2008 Woodie Awards
Walking Boston streets can be safe and sound
Gresa Balaj
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Lifestyle
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Emerson is known for its prime location in downtown Boston, but being in such an urban area has its downfalls. Students are more susceptible to becoming victims of petty theft and being followed by potentially dangerous strangers.
According to Morgan Quitno Press (morganquitno.com), which collects its data from yearly figures released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston is ranked 57th out of the 371 most dangerous cities in the US, with St. Louis, Mo., being the most dangerous, and Brick, N.J., being the safest.
Emerson students, whether they live on campus or off, in areas like Beacon Hill, the South End and Cambridge, are exposed to the danger of potential attacks on a daily basis, especially when coming home from evening classes, extra-curricular activities or parties in dark winter hours.
Luciana Almeida, a freshman broadcast journalism major, lives in Belmont and uses both MBTA trains and busses to get home from her Research Writing class, which ends at 7:45 p.m. She said she feels safer riding the subway than taking the bus.
"I think it's because the [subway] station is a more closed space, while bus station stops are available for people to just sit there and watch you," she said before going home on a recent Wednesday night.
Almeida isn't the only one who seems to think this way. Many students interviewed agree with her, citing that the subway stations have become much safer since the MBTA installed cameras to record possible terrorist activity as a reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While there has been no real terrorist threat yet, the cameras have helped catch many criminals operating in subway stations at night.
Another reason for a safer feeling might be the now-omnipresent personnel at the fare collector's booth at the entrance of every station.
Kyler Taustin, a sophomore theatre major, lives in the North End and has not had any unpleasant encounters with strangers yet.
"Haymarket can be sometimes sketchy where I get off, but I never have any problems," he says.
According to Morgan Quitno Press (morganquitno.com), which collects its data from yearly figures released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston is ranked 57th out of the 371 most dangerous cities in the US, with St. Louis, Mo., being the most dangerous, and Brick, N.J., being the safest.
Emerson students, whether they live on campus or off, in areas like Beacon Hill, the South End and Cambridge, are exposed to the danger of potential attacks on a daily basis, especially when coming home from evening classes, extra-curricular activities or parties in dark winter hours.
Luciana Almeida, a freshman broadcast journalism major, lives in Belmont and uses both MBTA trains and busses to get home from her Research Writing class, which ends at 7:45 p.m. She said she feels safer riding the subway than taking the bus.
"I think it's because the [subway] station is a more closed space, while bus station stops are available for people to just sit there and watch you," she said before going home on a recent Wednesday night.
Almeida isn't the only one who seems to think this way. Many students interviewed agree with her, citing that the subway stations have become much safer since the MBTA installed cameras to record possible terrorist activity as a reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While there has been no real terrorist threat yet, the cameras have helped catch many criminals operating in subway stations at night.
Another reason for a safer feeling might be the now-omnipresent personnel at the fare collector's booth at the entrance of every station.
Kyler Taustin, a sophomore theatre major, lives in the North End and has not had any unpleasant encounters with strangers yet.
"Haymarket can be sometimes sketchy where I get off, but I never have any problems," he says.
Be the first to comment on this story