Students often say that the Tufts campus feels as if it is encased by a giant bubble of comfort, luxury and safety. The surrounding communities seem foreign to students, and whenever anything happens to disrupt that bubble, it's big news.
Two weeks ago, the bubble around the Hill burst, and students were forced to realize that campus is not always a safe place to be. As many students know, two female students were robbed on Talbot Ave. late at night. Luckily, the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) happened to be patrolling the area and quickly apprehended the criminals.
This incident notwithstanding, the campus crime rate has gone down in recent years, according to the crime statistics reports that administrators are required to file annually. In fact, two years ago Tufts received the Jeannie Cleary Campus Safety award, which honors schools that have gone above and beyond national safety requirements.
According to one student, the award is well-deserved. "I do feel safe on campus, because I trust that the police do all that they can to keep us safe," sophomore Lau Kompel said. "Events like [this robbery] are bound to happen from time to time."
But there are those students who disagree. "I never felt totally safe," freshman Kate Nicholson said. "I feel safer at home in New York City."
TUPD announced that patrols would be enhanced in response to the incident. TUPD also offers an escort service for students who do not want to walk alone back to their dorms at night.
Even the extra officers and the escort service around campus do not guarantee a feeling of safety for some.
"At night, it's really empty around campus," Nicholson said. "In New York, there are people around, and I know I can just run into a building and be safe. Here, I know I can't run into dorms because I don't have access."
In the case of the two students being robbed, TUPD needed only a brief chase to catch the offenders.
Freshman Lauren Vasey said that in her experience, TUPD gets the job done quickly. "My friend had a knife pulled on her during first semester," she said. "TUPD got the guy who did it that night."
