Not completely a safe haven, but definately livable

Lightbulb jokes, worried phone calls from your Mom, jealous tauntings from those at inferior schools--they all use the same tired line. Sure, Yale is a great school, but isn't it a little unsafe? What about the location?

Well, what about it? New Haven has an undeserved rap as a bastion of crime, yet after two years here, I haven't seen much to justify this picture. As a midsize city, it certainly has its share of criminal activity. But with a little common sense and awareness of safety resources, Yale students don't have to worry about security in their day-to-day campus lives.

First, realize that New Haven is not necessarily Yale. College gates and the relatively new key-tag access system assure that residences and classrooms are very secure. Blue lights line all Yale paths and areas surrounding campus, each one with an emergency phone attached.

You will soon learn the joys of a blue phone when you're away from your room and need to call friends or professors-- but they're also invaluable in an emergency. Just hit the red button and the campus police will know where you are and get you help. Yale police are fully licensed, but are separate from the New Haven squad, so all 80 of them are there exclusively for you--don't be afraid of calling them if you're uncertain or nervous. Police patrol campus regularly and maintain an office on Sachem St., as well as substations at Phelps Gate and Park St.

Student services make the campus more secure. 2-WALK is a Yale institution; you'll see these orange-vested groups of two or three escortsroaming campus after dark. Just call, and they'll walk you anywhere you need to go. After six p.m., the bus also provides door-to-door service, if you need to go somewhere beyond the scheduled route.

Yale's hyper-vigilant security efforts help to assure that the campus has the lowest crime rate of any urban Ivy League school. The city is also undergoing a renaissance in police protection with the new community policing system, which puts police back on the streets in a beat system, knowing personally the families they protect.

As a Yale student, you'll probably have little interaction with all but those police responsible for areas around campus. But they're yet another resource for campus security. If you are the victim of a crime, report it immediately to get the help you need. Even petty thefts have a better chance of resolution if Yale Police know about them right away. If the crime is more serious, the police can point you toward counselors trained to advise rape or assault victims.

When you arrive, attend the freshman safety orientation and listen carefully. At the very least, this meeting will give you a good idea of the campus police.

Remember that your best safety resource is your own common sense. You know what's safe and what's not, and you can figure out that walking alone at three a.m. on Dwight Street is not the best idea, and that you shouldn't leave your wallet on a table when you get up to find a book in CCL. Most importantly, don't let nervousness get in the way of your own exploration of Yale and New Haven.

I admit that I haven't been the smartest, most secure New Haven citizen; I've walked alone where I shouldn't have, rambled after dark, and risked certain things that, objectively looking back, were stupid. But tempering your healthy sense of caution with a healthy sense of adventure allows you to be safe and also enjoy the city you now call home.

Back to the Freshman Issue...