<p>As a female, my parents want me to attend Elon because of the rumored high amount of crime in NO and around the Tulane campus (robberies, rapes, etc.). Locals and students: please give me your honest assessment of the situation for females because Tulane is my number one choice. Thank you</p>
<p>Let me start by saying I have a daughter that has chosen Tulane and so I take this very seriously. I also attended Tulane in the 1970's when New Orleans was actually a more dangerous city than it is now, and had zero problems, but I am a male and understand the difference that makes.</p>
<p>Tulane is very open about crimes reported in the area:</p>
<p>Tulane</a> University - OnCampus Crime
Tulane</a> University - Off Campus Reports</p>
<p>The records go back a year at least and as you can see, the vast majority of crimes on campus are theft and drug related, pretty routine for any college campus. There was an increase in the number of rapes and attempted rapes reported (11, I believe, which I found disturbing), some of those involved chose not to officially file. I think there were 5 that were filed cases of rape or sexual assault by an unknown individual. There was an arrest made in late February of a person that might be connected to these incidents. Also, virtually all the incidents were young women alone at very early hours of the morning (1-5 AM). Please read this as just reporting the facts, not to offer a comparison one way or the other. I have done some research of other, similar schools (Vanderbilt, Duke, Northwestern, Chicago, etc. My daughter was not interested in a rural school) but I would hardly call my study exhaustive, that would take more time and resources than I have available. Also most places don't make it as easy to see what the picture is as Tulane does, or at least I could not find it in most cases. I had to go to non-campus sources and try and narrow it down, and besides most likely missing things, I am sure various incidents are simply not reported at all if the victim chooses not to pursue the matter and does not alert non-campus authorities.</p>
<p>Having said all that, I think like any place, if you use common sense you can take advantage of all that Tulane and New Orleans have to offer and be safe. Security will always escort you if you request it. Be sure to stick with friends, which I imagine would be the case mostly anyway. Take Tulane's defense class (there was an article in a recent Hullabaloo, the school newspaper, lamenting the lack of participation). Also you probably already know that Tulane is in a very upscale part of New Orleans and the extremely vast majority of crime is elsewhere, highly skewed away from the campus area. Nonetheless crime does occur on and near the Tulane campus, certainly.</p>
<p>I suppose the question would be "Why bother even debating it if I can go to a safer school?" Good question, I certainly won't argue that there are not safer places than Tulane and New Orleans, although again it stacks up very well against almost every other city based school. It is of course a personal decision, but I would say there are numerous reasons. Elon is a fine school, but Tulane is larger, broader, and more diversified, with a significant Master's and PhD candidate population and the research that goes with it. This significantly enhances the undergraduate experience for most students, no matter what their area of study, be it science or languages or history. Also, one needs to deal with these realities of life at some point anyway, in most cases. I would argue better to learn it more gradually in the relative safety of a campus like Tulane's than be thrown into it after getting your first job.</p>
<p>In the end, for us, we felt it made no sense to base such an important decision on a topic that in fact is a pretty tiny factor in the day-to-day life of a Tulane student. These 4 years will affect the rest of her life and be some of her (hopefully) fondest memories. If something were to happen, it would be huge to her and us, of course. But that could happen anywhere. There are rapes and sexual assaults on rural campuses all the time, and heavy drinking and drugs and the associated tragedies that go with them are much higher in these places, because there is less else to do, typically. And who could have predicted Virginia Tech, which is hardly in a high crime area? I know that was not a crime in the same sense we mean here, but just to say things can happen anywhere, and all you can do is take all the precautions you can.</p>
<p>Sorry to go on so long, but since this was something I had already looked into fairly extensively, I though I would share my findings and my thoughts. Best of luck with your decision, I hope you are very happy wherever you end up.</p>
<p>Considering the amount of female students, staff, faculty, etc. that pass through daily and unharmed around campus, the chances of experiencing a crime are considerably low. Those chances are just a little higher, but still low.</p>
<p>There's always the snarky remark when there's a police officer standing around and scratching his butt, but there are patrols and the school's working on lighting up the campus and surrounding areas.</p>
<p>TrojanTransfer and FallenChemist, thank you for your responses. This is really helpful information because my mom is hearing so many rumors + she doesnt want me to go that far away -- Elon is closer.</p>
<p>Well, Moms are like that, LOL. But Tulane in particular and even New Orleans in general gets a much worse "rap" than it deserves. Tell her to contact President Cowen. Sure he is highly biased in general, but he will give her the straight scoop and he is very responsive. <a href="mailto:scowen@tulane.edu">scowen@tulane.edu</a> He could probably also put her in touch with whoever is in charge of security.</p>
<p>Also, feel free to contact me me by private message. My daughter is going to start back with martial arts when she gets there, she did it for a few years, then things got too busy. You could join her, and always good to get to know someone quickly so you can look out for each other. Let me know if you (or your Mom) want to talk.</p>
<p>THIS NEWS STORY IS FROM NOLA.COM
Tulane University student abducted, raped off campus
by The Times-Picayune
Tuesday February 24, 2009, 10:43 AM
A Tulane University student was abducted and raped early Tuesday in Audubon Park near campus, according to the university's police department.
