Precarious thoughts about living in Boston for the past four years rarely crossed my mind when I lived in the West Village area. I never felt even a slight uneasiness about my safety on campus until last semester when I moved to Columbus Avenue.
But living one street farther from the center of campus makes me uncomfortable more often than not.
It hits close to home when I hear about a shooting that occurred in neighboring Roxbury. When crossing over the bridge from the Curry Student Center to the Columbus parking area, I know I need to be more aware of my surroundings. It’s almost as if the security guards standing watch for the campus side of the bridge are bidding farewell to those students who leave the bustling side of campus to walk home to Columbus Avenue.
Thankfully, I have never been approached by someone demanding to take my purse, but I have heard several stories of friends of friends who were put in that situation on Columbus Avenue.
Recent news stories of violence near campus don’t help to ease feelings of apprehension. According to an article in today’s News, Boston’s homicide rate rose by 46.5 percent in 2010, which the Boston Police Department (BPD) attributes to an increase in drug-related crime. On Dec. 16, a 21-year-old man was shot and killed at 48 Horadan Way on Mission Hill. A 20-year-old male was shot in the leg outside Fuentes Market at the corner of Parker and Smith streets on Jan. 3. The convenience and liquor store is a place I’m sure many students have visited and walked past on their way to Mission Hill. Now I will think twice about walking directly past the store again.
On one hand, the presence of the Northeastern University Public Safety Commission consistently patrolling various areas on and around campus provides comfort. Each time I see a police officer in a cruiser or riding a bicycle through West Village, I let out a sigh of relief and feel safe.
And, although it can get annoying (more times than not), the underlying idea of requiring students to sign in friends and family members to residence halls is to increase safety. Each time family members visit me at school, they hem and haw about the hassle to take out their licenses and wait the extra minute for the proctor to copy the information. Though we might forget on a daily basis, the procedure is for our own good.
But Saturday’s mass shooting rampage outside a supermarket in Tucson, Ariz., that killed at least six people and wounded 14, adds to the grave reality of violence happening in our country and around the world. It’s sickening to know that anyone died in the senseless tragedy, but even more that a 9-year-old child was among the victims killed.
The video of Clay Duke opening fire during a school board meeting in Panama City, Fla., Dec. 14, will always remain in the back of my mind. The news stations’ decisions to air gruesome videos similar to the one of Duke demonstrate society’s morbid curiosity. People can actually be intrigued by seeing someone pull a gun on a group of people.
The two incidents occurred far from Northeastern, but the reality that anyone, at any time, could walk into a meeting here on campus, or into a grocery or retail store where we frequent, puts me on edge. I don’t constantly think about violence, but from time to time I’m reminded of the grave reality of these violent acts.
Northeastern is in the middle of a large city. Students must expect the crime rates to be higher than the numbers in rural areas. But are most people unfazed by the presence of violence around them because our society is used to hearing news stories about shootings and stabbings in Boston? When we wake up in the middle of the night to sirens and flashing lights speeding past our shades, do we give the sounds and images a second thought?
I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I am now definitely more aware of my surroundings than ever before, whether I am on the streets of Boston or walking around a grocery store in my hometown.
– Michele Richinick can be reached at [email protected].
