go out alone at night - good advice for all, male and female, in all urban areas. Muggings take place every day in every city in America. </p>
<p>I feel that the university does a very good job of laying the groundwork for the students with their mandatory seminar on safety during the first week of school. New Haven, Cambridge, Philly, New York, all are good places for kids to get their feet wet while still having some type of safety net in their school community. How could I ever let me kid go to South Africa, South America or even Europe without my supervision if she can't even manage New Haven?</p>
<p>apples and oranges. Slipping in a bathtub is not a crime. However, since you are much more likely to be hurt in a bathroom accident than from a random criminal act, perhaps you should limit your number of showers and/or have a bathroom buddy. </p>
<p>I have never discouraged anybody from applying to Yale. Quite the contrary.</p>
<p>Please note that I did not start this thread, captioned "New Haven Is Not Safe" and that it apparently was initiated (by a concerned poster calling himself "Yale.edu"!) in response to a survey just undertaken by the Yale Daily News.</p>
<p>I do (I must confess) enjoy teasing the Yalie trolls who are ultra-sensitive about the "crime issue", and get their knickers in a twist every time it comes up.</p>
<p>That's a great point. My daughter spent 6 weeks last summer in Paris. I think the time she spent in NYC as a child (her father worked there), Camden (NJ) with me as a middle schooler, as well as her attendance at an urban college, helped prepare her to be alone in a city abroad.</p>