City crime closer to campus than you think
The Voice of the Observer
Issue date: 1/16/07 Section: Observations
In November of last semester, Mayor Cory Booker held a meeting of community leaders and Newark residents to find out some of the concerns that people have living and working in the city. Public housing, city life and the economy were among the issues discussed. But at the top of everyone's list was, not surprisingly, crime.
The media was scrutinizing Booker's achievements over the first 100 days of his term and he promised to try to bring down the city's high murder rate.
But it looks like he still has a long way to go and a lot of work ahead of him.
We're not even three weeks into 2007 and the city can already boast a murder rate that some other places don't see for years. There have been eight reported murders in the city so far and at this rate we're on route to beating last year's total of 106, the highest in 16 years.
Since most of the students on this campus don't live in Newark, it is often easy to overlook or simply not care about this major problem. However, even if you're one of those people who just comes to campus by car and leaves the moment classes are over, it does not mean that you will be unaffected by what happens in the city.
Just a week ago, two teens allegedly involved in a drug transaction were killed during a shootout in the Baxter Terrace public housing complex. If you haven't noticed it, Baxter Terrace is the large project located just in the backyard of Rutgers-Newark and next to NJIT. Many students drive through the area getting on to and off of Route 280. Others (including some of our staff) park their cars on the streets around the complex, taking advantage of the free street parking. Rutgers Police have also issued an advisory to students passing through the area.
Many first year students are scared of attending a school in an inner city like Newark, but the key to having a safe and successful experience at Rutgers-Newark is being aware of your surroundings at all times.
Often times students become complacent during the second semester, letting their guard down when walking around in potentially dangerous areas.
But a simple solution to protecting yourself is to always walk with a friend. Never walk alone, and try to carpool to school if you commute. Because the "dangers" of Newark do not only affect residents of R-N, commuters are just as suseptible as those who live here.
So even if you do not call Newark home, city crime is closer to campus than anybody would like. You'd be very wrong if you thought that you do not have a stake in Newark's effort to fight crime.
Days after the Baxter terrace shooting, Booker laid down a strategy for fighting the city's crime problem which he says stems mainly from the drug trade. The newly formed Central Narcotics Division, a 45-member team, will try to rid the city of its most powerful drug lords.
But the question remains: Will this be enough?
Only time can tell.
The media was scrutinizing Booker's achievements over the first 100 days of his term and he promised to try to bring down the city's high murder rate.
But it looks like he still has a long way to go and a lot of work ahead of him.
We're not even three weeks into 2007 and the city can already boast a murder rate that some other places don't see for years. There have been eight reported murders in the city so far and at this rate we're on route to beating last year's total of 106, the highest in 16 years.
Since most of the students on this campus don't live in Newark, it is often easy to overlook or simply not care about this major problem. However, even if you're one of those people who just comes to campus by car and leaves the moment classes are over, it does not mean that you will be unaffected by what happens in the city.
Just a week ago, two teens allegedly involved in a drug transaction were killed during a shootout in the Baxter Terrace public housing complex. If you haven't noticed it, Baxter Terrace is the large project located just in the backyard of Rutgers-Newark and next to NJIT. Many students drive through the area getting on to and off of Route 280. Others (including some of our staff) park their cars on the streets around the complex, taking advantage of the free street parking. Rutgers Police have also issued an advisory to students passing through the area.
Many first year students are scared of attending a school in an inner city like Newark, but the key to having a safe and successful experience at Rutgers-Newark is being aware of your surroundings at all times.
Often times students become complacent during the second semester, letting their guard down when walking around in potentially dangerous areas.
But a simple solution to protecting yourself is to always walk with a friend. Never walk alone, and try to carpool to school if you commute. Because the "dangers" of Newark do not only affect residents of R-N, commuters are just as suseptible as those who live here.
So even if you do not call Newark home, city crime is closer to campus than anybody would like. You'd be very wrong if you thought that you do not have a stake in Newark's effort to fight crime.
Days after the Baxter terrace shooting, Booker laid down a strategy for fighting the city's crime problem which he says stems mainly from the drug trade. The newly formed Central Narcotics Division, a 45-member team, will try to rid the city of its most powerful drug lords.
But the question remains: Will this be enough?
Only time can tell.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Unknown
posted 2/03/07 @ 5:04 PM EST
So let the Rutgers police do there job in the surrounding areas as well. Tell the administration ease up on them and to stop being so political
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