The incident occurred about 5 a.m. in the 6800 block of St. Charles Avenue, campus police said.
The unidentified victim was abducted by the suspect on St. Charles Avenue near Gibson Circle and taken to the park where authorities say he robbed and raped her before fleeing on foot eastbound on St.Charles.</p>
<p>THIS IS FROM A FOX TV REPORT ON THE SAME INCIDENT:
Reported by: Val Bracy, Reporter
Email: <a href="mailto:vbracy@fox8tv.net">vbracy@fox8tv.net</a>
Last Update: 2/26 12:40 pm<br>
Investigators say early Mardi Gras morning a man kidnapped a student from campus, forced her across the street to Audubon Park then robbed and raped her. ...
Last year, the university had 14 rapes reported on or near campus. Police believe some of those were committed by the same people.</p>
<p>THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED A WEEK LATER, MID AFTERNOON, AND HAD TULANE ABUZZ ABOUT WHETHER THE SCHOOL SHOULD NOTIFY STUDENTS OF INCIDENTS OCCURRING RIGHT NEXT DOOR AT LOYOLA. THIS IS FROM WWLVI.COM
Loyola student reports rape to campus police
08:57 PM CST on Friday, March 6, 2009
Michael Luke / Eyewitness News
NEW ORLEANS - Loyola University campus police say a student says that she was raped at 2 p.m. on Ash Wednesday, which is a day after the alleged rape of a Tulane student on Mardi Gras in the same neighborhood. </p>
<p>THIS IS FROM THE TULANE HULLABALOO, thehullabaloo.com
11TH RAPE REPORTED IN 2008-09
By Julie Schwartzwald | Section: Mar 12th, 2009 Lead Story, March 6th Print Edition, News ShareThis
A Tulane student was abducted, robbed and raped at approximately 5 a.m. Feb. 24 near Tulanes campus. The Mardi Gras rape was the fifth rape officially reported to the Tulane University Police Department since August. Six other rapes were confidentially reported to a campus authority other than TUPD, such as the Center for Educational Resources and Counseling, during the past seven months.</p>
<p>THIS ALSO IS FROM THE HULLABALOO
Shots fired on Mardi Gras day
By Julie Schwartzwald | Section: Mar 12th, 2009 March 6th Print Edition, News ShareThis
The New Orleans Police Department arrested two men, aged 18 and 20, Feb. 24 for shootings during Mardi Gras parades. The shootings occurred at 1:40 p.m. along the St. Charles route near Second Street as Rex passed. Suspects fired nine shots, injuring seven people.
Two of the seven victims were shot in the abdomen and critically injured, though their conditions improved after surgery. None of the other five victims, one of whom was a 20-month old child, were seriously hurt. None of the seven victims had any connections to either of the suspects.
