Tulane Safety???

[thebeatgoeson]

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I have to laugh at this thread.

The elevated violent crime rate here in NOLA certainly is concentrated to hotspots and choice activities.
Of the students I personally know who've been mugged, pistol whipped and shot (in the leg), ect. all of them where under alcohol/drug influence in areas they shouldn't be without a large group of people. And the guy who was shot was trying to buy drugs.

I'm sure "Iowa University" has it's fair share of pistol whippings in regards to drug deals.
Heck, you're probably more likely to get killed in a traffic pileup on the causeway back to suburbia than from living smart in the city.

But yes, I can understand why someone wouldn't want to raise kids in NOLA.

 

[thes_hunter]

Call me crazy, but I've never felt too sketched out by that area. I guess i AM crazy, since Central City is where the majority of shootings have occurred, but I frequent Cafe Rec and I always ride my bike from uptown to the School of Public Health down Simon Bolivar. I wonder how many squatters are in the CJ Pete projects? Now those things sketch me out, since they are abandoned but you can see lights on at night sometimes. Same with Calliope Projects. Thats some freaky stuff.

Actually it is the area just south of Simon Bolvier that weirds me out. With Simon Bolvier itself not being too bad. It seemed to me that there were a number of squatters who were living in houses that did not in fact have their walls and roofs intact. Which is a big reason why I think that section of blocks there weird me out.

Now, I might be wrong in this and I might in fact be the crazy one. But this is just what I thought I saw.

 

[AngryBaby]

I am not sure you've ever been to NO East

Our apartment was "Ponchartrain Oaks" right next to the levy in New Orleans East. Was there for about 4-5 weeks.

 

[AngryBaby]

As you can see for yourself, in New Orleans All Violent Crime is higher than the national average (you'll notice the same for the other cities).

Please note that All Violent Crime per capita is lower than the other cities listed above. 😱

This is getting a bit redundant but it's common knowledge that all major urban cities have crime statistics above the national average. The sticking point is the dropoff from New Orleans and everywhere else. More crime and violent crime than Detroit! And, as someone mentioned above, there are problems with race relations.

 

[Nodelphi]

Another New Orleans resident chiming in. I've lived here almost thirty years and I haven't seen a single violent crime.

The crime is usually confined to gangs and drug dealers/users. As long as you don't participate in those social circles and/or do not frequent areas where such activities frequently occur you're fine.

 

[thes_hunter]

This is getting a bit redundant but it's common knowledge that all major urban cities have crime statistics above the national average. The sticking point is the dropoff from New Orleans and everywhere else. More crime and violent crime than Detroit! And, as someone mentioned above, there are problems with race relations.

Nope. I hate to tell ya but every crime static I have seen shows Detroit (and Flint) having higher crime rates than NOLA.

According to this article in the Washington Times

It appears last years violent clusters were Balitmore MD, Detroit MI, Washington DC, Flint MI, St. Louis MO, Richmond VA and Gary ID.

I don't hear people saying "OMG!!!11!! You can't go to school in any of these cities!" Well, ok, I have heard people decrying Detroit, but Detroit has had a bad repuation for almost as long as I have lived.

Now given, NOLA may not have made this list because of the huge drop post-katrinia, but my point is this. I don't hear people saying "You shouldn't attend St. Louis University because it's a crime infested place." I think the natural disaster has had a bigger impact on the views of safty of this city, but people are perhaps putting too much emphasis on the recent indcident with the National Guard. As other posters have said, the Guard is just there to boost police levels to where it needs to be. If it is anything it is a sign that things will only be more safe in NOLA, and not a sign of the end times as some people seem to be taking it as.

