<p>My son is seriously considering Clark for Fall 2011 admission. I just spoke to a recent female grad who said she heard of numerous incidents/crimes involving male students. She always used the Clark escort service and had no problems. Is this something I should worry about with Clark? Will a male student be less inclined to tap into the Clark escort service because it's not the macho thing to do?</p>
<p>Hi Julie,
My son is a freshman at Clark currently. The only incidents I have heard of have been off-campus incidents, in fact, I’ve only heard of one actually, and it was on a street near to campus, but not on campus. The university and the city seem to have responded quickly to ramp up security after that event [I heard he had his i-pod and wallet stolen, but that is just what I heard, cannot confirm]. He was walking alone. The University also was very quick to send out alerts to students, as well, which I found pretty responsive.<br>
Clark is in a city for sure, but much less dangerous than other college cities, like Boston, NY, Philly. Worcester gets a bad rep, but people really need to look at the statistics. I wouldn’t be surprised if more Northeastern students get mugged every year than all of Worcester colleges combined…but again, it’s the area. You have to be mindful that you are in a city. My older son is in Philly and he definitely has to be ‘city-smart’.<br>
Good luck! Talk to the folks at Clark about your security concerns and questions. They are great. The most friendly staff, bar none, of any of the colleges we visited over the past two years, though my older son’s school is pretty good, too.</p>
<p>I am a sophomore at Clark and as the mother above me have mentioned, the incidents (3-4 times a semester or less) that happen and are immediately informed to us through emails are usually off-campus incidents. We have our own University Police on campus (like a lot of colleges) and they are very visible. Dorms have a swipe system which means you need authorization and school id card to enter the buildings.
And escort is great, I have not heard of anyone that hasn’t used the escort because its not the macho thing to do. That would be stupid because they’ll be missing out on one of the best resources on campus. If we had to go somewhere longer than 5 min walk, we’d call escort, also use it during winter because its freezing out etc.</p>
<p>I’m the father of a Clark student and am a Clark alumnus as well. I have been very concerned about the number of criminal activities reported in close proximity to campus involving Clark students this past semester. Armed muggings in the Main South area have been occuring at a rate well beyond what I remember when I was a Clarkie 40 years ago.
We don’t like the fact that our kid can’t feel safe day or night once she walks outside the gates of the main campus. It makes me wonder about the return on investment for all that Clark has done to improve relations over the last several decades with the neighborhood.</p>
<p>ClarkAlum, I think I’ve seen older posts from you being more positive about the surrounding area. Is your Clark student new there? Has crime escalated just recently? </p>
<p>My D wasn’t worried about the rough-around-the-edges area, and neither were we (we are urban people), but your post is concerning.</p>
<p>What exactly is the escort service?</p>
<p>I think worcester is fine. I’ve never had anything happen to me and I walk around campus at all hours of the night. Just stay away from main street at night. Park is fine. I don’t live on campus anymore, and have had no problem walking home at night. I know some people who live pretty far off campus right off of main street and they have never had any problems either. They just don’t walk down main street in the middle of the night to get home.</p>
<p>As for escort there are 2 types. Walking and van. I don’t know anyone who has ever used the walking escort service. People use the van a lot to go get groceries and sometimes they use them to go to friends’ off campus apartment, some of which can be kinda far away.</p>
<p>Yes, my daughter is a freshman, and I don’t remember the area immediately around the campus being this unsafe. I attended Clark from 1968-73 and I never felt frightened or encountered any type of threatening situations, and I lived off campus for 3 of those years. I’m not exaggerating the recent number of reports of violent crime. Here is the latest warning sent to Clark students today:</p>
<p><<<<<<<<<<
To: The Clark Community
From: University Police, Chief Steve Goulet
Date: January 20, 2011
Re: Timely Warning 2010-11-06</p>
<p>At approximately 8:45pm tonight a student reports while he was walking from Honey Farms, at Charlotte St. and Park Ave, two males approached him and demanded his belongings. They were walking with a pit bull dog.
No weapon was seen.
He gave them his wallet and debit card.
One of the males punched the student once.The suspects then ran up Charlotte St. </p>
<p>Both males are described as black, approx. 5 ft. 8 inches tall, wearing black hooded sweatshirts. </p>
<p>The Worcester Police Dep’t was notified and responded with University Police.