Several Tulane students were in the area when the shootings took place. Senior Danielle Gill lives right near the shooting site.</p>
<p>New Orleans is a great city, and the campus is in a generally safe part of the city. However, you do not have to wander far to find yourself in very unsafe territory. Yes, bad things can happen anywhere. But statistically, they're more likely to happen in some places than in others. Best of luck to you in your decision.</p>
<p>Your posts make it sound like New Orleans is the only place affected by hurricanes and rape. Tulane just happens to have a "higher" incidence because it takes reasonable steps to bring these issues to light.</p>
<p>The chance of getting "trapped due to hurricane" is virtually zero (I bring this up because it seemed like an issue in your only other post) and shuttles and shelter are provided throughout the whole evacuation process.</p>
<p>Free collegiate press. They want readers. They're a community of practice that you're not part of, so why should you have any say in what they wish to report?</p>
<p>And the chance of getting raped is "0.lots of zeroes 1" considering every normal interaction that goes on. Whenever a rape is reported, news gets out. Besides proactive defense, the longterm solution is reducing poverty and educating people. Care to help?</p>
<p>Considering the amount of partying going on, Tulane's a really safe place. The incoming class is the largest ever, and we're glad they want to be a part of the Tulane family. It's in our best interest to keep them aware and safe.</p>
<p>With regards to the shootings at Mardi Gras, all New Orleanians were shocked by how brazen this crime was. Plus, the NOPD had all suspects arrested within a couple days. There were police right there, not 50 yards away when it happened. It's the most shocking Mardi Gras incident I remember ever hearing about. It's a rare thing in New Orleans for people outside of the gang/drug-dealing community to be the victims of shootings. </p>
<p>As far as the rape, again it was shocking to most of New Orleans because of its proximity to the edge of Tulane and Loyola Universities. I still believe that Tulane and Loyola do a fantastic job of transparency when it comes to reporting crimes and relaying suspect descriptions to students quickly. Both schools get the same emails due to the fact that they reside in the same section of the Garden District/Uptown. I think the same rules of keeping in groups at night and avoiding dangerous areas should always be adhered to in New Orleans as in any US city. </p>
<p>My girlfriend and I have lived in Uptown New Orleans for the last 10 years and have never been the victim of any crime. It's a numbers game and about personal responsibility for your own safety. That being said, I think New Orleans has always gotten too bad of a reputation violence-wise because the majority of the shootings ect. involve drug dealing gangs in parts of New Orleans where no one with a high school education or higher should ever go at night (when these crimes happen).</p>
<p>I did a little exercise because Tess' post made me wonder. Turns out I could make similar alarmist posts about USC in LA, Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, U of Chicago, etc. Sometimes it is labeled sexual assault instead of rape, and I would question if the label makes much of a difference to the victim.</p>
<p>The Mardi Gras shooting is CLEARLY an isolated event, and again one can easily come up with similar stories over the last few years of anecdotal incidents at many places, not patterns. I will mention Virginia Tech again in this regard. Would you really base a decision on that one incident? I also repeat that with the exception of the Loyola student (and we clearly don't know much about that and won't since she is not filing), the cases are in the wee hours of the morning with women not taking proper precautions. That isn't a "blame the victim" statement, it is just a fact.</p>
<p>Given Tess' other post, which was clearly refuted as non-factual (I will stop short of saying she was purposely lying) regarding the hurricane preparedness, and her apparently naive belief that college students don't have sex, I think we can safely dismiss and ignore her rantings.</p>
<p>The last statistics I can find for UNC Chapel Hill (2007) had 12 forcible sex offenses listed.
Prominent in the news was the abduction and murder of their female class president in her off campus home in an upscale area....No place is immune. Common sense and education about your surroundings make all the difference, no matter where you go to school.</p>
<p>TY soccer, I had forgotten about that crime. Made me very sad, it was so completely tragic. But of course, they all are. And Chapel Hill is about as idyllic a place as you can find, normally.</p>
<p>I attended Tulane from 1974-1878 and the Law School from 1979-1982. I currently have two boys that attend the undergraduate Business School program and as a former Homicide Prosecutor I am very sensitive to the crime issue. New Orleans is the flavor of the month for the press much like Miami was in the 1980s. Yes, there is a crime problem in N.O. but the murder rate is most common among those involved in the drug trade. They have a gang war among those in the trade and that greatly inflates the murder rate. If you are not involved in the drug trade, your chance of being involved in random violence are very low. Like any major city, you have to use common sense when out and about. Pres. Cowan has taken remarkable steps to make the campus a safe environment and even made those measures available to students when they venture off campus. The trick is to have the students avail themselves to these protections. Tulane has the neighborhood feel but the dangers of big city life and if the students take the necessary precautions, then they are fine and they can reap the benefits as well. It really isn't any different from when I went to school there. It has the benefit of being a "walking" campus, but at the same time, you have to exercise common sense and good judgment.</p>
<p>Interesting years you were there as an undergrad, att. Only one year behind me until the end, somehow. I knew those physics experiments were dangerous. LOL. Actually just wanted to thank you for the rational perspective from someone that really knows the ins and outs of violent crime. I think the campus is as safe as it has been in years, and they are continuing to make improvements to insure it stays that way.</p>