<p>Is it an event whose probability is greater than zero?</p>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p>Given our chronic underfunding and mismanagement of homeland security/antiterrorism systems, it should be a concern.</p>
<p>While I imagine the cronyism that plagues the current system (lots of Yale grads doing a "heckuva job" I'm sure) will leave with the Bush Administration, I fear that a Democratic administration, in the midst of anti-Bush civil liberties grandstanding, will dismantle a vital surveillance/antiterrorism measure. Perhaps those two will cancel out.</p>
<p>However it's still not a very big threat.</p>
<p>Here's a fun psychology fact:
-some psychologists surveyed people who lived near a large dam, asking them how concerned they were about the dam breaking and killing them all. They found that as they got closer and closer to the dam, the concern grew and grew--until a certain point when they got right up to the dam. Concern plummeted. Cognitive dissonance carried the day and people living with the greatest threat had rationalized it out of existence.</p>
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Taking the subway up, you go through Harlem. And yes, I have been there. When you leave the immediate vicinity of Columbia, you are in Morningside Heights. Then, when you go just a bit down, you're in OFFICIAL Harlem. I didn't think we were getting technical.
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<p>Ok, you're just flaming. Time to move on.</p>
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And men can get raped. Though it happens much less than with women.
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<p>By the tax man, yeah. Or in prison.</p>
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Given our chronic underfunding and mismanagement of homeland security/antiterrorism systems, it should be a concern.</p>
<p>While I imagine the cronyism that plagues the current system (lots of Yale grads doing a "heckuva job" I'm sure) will leave with the Bush Administration, I fear that a Democratic administration, in the midst of anti-Bush civil liberties grandstanding, will dismantle a vital surveillance/antiterrorism measure. Perhaps those two will cancel out.
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<p>Stop being a hack, please. Cronyism has essentially been a part of every government anywhere in the world since the beginning of organized civilization. And it will be part of an Obama administration. Or a Clinton II administration. Or a McCain administration. Or a Paul administration. Maybe not that last one!</p>
<p>I am not a Columbia student, but I live in the suburbs of NY (I could see the fire of 9/11 from my house and the county in which I live lost many people on that day). The scare of terrorism is very real here. It comes up sometimes when talking with my friends and I know many of them would admit that they duck or shiver a little when they hear a very low-flying airplane. Having said that, it certainly doesn't have an effect on our daily lives and New York is quite safe. It's probably one of the safest/most secure cities now, since there has already been an attack and security/scrutiny has been heightened. </p>
<p>As far as other crimes go, NY can be very safe, as long as you're smart about it. Park under lights, walk with friends at night, even take a short self-defense course, if you want to. Last year, NY ranked very low on the list of dangerous cities. I think it was around #360, right next to Honolulu. Terrorism and crime can happen everywhere. NY just has that stigma. Just be smart.</p>
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Stop being a hack, please. Cronyism has essentially been a part of every government anywhere in the world since the beginning of organized civilization. And it will be part of an Obama administration. Or a Clinton II administration. Or a McCain administration. Or a Paul administration. Maybe not that last one!
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<p>As you please, then. A continuity of cronyism would simply make NYC MORE vulnerable to terrorism, not less.</p>
<p>My dad went to Columbia a while ago, and he has told me that the area has improved vastly since he went there around campus. From what he told me (no clue if this is true today or not) going into morningside park was a recipe for disaster(i.e. lots of bad things happened there, you get the picture). Gentrification has helped enormously in this regard; Columbia effectively pushed out the poor people(who, statistically speaking cause a lot more violent crime than rich people) from around the immediate campus area by causing rent increases to occur(because Columbia students/teachers could afford to pay more than the residents). So, it's very safe now. Plus, Columbia has its own security in addition to the NYPD and neighborhood police.</p>
<p>As for safety other than around the immediate campus, anything downtown from Columbia should be fine. Anything above 125th, and you should start to get nervous. Just stay in good parts of the city, and you'll be fine.</p>
<p>It's a real and terrifying concern for many, many of us, believe me.
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<p>What type(s) of cancer are you concerned about? Are you concerned about getting cancer <em>now</em>, or worried about it later in life due to genetic/family issues (e.g., your mom and your aunt have breast cancer)? </p>
<p>The most common causes of death for 18 year olds is car accidents, suicide, and other unintentional injuries.</p>
<p>"As for safety other than around the immediate campus, anything downtown from Columbia should be fine. Anything above 125th, and you should start to get nervous. Just stay in good parts of the city, and you'll be fine."</p>
<p>around immediate campus is very very safe, too many people, too much columbia security, same for anything down town of columbia. the area north of 125th on the westside is very safe in the day time, been all over harlem in the day, in the night i've been around too, it's noticeably less safe, but still pretty safe in absolute terms (relative to other big cities). new york is down right boring when it comes to crime. It happens and you'll hear about it when it does, but statistically you're a highly unlikely target.</p>
<p>I was going to post until i read CColl's post. You only hear about the big crazy stuff, but it's the little stuff that would affect you day to day that doesn't even get reported - like muggings, pickpocketing, theft, etc. That stuff just plain doesn't happen that often in manhattan anymore. It's not like the movie Death Wish anymore, not in the slightest.</p>
<p>Thousands of adolescent men and women, and even children, suffer from various pediatric cancers.
It's not a disease that exclusively targets the middle aged and the elderly.</p>
<p>Thousands of young men and women suffer from various pediatric cancers.
It's not a disease that exclusively targets the middle aged and the elderly.
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<p>Thank you for stating the obvious. But back to my original question -- for which 18 year olds is it a "real" and "terrifying" concern? Or do you just mean for those who already have it?</p>
<p>^gotta agree with c'02, if you don't already have cancer, worrying about it as an 18 year old is like worrying about elevator cables snapping when you're using one, sure it happens, but it's a statistically negligable chance.</p>
<p>This is kind of off topic, but... if you think about, living is extremely dangerous (and potentially fatal). Perhaps people should just cease to exist-that way, they won't die.</p>
<p>I wasn't sure whether or not you were aware of the obvious. I wanted to clarify.</p>
<p>"Or do you just mean for those who already have it?"</p>
<p>Yes, that is what I mean. Although the incidence of death is becoming rarer due to improvements in treatment, I suppose I wanted to make a different point: it's insensitive to make that sort of generalization, because many young people are living with what is considered a chronic illness.</p>
<p>"Rape's not a concern for guys,"</p>
<p>Another blanket statement that isn't very accurate.
It may be exceptionally rare, but it does happen.</p>
<p>"and I don't think women stay up all night worrying about getting raped."</p>
<p>Those who have already been raped, and are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, may be. Again, sweeping generalizations aren't very nice to make.</p>
<p>^this black and white thinking really isn't helping the thread, when people say "rape is not a concern for guys" it isn't a statement of ubiquitous and perenial truth, it's a generalization that is, statistically, something sensible to say. this thread clearly isn't aimed at being offensive or insensitive to rape or cancer victims, so please don't turn it into one. the fact is, very very few guys get raped (outside of prison and the IRS office) and very very few 18 year olds get cancer, so they usually aren't worried about either, as they shouldn't be worried about either, that's all people are saying.</p>