If anyone has any information about this incident please contact the Worcester Police Dep’t Detective
Bureau at 508-799-8651 or the University Police Dep’t at 508-793-7575.
This investigation is ongoing involving both departments.</p>
<p>Please utilize the Clark Safety Escort Service by calling 508-793-7777 from 4pm-4am every day during the academic sessions.>>>>>>>></p>
<p>For those of you who don’t know, Charlotte Street IS on the Clark campus. This is at least the 4th or 5th report of similar muggings that have occurred since my daughter started at Clark in August. She doesn’t feel safe anywhere off campus at any time, and doesn’t really feel that safe alone on campus after dark. I think that sucks. She has turned down going to off-campus parties because it is often a hassle to use the escort service and she is afraid of feeling stuck if she wants to leave and a group of students won’t walk back with her.</p>
<p>There are many, many great things about Clark, but this is of such great concern to her and to us, that she is now considering transferring for next year. I have to wonder about all of the wonderful PR that has been put out about Clark’s investment in the Main South community when students like my daugher don’t really feel safe. Maybe every urban college campus is like this these days–I really don’t know.</p>
<p>That is alarming. Sounds the school might need to invest in more security people to patrol Charlotte Street consistently. </p>
<p>Thank you for sharing this. I know you’re a fan of the school and are a thoughtful person, so I take these concerns seriously. I’ll share them with my D when she gets down to decision-making time.</p>
<p>She’s very high on Clark, however.</p>
<p>This is concerning.
Is it naive to ask?:
Is there a way to gather data about frequency of incidents?<br>
Is it possible that the number incidents appears to have increased because they are reported in a more public way --eg email?</p>
<p>I texted S who “assured” me that there has not been an increase in muggings. But he is only a freshman so may not have a frame of reference for past history. S seems undeterred.<br>
I, OTOH, have not encouraged him to visit his good friend who attends WPI. </p>
<p>Would Clark release data if requested?</p>
<p>Another armed mugging occurred in the Clark neighborhood tonight. This is the second such reported episode in about a week. We are very concerned, as is our kid, and at this point we are seriously looking into her transferring to another school for next Fall. I’m sure there are similar episodes everywhere in and around many urban college campuses, but the vibe at Clark is not good, and these episodes have occurred much too often. </p>
<p>To: The Clark Community
From: University Police, Chief Steve Goulet
Re: Timely Warning 2010-11-07
Date: January 28, 2011</p>
<p>A student reports that at approximately 8:30pm, this evening, he was approached by two males as he was walking
on Grand St. heading towards Main St. The two males demanded his belongings. One of the males brandished a knife described as having a 2 or 3 inch blade.
The student opened his wallet and one of the males grabbed the money. At this point one of the males punched him.
Both males then fled down Grand St.</p>
<p>Descriptions: #1. male, Hispanic, approx. 5 ft. 10 inches tall, medium build, wearing
a brown hooded sweatshirt, jeans and workboots. </p>
<pre><code> #2. male, Hispanic, also approx. 5ft. 10 inches tall, medium build and complexion, wearing a
black or blue hooded sweatshirt, jeans and workboots as well.
</code></pre>
<p>The Worcester Police Dep’t was notified and responded. An investigation is ongoing.
