Safety and Surrounding Area

<p>All right, I just want to say I'm an RA here at UD and this university you seem to be describing is completely foreign to me. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>There are no incidents of shootings. There was an extremely well publicized murder a couple years back.</p></li>
<li><p>Girls aren't raped all the time. If there is rape, we certainly don't hear about it. </p></li>
<li><p>On campus strictness. UD has been cracking down on underage drinking. There are heavy penalties via the Office of Judicial Affairs for those found in possession of or giving complicity to being around, alcohol. There are a lot of parties on campus, and within the last 3 to 4 years, UD has cracked down underage drinking. The police force here has grown, and it's very difficult to expect to come here, party and get by academically any more. If you're planning on drinking underage, you need to be smart about it. A lot of really dumb people get kicked out of this university every year because they were caught by an RA or police officer 3 times. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>I've heard that UD wants to establish a more prestigious reputation. It's difficult to get in here, but what keeps it from becoming nationally recognized is its drinking problem in the student population.</p>

<p>Moral of the story: if your main priority is to party, maybe investing your tuition here isn't a good idea. Campus strictness is only increasing, and only those who are smart about their underage drinking will get by. This is not to say don't drink, it means that you have to know how to avoid RAs, avoid police officers, and be discrete by not drinking in the dorms, having a DD, etc. </p>

<p>Again though, I've seen a lot of really dumb people, people who probably don't excel academically, get thrown out for being stupid with their drinking. Dont let it be you</p>

<p>okay i went to delaware last year and transferred and a big reason i did was because of how unsafe i felt at UD. no one wanted to walk anywhere alone after 8 because its so deserted and the stories everyone heard were just awful. the girl was murdered in 2005 and last year we had a string of off campus rapes all by this one guy. he also started entering dorms and went into one girls shower during the early morning hours, 6 or 7 am. this isn't a rumor, i know this girl and heard it first hand. there is no security in dorms to stop anyone from coming in and anyone can catch the door from behind a student and let themselves in. true, its a college campus and everyone should use common sense but i shouldn't fear going to my 8:30 meeting across campus. we used to pick up my friend from her lab at 10 pm because she didn't feel safe walking home. 2 boys were mugged on the bridge at around 1 am during spring semester and another guy was mugged right outside of perkins around the same time. and to tell you the truth, i hardly ever saw campus police around, and htey are also the only campus police officers who can't carry guns. they need to call and get special permission to unlock a box of guns in their trunk, and in an emergency situation i dont' see the help in that. for a few months we had drawings and wanted posters about the rapist and they never caught him and the most htey did was put "dont' hold that door" signs on teh doors so studnets wouldn't let other people in the dorms. let me know if anyone ahs any questions but that was my experience</p>

<p>Hmmm ... well that doesn't sound very good. Where did you transfer to? Do you feel safer now?</p>

<p><a href="http://ope.ed.gov/security/InstDetail.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://ope.ed.gov/security/InstDetail.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>This website lists crime statistics for college campuses. </p>

<p>The murder in 2005, mysteriously doesnt appear in the data:</p>

<p>amw.com</a> | James Cooke - Fugitive</p>

<p>Hmmm, conveniently not reported?</p>

<p>This crime occurred in an apartment off campus, so that would be the reason it is not included in the data.</p>

<p>You are 100% correct, which is why students and parents must not rely on one source of data and must take the initiative to do extensive research on their own.</p>

<p>CollegeMom2008 - Thanks for the link to the crime statistics site. Although the number of crimes is alarming, I find that UDel's stats are no worse and often better than the other schools to which D is applying.</p>

<p>My experience has been the same. My S is applying to schools that are in large cities and with that unfortunately comes crime. The bottom line is, crime is everywhere. We all have to be more aware of our surroundings, use caution when exploring and navigating through places, remain in groups when possible, lock your valuables up even in your dorms. Not all students are trustworthy. I face the dilemma of having a son who wont back down from anyone, which is concerning. I have to remind him that if faced with a mugger to relinquish material things as they are replaceable, while life is not. He hears me, but... he's got a sense of fearlessness, a desire to want to protect himself, family and friends, no matter what. So needless to say, I worry about him We cant live in fear otherwise the criminal rules. Instead I have tried teaching my children to just be smarter with their decisions and doing a whole lot of praying :-)
Just some suggestions from a parent's perspective.</p>

<p>As a mom of a freshman at UD, I pray for him daily. He has not felt unsafe so far and he works for Public Safety, which means he is out working alone! at night. The most trouble he had was with some hockey dads who didn't like being told where to park. I do worry about him, but no more than if he were somewhere else. My nephew was going to Virginia Tech last year, and he just happened to not be in the building at the time of the shooting. So I would tell any parent of a future UD student to not be fearful, but do as you did, and try to teach your child how to be safe, no matter where you are. That said, I will encourage him to live on campus, which I believe to be safer.</p>

<p>My son is also a freshman at Delaware and feels safe. He is enjoying his experience and is extremely happy.</p>

<p>I transfered to Boston University, which is in a city, and I feel safer walking on the streets here than I did in Newark, DE. Last year was a bad year for Newark and I actually know 4 other girls who transferred here, not my friends, who said a big reason in leaving DE was that they felt unsafe, along with other reasons. I don't want to scare anyone into not applying or not going, I just want you to know my experience so it doesn't come as a shock if some of these things happen while your kids are attending school there. Everyone has a different experience at every school. Many people go to delaware and absolutely love it but others hate it, like with every other school. I didn't hate it, but I never wanted to get an off campus apartment because of the crime rate and I thought it was ridiculous i didn't feel safe in my own dorm.</p>

<p>Well, I've lived literally five minutes from UD for over six years and have used its facilities often. I know there have been instances of drunk college students dying on railroad tracks and stuff like that, but IMO those were just people making not-so-smart decisions. As someone else said, I don't think the area's any worse than other college areas.</p>

<p>Look what just happened at University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill). Total safety is no where.</p>

<p>As though Chapel Hillis somehow more inherently safe than Newark? What's th point aside from college campuses can and often are among the most dangerous places on the planet, simply because of the nature of the beast and the ability for unknown faces to become integrated and integrated faces to remain virtually unknown.</p>

<p>I'm a freshman at the university, and i'm at the library till late hours in the night and have no problem making the 15 minute walk to laird campus in the dark. As long as you are sensible and aware of your surroundings, then there is NOTHING to be worried about in Newark.</p>

<p>Do they have any form of escort system especially at night?</p>

<p>The University of Delaware Department of Public Safety provides a free walking escort service for students, staff, faculty, and visitors to or from any location on campus or within the designated escort perimeter. The escort service is designed to enhance your safety and peace of mind if you must walk after dark. The primary goal of the escort service is to enable you to travel from one campus location to another with a greater sense of security. This service is available during the hours of darkness every night of the week.</p>

<p>Public Safety carefully screens and selects their student escorts. Escorts can be identified by their blue Public Safety shirt or jacket. All escorts are equipped with two-way radios for quick dispatch and prompt service.</p>

<p>The escort service will provide you with a Walking Escort* to or from any location on campus.</p>

<ul>
<li>Riding escorts may be provided when circumstances dictate.</li>
</ul>