Tragic Incident Around USC Campus

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
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<p>I do not mean this post as a rebuttal to parents and prospective students who feel anxious. Sending children to unfamiliar neighborhoods is very disturbing, even if a random crime hadn’t just shocked us all. But the following is how I and many of the students and parents I know feel.</p>

<p>There is violent crime everywhere, large city or small, rural area or urban. It’s horrible. And having it happen near the USC campus is frightening to all of us. </p>

<p>Seeing bars on windows of urban storefronts two miles away from campus may suggest a sense of high security. But there are window bars or often more expensive security systems on most stores in the city. The difference in appearance of the security is mostly a matter of affluence. Still, most students never go to these off-campus areas, because in big cities it’s easy to avoid neighborhoods you don’t care for. The thing I was concerned about as a parent of kids who wanted to attend USC was --is there a history or high statistic of student-targeted crime in the areas where students live and walk? When I did the research, the answer has been no. These recent crimes are such an shock because they are so uncommon. It reminds me of the publicist who was driving in Beverly Hills last year and was shot to death in her car. No matter how wealthy a neighborhood, no one is totally immune.</p>

<p>Los Angeles news reports today suggest the man they arrested last night fits the description of the suspect in last week’s shooting. If this turns out to be so, and since he is now in custody, that would certainly help settle many nerves. One criminal, no matter how brutal, is not a crime wave–he’s a menace and I hope like hell he’s the one because he’s been stopped. Fast. And I am impressed with the officer who took action last night. USC puts a lot of effort and $$ into protecting students. We cannot eliminate crime from the world–I wish we could.</p>

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<p>Madbean - I am really hoping this is the guy based on how it all went down last night. Please keep us posted as it doesn’t reach the news in areas outside of LA. Thanks for the update.</p>

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<p>My daughter wants to visit USC this summer as she is interested in applying next year. After reading all these posts we will reconsider. Very disturbing news!</p>

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<p>Snowdog,</p>

<p>As a parent, I can certainly understand your nervousness. That said, I was a freshman at USC 25 years ago. It was much worse then than it is now and I wasn’t particularly scared then. Children of some of the wealthiest and most influential people in the country go to USC and I can’t imagine them doing that – with all the other options they have – if they had any doubts.</p>

<p>I do remember my sophomore year, I had a roommate for about a half a day before her parents pulled her out. i think she was from the midwest. They were NOT happy with the neighborhood. (Of course, that was one of the worst apts around and the furthest out…not sure if USC even owns it anymore.)</p>

<p>I’ll admit the carjacking did give me a bit of a pause. We have been promising S1 that if S2 goes to USC they will get to have the mustang there. (We have a red mustang convertible that would be perfect at USC. For the record, FA office, we bought it used for 5k) Anyway, S1 has been wanting that car and it really is a nightmare to drive in the Illinois winters so we said we’d give it to the boys to share at SC. Now, I really don’t know if I want them driving a car like that around SC…</p>

<p>Prayers to the families of those tragically murdered and to their friends touched by this.</p>

<p>FIGHT ON!</p>

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<p>Snowdog - glad to hear that! after all, it is the best city in the country. :wink: no, I take it back; I wouldn’t quite call USC “suburban” but it isn’t really urban either, at least not by my standards (although downtown LA is not as urban as I thought it would be either). I had never been to LA before orientation, so I assumed it would look like Chicago. Highrises, skyscrapers galore, cutting-edge art and architecture… didn’t turn out to be the case. LA is more of a large place than a big city like Chicago or NYC. You’d think University Park would look more like the Logan Square or Lakeview area in Chicago, being so close to the downtown/financial district area but it really doesn’t. It just doesn’t look very city-like to me… the neighborhoods around USC look very much like the suburbs an hour outside of Chicago, probably due to the overwhelming architectural differences (I always associate highrise apartments and long lines of two-floor townhomes with a more “urban” look, while most of the homes here are one-story Mediterranean revival houses covered in stucco).</p>

<p>I thought USC would look a lot like University of Chicago in terms of location and overall layout and how it’s incorporated into the city around it, but they turned out to be very different.</p>

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<p>LegacyMom - my roommate actually has a car like that. She’s had it out here for a while and I don’t think anything bad has ever happened. Her bike tires got stolen once, though. Statistically speaking, she’s had more trouble keeping the bike safe than the car. I wouldn’t really worry about it… I can’t recall any instances of car theft around campus…</p>

<p>Btw everyone I knew in high school had a Mustang, and it was always a fun time trying to get out of the parking lot during the Illinois winters… although my Nissan couldn’t do the job any better.</p>