If anyone has any information about this incident please call the Worcester Police Detective Bureau at
508-799-8651 or the Clark University Police at 508-793-7575.</p>
<p>This new incident is pretty scary - 8:30pm is not very late at all.</p>
<p>ClarkAlum, have you talked to anyone in the administration about this issue? Can campus police help patrol the streets near campus, or is that handled only by Worcester police? I’m wondering what if anything they are doing about this situation. Or, if the incidents aren’t up but the reporting is, as Merlin wondered.</p>
<p>I’d be interested in how the administration is dealing with this. When D comes down to making her final decision, either she or I will talk to them. </p>
<p>We live in a big city and know that this kind of thing happens more than most people realize (our papers aren’t reporting every little mugging/hold-up). But so many incidents so close to campus is worrisome.</p>
<p>As a current student I’m really not that worried. I was out until 130 last night and walked home by myself. </p>
<p>The location of the recent mugging says a lot. After looking at a map to actually figure out where Grand St. is, I’m not really sure what that person was doing there at night. There really is no reason to be walking around main st at night. </p>
<p>I would be interested in seeing where a lot of incidents fall on a map. A quick look through my email has shown that a lot of muggings don’t really occur that close to campus. They happen on streets like Oberlin, Grand, and Marble. The only street I’ve actually ever heard of before any of the muggings occurred was Oberlin, even then I’ve never actually been there due to how far of a walk it is. </p>
<p>The Charlotte St mugging is the only one that actually occurred somewhat close to campus. However, on a weekend night such as last night, cops do usually patrol Charlotte because thats where a lot of parties are. In fact, I saw the cops bust up a party last night on Charlotte on my way back home. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I only have reports for last semester and this semester. I had to clean out my email over the summer because it was full.</p>
<p>Thanks, broken, that’s a good perspective.</p>
<p>It brings to mind my days at USC in the late '70s. That’s a tough neighborhood around there, and the crime rates were particularly high in the '70s. There was a spate of on-campus crime even-- bag-snatching and jewelry-grabbing and car break-ins. But no one was ever hurt. The university has spent the last couple of decades building a better relationship with the neighborhood, just like Clark has done. And crime still happens, but much of it is farther away from campus, and less of it involves students.</p>
<p>My older D was recently held up while on a university-sponsored service trip to Mexico. It was scary, and of course we wish it didn’t happen, but it was a real learning experience for her and the kids who were with her. It was just local kids looking for quick cash, and no one was hurt or lost anything of great value. These things are going to happen.</p>
<p>broken_symlink, I also appreciate your balanced view.
Having visited Clark, WPI, and the surrounding neighborhood, I agree that unless students choose to rent apartments several blocks from campus, it should be pretty easy to avoid the less safe neighborhoods. I have driven through some of the “unsafe” streets and did not see any businesses which would compel a person to go there. It is difficult, from a distance, to look at a map and know which areas are safe, but I have known several Clark and WPI grads who assure me that they were not worried about their safety. The universities advise students about this.</p>
<p>Wow, sorry I missed these posts as I might have been able to fill in some gaps here. I did call Campus Security the other day after hearing about the most recent mugging. I was really glad I did. They had just come from meeting with the Worcester Police and felt very positive about how things were going. This recent flurry of crime has not gone unnoticed and they’ve actually gone into over-drive to curb it, with success already. Cameras have helped identify suspects and arrests have been made. </p>
<p>The crimes have been in the time-frame of 6-10pm, when students have routinely not been as cautious. The single variable has been that the students were walking alone. Word has gotten out and MOST Clark students are being prudent, with many taking advantage of the beefed up escort system, running from 4pm-4am.</p>
<p>The security chief assured me that they are doing a lot and were confident that things were looking positive. I suggested that an email go out to parents and students alike letting everyone know the ‘good’ things that were transpiring so that both parental and student concerns be addressed. He was going to talk to the VP the next day to see what the best format for doing that would be, but was appreciative and thought it was a good idea too. My original call was because my son kept telling me about things and wanted to know if there was something he or the study body could do. He encouraged any students to stop by the office.</p>
<p>So, by all means, do call the Campus Security and speak with them directly. They are not hiding anything at all, just more working in the Clark vacuum, without any realizing that folks are stressing out here. </p>
<p>They are very nice at Clark and I wouldn’t dream of having my son transfer. My older son is at Penn in Philadelphia and you learn really quickly how to be city-smart. Another friend’s son is at Yale in New Haven, and his roommate was mugged…the key thing is not walking alone at night and tempting would-be criminals. Boston is much more dangerous than Worcester, and I think that this rash of incidents at Clark is based upon crimes of opportunity. The city has vowed to assist Clark in putting an end to it. </p>
<p>Stay safe out there guys and don’t put yourselves at risk. Walk with a friend, or call the escorts.</p>
<p>CCL8, thanks for the info! Very reassuring.</p>
<p>Yes, thanks very much. It’s very helpful. And a reminder that city life has its risks, no matter the city.</p>
<p>If you have an Escort Service though, suppose the escort & the student both get robbed? I mean it is possible for these criminals with knives etc. to rob two people at once, not just one lone person walking. </p>
<p>We know of one student from our local high school who is also considering transferring as well.</p>