<p>I'm going to be attending FSU in the Fall and I was assigned DeGraff Hall, which is located across from campus. I'm coming from a small city where there is literally no crime and I was wondering how is the safety of both Tallahassee and the school itself? I've been researching and it seems like they have a lot of crime, but it very well just may be because I am so paranoid.</p>
<p>Any help would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Crime is going to happen. It’s life. Tallahassee is a small town with a high population, so the rate of crime is naturally going to be high.
Now, is it a city where people are afraid to leave their homes after 8pm? No. You just have to use common sense when living in a city. Keep your doors locked, don’t walk alone late at night, make use of the NiteNole and whatnot. Don’t let people into the dorm who don’t have access to it. If you’re uncomfortable about something/your safety speak up. There are plenty of people who hang out late at night and go out, there have been crime reports and actual criminal activity on and off campus. But of course you’ll hear about every crime on and near campus bc it has to be reported and accessible to the students/public. I’ll make it clear… it doesn’t mean everyone has experienced something bad or been a victim of a crime during their time here at FSU. Nope. Like I said, use common sense. Sooner or later you’re going to have to venture out of your safety zone and enter the real world which is full of scary and unsavory stuff, but don’t let it stop you from living your life. Do take the time to visit the University and explore the town prior to making your final decision, bc ultimately if you aren’t ready for the big change just yet don’t feel pressured to push it bc if it is something that will hinder your education if you’re constantly focused on the what ifs and too afraid to enjoy your college experience. </p>
<p>Honestly, I’m not comfortable with Tallahassee. </p>
<p>One of my children graduated from FSU and had the time of her life. She is a Nole through and through. I just don’t have much of an appreciation for the city. You can have a great 4 years there- just be careful and use common sense. Don’t ever become so intoxicated that you cannot care for yourself.</p>
<p>First of all, stay out of the area of town known as Frenchtown. It’s a ghetto.</p>
<p>On my D’s graduation day they had a moment of silence for a young man who was abducted and killed by 3 escaped convicted from Louisiana. The young man had approached the 3 men in a gas station asking about the possibility of purchasing marijuana. Poor guy was taken to an ATM and robbed. He was then walked into some woods somewhere else in Florida and killed. </p>
<p>Ted Bundy was also traveling when I-10 took him through Tally.</p>
<p>I will say this- I would allow my younger children to attend FSU. It’s a great school, but the city itself has risks and a segment of the local population is scary. It is off of an interstate and may attract drifters. Just be careful. Be vigilant at FSU or any other college as the conditions that I describe exist at many great universities. </p>
<p>Welcome to literally every larger city in the United States, if not the entire world. There’s crime in every town. Tallahassee’s crime rate is above the average:
<a href=“http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Tallahassee-Florida.html”>http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Tallahassee-Florida.html</a>
Burglary and theft are the big ones. Almost every single FSU Alert sent out by FSUPD is because of someone getting robbed. Be smart. Common sense really does go a long way in protecting yourself.</p>
<p>I’m not going to say that there isn’t any crime. I’m also not going to say that any time you walk around campus by yourself that you should constantly check over your shoulder to make sure that you aren’t being followed. </p>
<p>Degraff Hall is located across the street from the main campus, sure. You can either cross Tennessee Street via the tunnel or the different pedestrian crosswalks. I’d say you’ve got a good chance of being harassed by drunk idiots leaving the bars just down the street than getting robbed walking to/from your room. </p>
<p>I’ve never had any issues. Don’t go into Frenchtown (the area just to the north of campus) or go down by FAMU basically under any circumstances, and you’ll avoid probably 90% of the crime in Tallahassee.</p>
