In 1990, many parents did not allow their kids to attend USC due to safety concerns. Is USC safer today for smart attractive 18 year old freshmen girls? I know it has a great reputation, but is it worth the risk? Issues in the surrounding neighborhoods have not always been fully disclosed in order to make the area’s schools, real estate, etc attractive.
The US overall is much lower crime now than in 1990. Also, the LAPD of that era was widely seen as being ineffective, brutal, and racist (Rodney King beating).
You can find crime mapping web sites that show the types and locations of crimes reported to police.
However, note that USC campus security does not appear to be actual police. Also, some types of crimes, such as rapes on drunk victims, are probably greatly underreported.
Thanks. The underreported is really an issue and may be the reason not to send my daughter (Class of 2016). I just read that nearly one in five college women were victims of rape or attempted rape during their freshmen year, with the most falling prey during their first three months on campus.
Is there any evidence to suggest that the risk of rape is greater at USC than at other universities? Maybe it’s lower? I don’t see how this would be an issue specific to USC.
I’m sure if a rape were out in the “surrounding neighborhood” and not perpetrated by another student, it would not go unreported. The unreported ones typically involve people who know each other and alcohol. I don’t know of any indication that there’s more of this at USC than anywhere else.
There are places near USC where I’ve been nervous just getting gas at a 7-11 type place because of some drug users (south of Exposition Park). But, we’ve also been at Exposition Park for 4th of July fireworks in a mostly African-American crowd (we are Caucasian) and felt perfectly safe.
I think kids need to be aware of their surroundings and not be in the wrong place late at night. Personally, I’d want on-campus housing for my kid.
You’re right, rape is one issue. I am just trying to determine if the surrounding area, neighborhood, and campus are safer today than 20 - 25 years ago. We can all pull stats to drive our point, but I hope someone can share the real story. There are a boat load of issues in the area surrounding SC. My daughter would thrive in the real estate program and love the social opportunities.
I went to the cross-town rival UCLA in the early 80s and as an AA male (who went there on athletic scholarship) I can attest that USC was no joke back in the day. However, a bit of context is necessary to differentiate the two eras. The 90s was a bleak time, with the advent of crack, destroying entire neighborhoods in its wake. Policing was also far different, and one need only look back at the case of my old friend, Ron Settles, CSULB football player, who died in a jail cell after being literally beat up by the police…
While I would not say its night and day, the area separated by 25 years is profoundly different.
I think the numbers would show USC is quite a bit safer than in 1990, especially on campus where you now have to show ID to get past the gates at night.
However a couple of students were murdered off campus in the past few years, and there was also a shooting at an on campus party in the last few years by some non-student guests (thus the new rule about checking ID to get on campus). So while I’m sure the vast majority of students have no problems, it’s not as safe as some schools.
We have a few family friends whose children have attended or still attend USC. The crime rate is much better now then in the 90’s. The campus is very safe, they also have a great emergency alert system in place. techno,obey also allows for text messages about any concerns. The student I’m familiar with have all had safe and positive experiences.
@bluewater2015 Do you have stats to that assertion? Not to be persnickety – but I would like to see the contrast in crime statistics similar to other urban based campuses…Specifically, say Columbia, Penn, Yale and UofChicago.
Thanks everyone for your helpful feedback. My wife and I moved out of the area in 2000, but we grew up in area with many high school friends attending USC and UCLA. We’ll schedule another tour in Sept…
@boolaHI You can see the statistics for USC if you google Clery report or crime statistics. UCLA is a similarly sized campus and they appear to have similar statistics.
OP - if you go to the USC thread, there are many iterations of the safety issue discussed, taking both sides. My S applied for next fall (not attending) but we visited several times and I have to say that I was not overly concerned. The immediately surrounding area has been improved dramatically over the past 10 years and campus police now actively patrol off campus student areas like fraternity row. Are there god-awful areas a 20 min walk away? Sure. But just don’t go there. As with life at any urban campus, you just need to understand the boundaries of where you should go and not go, and use discretion when walking at night. If I had a daughter I would not have any qualms about sending here there if that was the best fit for her. I would just ensure that she understood the safety reality before starting.
@boolaHI Sorry I don’t have stats although I imagine they’re out there - was just going on (1) the fact that violent crime is down so much almost everywhere in the US since 1990 and (2) my subjective impressions of what the feel of the USC campus and the immediate surroundings are like now vs. then and compared to non-urban schools.
Based on the same points, I would say the situation is similar at University of Chicago and Yale. I’ve only been to Columbia and Penn a few times so am less familiar with those.
These are all great schools in vibrant communities, but my view is that while they are safer than in the past, it still isn’t the best idea to walk around solo at 2am at any of them, especially for a kid who has limited familiarity with urban environments.
By “some schools” I was really thinking of places like Dartmouth, Princeton, Amherst, Stanford, etc. - schools in rural or suburban areas.
Hmmn, unless one was going to get mugged by a squirrel at Dartmouth or Amherst those places are fairly safe by any metric or standard.
^Dartmouth and Amherst are safe by any metrics of outside crime. However, they have no different issues than anywhere else as it relates to date rape related crime.
Yes . . . was just explaining this phrase in #7, “not as safe as some schools” . . .
Well, date rape is on to itself. From what stats I have seen, and due to different vagaries in reporting, the numbers can really differ, which make me pause.
Frankly, SC isn’t located in the safest area of L.A. Because of that, I do think the school takes a lot of precautions and does what they can to make the campus itself safe.
Older Dd lives in west Los Angeles. My family is going to a Dodger game soon and we were trying to work out a place my Dd could leave her car so we could drive up from the south, meet her and take her the rest of the way to the stadium. I suggested a public place south of where the 10 and 101 meet, as that would be convenient and legal to leave it. My husband said, “Well, I don’t think that area is that safe to leave her car.”
He has worked downtown for over 20 years, and he isn’t crazy about the safety of the area. But he has never had any issues personally. Dd has lived in LA for three years now and has never had any issues personally. But one still needs to be careful and become familiar with where it’s safe and unsafe, and sometimes they are only separated by a few blocks.
How safe I’d feel depends somewhat on your kid. Is she sensible, thoughtful and tends to stay out of trouble?
She will be probably be fine then. With my own kid, I think I’d worry more about the frat scene than the neighborhood safety, but that’s just me.
correction " 10 and 110."