The zoo is great, but self-enclosed. Overton Park is not safe at night. Rhodes is next to Overton, and not on the “better” side, either. Memphis loves its Tigers. Rhodes…eh…it doesn’t do much for the city.
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The “fascination” with Rhodes College-in my experience–is with respect to generous financial aid combined with a beautiful campus and strong academics.
@tristatecoog : Interesting post. TCU has recently become one of my favorite schools due to a variety of reasons including generous merit scholarships.
My D took this school off her list after researching the area. Unfortunately it’s in a much worse than average area. Too bad, because the school otherwise has a great reputation and beautiful campus.
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Several kids we know from the San Francisco Bay area have attended Rhodes and were very happy with the college and education. I asked about safety and they said they always felt safe with lots of campus security.
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“with lots of campus security”
“Lots of campus security” same for other urban campuses - Johns Hopkins, UChicago, USC, UCBerkeley, Columbia and other colleges and universities in major American cities. Crime in US cities is increasing at an alarming rate!
In Chicago, homicides are up 33% in the first three months of the year compared to 2020, while shootings are up nearly 40% for the same period year-over-year. In New York City, the NYPD data shows murders jumped by nearly 14% through March 28, the latest numbers the department has made public, while shootings were up nearly 50%.
In Los Angeles, homicides have increased nearly 36% from 67 to 91 through March 30, LAPD Officer Rosario Cervantes told CNN. Those three cities – the nation’s largest – all saw significant increases last year over 2019.
My daughter is a freshman there and is going to transfer. She does not feel safe in Memphis, and feels like a prisoner there because she does not have a car. She does not feel safe walking anywhere, even during the day. She regularly hears gunshots at night.
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Rhodes College is EXTREMELY unsafe now
There has a murder of a student and carjackings and muggings of students happen often. The security is a JOKE!
The board of trustees needs to have properly trained guards and more of them. The security at Rhodes College is TERRIBLE compared to other colleges!
Are you a student there?
We toured and passed because of the safety concerns. Talked to a few folks who had kids there. Not good.
We actually toured Rhodes twice last year, my son was accepted into Rhodes and we were in the area close to 2 days - he did attend the accepted students event. We really loved the college and it was at the top of his list until another acceptance came in and he chose to pursue that option. We got extremely positive vibes with the campus - the staff and student were friendly - they make an effort in the development of the student. They mentioned that they take students around the Memphis area and teach them about the safety - do’s and don’ts etc. More than safety diversity seemed like an issue for us. In our time there, we didn’t feel unsafe within the campus (its gated). We drove during the night and didnt notice anything wrong. Like any other city, kids need to be aware of their surroundings. The incident that happened last year - looks like the involved student protested under gun point and didnt give in. Thought I’d share my observations and share what we heard
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Could you please elaborate on your “diversity” comment?
We didnt find a lot of students of color on the campus. It was predominantly white. Rhodes ADCOM did mention they’re trying to improve on that front
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We are hoping to be able to contribute to that cause!
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For those of you still wondering about the safety around the Rhodes campus look no further than the young woman that was kidnapped at University of Memphis a few days ago and the woman and her child that were abducted at a Target down the road from campus a few days ago. Both during the day. Memphis is simply not safe.
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The report I read said that she was jogging alone at 4:20 AM. Not an advisable thing to do in any city.
Woman kidnapped while jogging near University of Memphis, police said (nbcnews.com)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna46098
I guess shopping during the day at a Target in a city like Memphis is not advisable either. I tend to blame the criminal not the victim.
To each their own, But I don’t want to send my kid to a college in a town that has lost control of law and order.
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Not blaming the victim but there are things people can do, and not do, to lessen their chances of being a victim.
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Not sure much you can do in this instance but shelter in place…
I hope everyone stays safe!
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My daughter is a freshman. There have been numerous car thefts on campus. One reported assault of a student by a student (similar to many colleges unfortunately). They locked down during the incident posted above. Parents were obviously concerned/scared during that time, students reported feeling perfectly safe in lockdown in the school buildings. I don’t love that she’s in a city with so much crime, and it’s certainly an option to choose a more suburban or rural school. I wouldn’t have minded if she made that choice. So far she loves Rhodes and it really seems to be a special place. I just hope for the best, as I do for my son in college in New Orleans. Unfortunately so many cities are experiencing increasing crime.
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