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<p>Ladies and Gentlemen: You don’t go to USC because you like being smack dab in the middle of South Central LA, just moments from the 101 and its 24/7 traffic jams. No one in their right mind would say this. You want ambiance? Go to Pepperdine in Malibu where commencement is on the bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. You select SC for its outstanding reputation academically and its phenomenal alumni network. Maybe the sports, too. (I once won $100 and a great steak/martini dinner off an arrogant Notre Dame alum-friend who felt Notre Dame was going to crush SC in their annual rivalry.) I am in no way affiliated with SC and my “admitted” Trojan children over the years have to this point elected other institutions. It was never because of security concerns. Other universities just met their needs better. But I am affiliated with another Southern CA university and SC’s reputation as an academic institution is extraordinary. I have great respect for its programs, its alums, its faculty, etc. While our “drive by” on Monday night was disturbing, the point I was making is it’s got to be about the institution itself and not the area, but recognize it is decidedly not Beverly Hills. At the end of the day, my son’s decision will not be swayed by the present urban crises (Boston has had two deaths in the past week or so: one BC student and one last night from BU), and my youngest will apply happily in two more years and hope, hope, hope she is selected to be a Trojan.</p>

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<p>USC Shooting May Be Linked To Later Hold-Up, Police Test Recovered Gun</p>

<p>[USC</a> Shooting May Be Linked To Later Hold-Up, Police Test Recovered Gun](<a href=“USC Shooting May Be Linked To Later Hold-Up, Police Test Recovered Gun | HuffPost College”>USC Shooting May Be Linked To Later Hold-Up, Police Test Recovered Gun | HuffPost College) </p>

<p>LOS ANGELES, April 18 (Reuters) - Four students were robbed at gunpoint near the University of Southern California on Wednesday, and investigators were testing the weapon in that case to see if it was the same one used to murder two graduate students from China last week, police said.</p>

<p>A man brandishing a handgun confronted the three men and a woman as they walked near USC’s fraternity row after midnight, demanding property from them, Los Angeles police officer Sara Faden said.</p>

<p>The students handed over the belongings, but then two of the men chased the gunman, she said.</p>

<p>“At that time, apparently the victims were able to flag down a public safety officer from the USC campus police and the officer went in pursuit,” she said. Police later shot and wounded the suspected gunman.</p>

<p>The incident came after the slayings of two Chinese graduate students last week sent shockwaves through USC, a private university that boasts the largest number of international students of any American institution of higher education.</p>

<p>The murders also sparked a debate over whether the school provided adequate security measures in neighborhoods adjacent to the Los Angeles campus where many students live. Police and university officials say violent crime in the area has diminished in recent years.</p>

<p>Investigators had not determined if Wednesday’s robbery was related to the shooting deaths of Ming Qu and Ying Wu, both 23, who were killed in a residential neighborhood near the school, police said. But police were conducting ballistics tests to establish whether the same gun was used in both crimes.</p>

<p>Detectives “are going to turn this case upside down and see if it leads to something,” Lieutenant Andy Neiman said. “Whether this is the guy or this is the gun, or this guy has an associate” who may be involved.</p>

<p>He said investigators would also study tapes from nearby surveillance cameras.</p>

<p>In last week’s murders, evidence suggested that Qu and Wu, who were apparently involved in a budding relationship, were gunned down by a single assailant who approached their car, a 2003 BMW, as the victims sat talking inside at about 1 a.m. last Wednesday.</p>

<p>Wu was found slumped over in the passenger seat, reportedly shot in the chest. Qu, said by local media accounts to have been struck in the head, staggered out of the car to the porch of a nearby home, where he collapsed.</p>

<p>A witness reported seeing a person in dark clothing running from the scene, and a black sedan was observed pulling away from the area at about the same time, police have said.</p>

<p>Police also said that some unspecified property of the victims was taken, suggesting robbery might have been a factor. But detectives stressed they have yet to rule anything out in terms of a motive, including whether street gangs were involved.</p>

<p>Police have posted a $125,000 reward, to be paid by USC, for information that would help solve the case. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; editing by Cynthia Johnston and Mohammad Zargham)</p>

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<p>dreamsupsidedown,</p>

<p>LOL – I’ll never forget the winter of S1’s senior year. He came walking in from treacherous drive in the Mustang from icy roads and said, “I can’t WAIT to go to USC!”</p>

<p>Anyway, I’m not the slightest bit worried about the car being stolen…I am greatly worried about the lives inside the vehicle and the attention a car like that might attract to thugs.</p>

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<p>@dreamupsidedown, yes I’ve had to give up my little idea of a downtown highrise apartment in Chicago as my daughter selected USC over DePaul. I also <em>really</em> wanted to win that HGTV contest unit in the Trump building by the river, oh well.</p>

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<p>This latest insistence really struck a little close to home for me as 2 of the guys that were robbed at gun point were fraternity brothers of my son. I am so hoping this guy is related to the murder of the two students to put an end to this.</p>

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<p>bbgg,</p>

<p>Which fraternity?</p>

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<p>Sigma chi fraternity at USC</p>