<p>Why does the public relations campaign continue despite the danger to students? My friend just left midyear. She said it is really scary outside the campus. Sure Tulane is in the only nice part of the city but she said she is surrounded by a war zone. With so many places to go to school why go there? Why doesnt anyone tell the truth about all of this?</p>
<p>Honestly, if you look in the article you just posted, it says these murders happened in the Ninth Ward. The Ninth Ward is seven miles away from Tulane, and you're right--it is scary down there. But why on earth would you go down there? Saying that Uptown is dangerous because there were shootings in the Ninth Ward is really pretty ridiculous if you know New Orleans geography, because the two are nowhere near each other. And, despite what your friend says, Tulane's campus is extremely secure, and the areas around it are also fairly low-crime, considering you're in a major city. If you walk alone at night through the Ninth Ward, yeah, you may run into some trouble, but if you're Uptown and in a small group, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>What people like you fail to understand is that the areas affected by this rampant crime are so far removed from the campus, and are places where students never go. The French Quarter and the Uptown areas are very safe, upscale areas, and are frequented by students at Tulane. This is no different than being at NYU downtown in Greenwich Village, and having crime uptown in Harlem (though the crime in the 9th Ward and other areas is admittedly worse). I hope this clears things up for everyone.</p>
<p>I was there in November. In no way did the city resemble a war zone. It's like any other big city. I'm from NY and would not venture into some neighborhoods here at night.</p>
<p>It's like saying Rice is unsafe because of bad areas in Houston. Or NYC is unsafe because of East Harlem and the South Bronx. Or LA, etc etc etc.</p>
<p>Yes, NOLA has its problems. But when I was there I made a point of talking to people like cabdrivers, shopkeepers, our B&B owner and other regular working folks. They all said, "Please tell people to come here. We're all working hard to restore our city." </p>
<p>Where is your friend from? Has she ever lived in a big city before? Or lived in a non-suburban environment? I'd be curious to know.</p>
<p>Hedoya:
Unlike you, many of us have been to the city, in some cases numerous times since Katrina. Also unlike you, we realize that the much-over-publicized "violence" has been largely confined to an area that is considerably distant from the Tulane/Loyola campuses. I don't feel any more threatened by post-Katrina New Orleans than I do walking in New York, Chicago or St. Louis. It's not a college town, in the sense that South Bend or Knoxville or Tuscaloosa are. It's a big city, and people should exercise the same common-sense precautions whatever big city they go to.
People come to this board for information, and the ones responding about Tulane have only been giving their first-hand knowledge of the situation.</p>
<p>I wish there was some way to filter out posts like this....they do nothing but stir up posts and add no value for anyone.</p>
<p>People should only report on what they know...not hearsay and bad information. I have been down to NOLA multiple times before and after Katrina and my D is currently a very happy freshman there. There is no way any person would ever call the area around Tulane a war zone.</p>
<p>Tulane is a great school in a great city. Are there issues in NOLA...yea. Do I have any concerns about my D being there. No. Is she having a great college experience...hell yes.</p>
<p>Bottom line....go look and see for yourself.</p>
<p>I have lived a few blocks from Tulane for 25 years and I feel very safe. Students just need to use common sense ....stay away from high crime areas, travel with friends if you are going out to clubs and spend the extra $ to take a cab home late at night.</p>
<p>There seems to have been a slight uptick in crime around in the campus area -mostly off campus - but if you go to the Tulane website under "News" you will notice in one of President Cowen's recent newsletters (he posted this about a month ago on a Friday), Tulane has increased security staff on and off campus. Also, to Tulane's credit, they actually report the crime stats and a desription of every incident - also on their website - you need to go to "Departments" - "Public Safety", and they list all types of incidents - on campus and off campus. (how many colleges publicly post that?)</p>
<p>Regardless, my daughter who is a freshman, feels reasonably safe on or near campus. Being from the metro NYC/NJ area - I don't think she sees a difference when she ventures out. Students don't go into 9th Ward - they stay Uptown, Magazine St, Jackson Square, malls in Metairie, etc.</p>
