Hello All!! Can anyone comment on safety in the Gainesville area in general, and UF in particular? I know that no area is crime free, but do students get mugged frequently? Do kids feel safe walking around campus at night? Thank you!!
Robbery/Assult: About every 1-2 weeks, I receive report via UF Alert about nearby crimes (often, it is robbery, sometimes armed, or lewd behavior). Most often the suspects aren’t caught.
Every once in a while there are frat fights and crazy things due to hazing/rushing.
Bike theft: all around campus you see bike wheels/frames/seats missing. Use a solid U lock and secure the frame. Take the seat with you.
IllegalDrugs: IMO, I don’t see this ever. Though I’m sure some do in their personal passtime.
Alcohol: Tons of drinkers at UF, drivers can be very dangerous at night.
In ~2013, some punks were going around and randomly knocking out some late walkers unconscious. (no robbery, but apparently a game called knock-out).
About 2013, UF deployed grouped walks in addition to their existing SNAP services (a free taxi service for UF students at night).
Some major recent ones:
In 2012, there was a murder and an arrest. In 2015, an operation by the GPD arrested a handful of students and professors from UF and Santa Fe suspected for being child predators.
Some other things…
Advice: Be very careful at night. Try to be in a group, try to stay in well lit places or in populated routes; wait an extra moment and check before crossing any interections (many red light crossers).
I’m sure this stuff happens just about anywhere, but things might be crazy at UF is the #1 party school.
I suppose most of us feel safe as the size of UF makes it hardly a chance for something to happen, but it can be avoided.
Stay safe!
I feel very safe going to UF. Like anywhere else, you need to be aware of your surroundings, but I’ve never felt unsafe. Walk with a friend if you’re going places at night, and walk in well-lit areas. You can always take SNAP, a free service that takes students around UF starting at 6PM and runs late into the night.
There are robberies every once in a while, but it’s not like people are getting mugged on a daily basis. If you use common sense and good judgment, you will be perfectly fine!
I follow multiple schools on Twitter and Uf seems like they’re constantly tweeting alerts. I have seen it from other schools but maybe they just don’t send it often. A lot of times the alert just says it was an unarmed person off campus. I was there in September and me and my friend(both in high school) were walking around campus at like 11 by ourselves and it was fine.