<p>That’s nice Pasbal keep perpetuating that stigma surrounding FAMU. No wonder why they can’t stand FSU, it’s because of this attitude that so many of you (white) FSU kids have towards FAMU. Yes, this is coming from a FSU student. I have been near FAMU, driven through it, and walked through it. It’s very different from FSU, and the campus is not as pretty or alluring, also that area is really a drastic change from downtown area, Tennessee st and thomasville area but by no means does it mean you have to fear for your life over by FAMU. I even live in an apartment complex that has students and recent grads from FAMU and FSU and have never had an issue. Stop with this stinky attitude towards FAMU. You guys are so gross with how y’all react when it comes to FAMU. Also today I saw some white girl drive through a stop sign because she saw a black guy using the crosswalk. Yeah, welcome to Tallahassee. Seriously people think that if they walk on FAMU territory they’ll get attacked or something. You may get people giving you the stink face because either you look all paranoid with a stick up your rear end or because you have FSU gear on. It’s whatever though, doesn’t mean you have to be in a constant state of fear over here in Tally.</p>
<p>Common sense is key when living or going anywhere or doing anything. Crime is everywhere, and there are random college crime rankings out there that are overly exaggerated bc of the campus population vs crimes and all that stats seem to push things overboard. One even had FSU ranked on a list, but honestly most of the crimes on most campuses are burglary bc SO MANY people leave their cars unlocked or leave their stuff in the library unattended. Oh yeah and drugs, college kids love their drugs. I don’t care where you live, high crime, low crime or “no crime”, always use common sense and don’t assume it can never happen to you. Even at those fancy private and/or liberal arts colleges that are in desirable locations crime can happen. Tallahassee is small and overly congested city, it’s not very pretty and only FSU seems to have the pretty parts, it’s really not a happening place but the both universities have certain programs that are awesome and well respected.
I know some local churches that visit Frenchtown and reach out to the community there. I’ve driven through it and honestly I am very indifferent to it…it is the “ghetto” so you will get harassed bc it’s a lower income area and a vast majority of the students are not low income so there is that issue having a “ghetto” so near a University that has kids with money and nice cars. It’s just a clash of social groups really. So avoid it because honestly they are tired of seeing your faces just as much as you’re probably seeing theirs. The issues and rumors really lies with privileged white kids who think it’s funny to make fun of the lower income areas of Tallahassee and belittle the FAMU community because the students don’t look like you and make them out to be criminals. Yes crime happens at FAMU. Guess what it happens at FSU as well. Shocking, I know. Really though, it’s just not a surprise because every college campus have their flaws…look at Columbia University and all their problems with how they handle rape victims/survivors.</p>
<p>fsugrad I am guessing you are both a liar about where you graduated from, and far more racist than anyone in this thread. Your post is full of grammatical errors so I am confident you never got into FSU. Further, while attending there you would have been exposed to many people and learned that your racist beliefs were, as most racist beliefs, completely inaccurate.</p>
<p>More than once you make reference to “white kids”. Who was referring to anything about race in here prior to you. For your information, not all white people have “money and nice cars.” You start off by saying that the area around FAMU is different, but safe. Then your idiotic rant goes on to say that people of these areas are “tired of seeing your faces” so avoid it or you will be harassed. Are you saying it is safe, but not for white people? Most crime statistic show that crime is not typically racially motivated. There is far more black on black crime that occurs than black on white. So if you are inferring that the area is safe, but not if you are white, then you truly are as ignorant as you sound in this post.</p>
<p>I highly recommend you read some of Bill Crosby’s works or listen to Morgan Freeman on the subject of blaming your faults on other people and racism. </p>
<p>Cosby…I guess my iPhone is racist now huh?</p>
<p>I am entering my second year at FSU and to be honest, I hate the city of Tallahassee. Its not appealing by any means, even though it is the capital of Florida. Degraff is across Tennessee st. which separates it from the rest of campus. There is a McDonalds right next to Degraff, and a pretty busy club right next to the McDonalds. I know there are a lot of homeless people around that area, and one of them even tried robbing a friend of mine by pulling a knife on him. Just be careful, don’t be stupid and make sure you don’t attract unwanted attention. FSU is a wonderful school, and they take great pains to make sure that all their students are safe. Don’t let crime (present at ALL schools) deter you. </p>