<p>You guys rock! I was upset when I read that fairly uneducated post at the top, but all of you hit the nail on the head. New Orleans is like any major American city. There are areas where there is crime and there are parts of the city that you will want to avoid. These areas are not at all near Tulane's campus, and our students know the areas of the city to avoid. New Orleans, like most cities, does have some crime. For us, we have been in under a national media microscope as of late, so it's been highly publicized. Statistically, crime is much lower here in New Orleans than it was before the storm. It's also important to remember that Tulane is located in Uptown New Orleans, the safest part of the city. We have a fully trained private police force that works just for the campus. They also patrol the 1-mile radius around campus, so even if you live off campus you are still covered by TUPD. We virtually never have any problems on campus at all. </p>
<p>Basically, it’s just about being smart. Our students here know how to stay safe. In fact, Tulane ranks as one of the safest campus out of all top 50 institutions, as well as at the top of all urban campuses. Check out the Department of Public Safety’s website at <a href="http://www.tulane.edu/%7Edps%5B/url%5D">http://www.tulane.edu/~dps</a>. And for more info, you can check out this video: <a href="http://www.tulane.edu/%7Eadmiss/parents/video.html#%5B/url%5D">http://www.tulane.edu/~admiss/parents/video.html#</a>.</p>
<p>On my visit to Tulane, I felt safe on campus and in the surrounding Uptown area. Of course, it's an urban area and you have to use street smarts and common sense.</p>
<p>Ditto the urban area/street smarts advice. I went to Newcomb in the 70's, followed by Tulane grad school, and never had a problem BUT there was always the reported armed robbery, etc off campus. My relatives who live in nola now say it is no worse than it was 15 years ago. It's a city.</p>
<p>We have a D at LSU where there were three armed robberies this fall near the dorms (all in one day!), but those are the only ones in the three years she's been there. Of course, they did have a serial killer while she was in hs and applying. Her sister goes to U Pittsburgh where there was a series of shootings a few blocks from the dorms and a mugging near the Chemistry bldg. </p>
<p>Stuff happens. Be careful.</p>
<p>The Pitt shootings did not involve students, altho some students live in the apts near where they ocurred. My point is that no place is entirely safe, so just be careful and aware of your surroundings. Not walking around at 3 in the morning is also a good idea.</p>
<p>Bravo to common sense and balance! My son is now an sophomore and an RA for Tulane and very happy there. Of course, he doesn't run around in the middle of the night alone in odd areas. He knew how to act before he got there, and we were from a small town. It justs takes a little thought. There's nothing more important in the world to me than he is, and after the way they took care of him during the storm, I am not worried about him at Tulane. What more can I say?</p>
<p>My son is a junior at Tulane who lives on campus but spends a lot of time off campus. He works part-time at an Uptown hotel; shops at Whole Foods, Walmart, etc; does community service projects at neighborhood schools, etc; and eats at great restaurants when finances permit!</p>
<p>He and many of his friends are from out-of-state, don't have cars, and bike or walk wherever they go. They're living an urban lifestyle in a very attractive, vibrant part of New Orleans. They are reasonably cautious about avoiding certain areas at a distance from campus.</p>
<p>Ha! I just now actually read the cited news article above and the tourist quote was from somebody from Pittsburgh! See, they have crime and shootings just like nola. You just have to be careful.</p>
<p>Just got back from taking S to see Tulane and took the time to read the postings on the LBC (UC to me) bulletin boards. There was an armed robbery a few blocks from campus at 2:15 am and a man exposing himself to a female student a few blocks from campus while she was getting in her car at 4:00 am. He ran off when she screamed. Read the hullabaloo (newspaper) account of this and the girl said she needed to "run an errand".....at 4 am?? In a city where most of the commercial stuff still hasn't returned to normal business hours what did she think would even be open at 4 am?</p>
<p>Yes, it would be nice if this stuff never happened, but just use caution and stay on campus in the middle of the night and preferably in your room.</p>