<p>I don't really consider the incident close to USC. The areas west and south of USC aren't pretty, and bad things happen. But as far as in the close vicinity of USC, I feel safe (safe as an urban environment is concerned). Nobody I know hangs out in the area of the shooting.</p>
<p>I had heard all the talk before about the "bad" area around USC...so I went to check it out. We also went to UCLA, my daughter's other choice. Needless to say, we saw 2 bums outside of the UCLA campus and none at USC. Also the trash on the grounds that day at UCLA was something! The 2 times we visited USC the place was spotless, the students were friendly, polite and even escorted us to where we needed to go when appearing lost! I, for one, am very protective and concerned for my daughter, but USC won us over hands down. I feel as long as she uses the same common sense I instilled in her from day one, she should be fine.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there are unprovoked, violent attacks that can occur pretty much anywhere in the US, including in LA. The folks I know who attend or have kids who attend USC have always felt safe there & I expect my son will be as well. Sorry for the family in the story.</p>
<p>why does everyone say usc is in south central? it's in WEST ADAMS, which is considerably west of south centgral... and different demographically.</p>
<p>Don't trust the LA times with that kind of stuff, they'll print any anti-USC stuff they can find. I don't get it really, but that's one reason I don't read the LA times :)</p>
<p>Isn't USC in South LA, the area once called South Central LA? Ah, never mind. Wikipedia says West Adams is a district of South LA.</p>
<p>I don't think you will find USC students hanging around that area. It's west of Normandie Ave. UCLA and Westwood isn't completely vulnerable to crime....there was a shooting back in December in 05 at the Habibi Caf</p>
<p>i have what i consider a pretty nice car, and i have no clue whether or not i will be able to bring it with me because of 1) parking and 2) i dont want it to get messed up. I have also heard horror stories about the area around USC, would bringing my nice car be a bad idea?</p>
<p>Get a car alarm if you have a nice stereo, regardless of the rest of the car. My friends with nice cars never got their cars trashed, my car never got trashed until.... a week after I was given a nice stereo for christmas, it got jacked (on Exposition Blvd, not in a parking structure). Once I got an alarm, no problems.</p>
<p>Yes, USC is indeed in the area known to the City of Los Angeles as the South Central District. We sit between the subdivisions known as 'South Park' and 'West Adams', respectively. The University has its own subdivision known as 'University Park' however, so we are not actually in West Adams.</p>
<p>The area certainly has its problems, but crime on the actual campus is much lower than crime on many other campuses, because USC has its own Department of Public Safety, which polices not only the campus but also a bit towards each side, basically the whole area where most students live, and they keep up an EXTREMELY visable presence. Students get annoyed with them for their attempts to combat underage drinking, but when it comes to crime, DPS does a very good job, especially considering the area they are given to work. As an architecture student, I frequently found myself walking across campus, or sometimes as far as The Row, anywhere between 2 and 5am. While I did get creeped out a couple of times, it was all phsycological, because nothing ever happened, and I usually saw DPS cars on patrol during my walks home.</p>
<p>Well, I wouldn't bring my Porsche 911* and park it on the street a mile down Exposition and leave it for a few weeks. But otherwise you should be OK.</p>
<p>If you're concerned then contact DPS and parking people and they will help you with some advice on how to keep it safe.</p>
<ul>
<li>obviously I don't really have one</li>
</ul>
<p>I keep getting crime bulliten emails from USC now that I set up my usc email. I guess once you get those you get an idea of some of the types of things that happen around campus. Nothing really big, it seems.</p>
<p>Check out the Department of Public Safety website: <a href="http://capsnet.usc.edu/dps/%5B/url%5D">http://capsnet.usc.edu/dps/</a></p>
<p>There's a nice DPS video at: <a href="http://capsnet.usc.edu/DPS/Video/index.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://capsnet.usc.edu/DPS/Video/index.cfm</a></p>
<p>If you're worried about your car then make sure you get a place that has gated parking. Alot of the apartment complexes around the campus have gated/secured parking. Get an alarm too if you don't have it already, especially the ones that will page you if you alarm is triggered within a certain distance. Do not leave anything in sight that would make your car a target....like leaving your iPod on your seat. I had to park my car on the street this past school year because I rented out a room in a house and they did not have a spot for me to park my car on the driveway. Nothing happened to my car. I had a good alarm installed (I recommend Directed alarm systems like Viper and Python) and the factory stock audio.</p>