 

[nellinola]

This thread is really strange... just because there was a major disaster doesn't mean NOLA is no longer safe. Certain parts of Chicago, NY, Philly, and DC, even Atlanta are equally as unsafe as certain parts of N.O. Tulane's in a gorgeous area and unless you are dumb and hang out on Bourbon St. at 2am then you should be fine. I'm moving to NOLA this Aug. to start a Masters in Cell Bio and definitely look forward to living in 'my' adopted city! Believe me, if it were that bad people wouldn't come back and I most certainly wouldn't be going!

lefay,

are you doing the 1 yr ms in cell and molec bio? If so, I did that prgm last year and it was a great experience. don't know the exact number but nearly all of my program-mates have since been accepted to med school, good luck!

 

[browniegirl86]

I am surprised NYC is only 8 million..I guess i still baffles me how my friend's town (Sao Paulo in brazil) is over 16 million. Anyway...doesn't really deter me. New Orleans has had particulary bad crime for quite some time...but only bad if you are stupid. I've had the moments where because I was at the time a 6'5" 255 lbs powerlifter I felt invinceable and would walk anywhere even when drunk...I have fortuently gotten a little wiser. Don't get so intoxicated that you struggle to get home, don't flash money all the time, just don't hangout in areas where bad things happen.... I plan on still applying to Tulane. It was my dad's undergrad institution, but mainly I loved the city before and I don't see a reason why I wouldn't want to help make it what it was again....Bad stuff happens everywhere...

No kidding, I just got back from Sao Paulo. Now THAT is a big city. It took us over 2 hours to drive all the way through it. Talk about violent crime . . . we were there during the riots/police massacres. Definitely can't walk anywhere alone there or in Rio, but Brazil was so much cooler than here that it didn't really matter 🙂

/offtopic

 

[mprover]

Would you rather go/feel safer attending VCU/MCV?

Having been mugged once and had my bike stolen around MCV, definatley not.

 

[2tall]

This is getting a bit redundant but it's common knowledge that all major urban cities have crime statistics above the national average. The sticking point is the dropoff from New Orleans and everywhere else. More crime and violent crime than Detroit! And, as someone mentioned above, there are problems with race relations.

😕

New Orleans
Detroit

Since you seem to have difficulty understanding relatively simple information, I'll break it down for you.

3.38 times the national average (Detroit) is greater than 1.62 times the national average (New Orleans). Therefore, there is more violent crime per capita in Detroit than in New Orleans. This conclusion can be drawn for the cities I had previously mentioned.

Problems with race relations??????
Ummmmmmmm...WE LIVE IN AMERICA!!!

 

[contulusa]

Thats the ONLY reason I live in this backward, politically crooked, crimeridden, dirty, hurricane damaged, dangerous, racist-problem-ridden, long-lines-at-restaurants, inflated-prices-of-subs-rebuilding-homes

"city".

Why all the hate Jet...why don't you move to the suburbs...Jefferson Parish is pretty much back to normal...you can find yourself a nice house in Metairie or Kenner.

 

[Nix06]

I'm a med student at Tulane and all I can say is that things in New Orleans safety wise are NOT good (nor were they before the storm-- I live in the so-called good area Uptown and a young waitress was shot in the head coming home one night by a few teenagers who wanted her purse. And this was BEFORE Katrina. She lived a block off of St. Charles). What's going on now is a little scarier-- the police force is more of joke than ever (understaffed, overwhelmed), and large areas of the city are abandoned wastelands without any sort of oversight-- perfect places to do whatever the hell you want (squat, deal drugs, etc.) Making matters worse, I think, is that the ONLY place to live right now is Uptown/FQ, so EVERYONE-- drug dealers included --is crammed uncomfortably into the so called "Aisle of Denial." I've been back for a few months, and with the ongoing breakdown of city services (garbage pickup, traffic lights, fire dept. not having adequate water pressure to fight fires, etc.) there's just a lawless feel to the place. Someone mentioned Brazil on this thread-- New Orleans is the only place I've ever lived where I can say the crime comes close to places like Rio or Sao Paolo (also places with great touristy areas, but as a whole, dismal). Crime in NO makes places like DC, NY, Detroit etc. look like Camp Snoopy.

I love that NO natives/diehard transplants used to drive around with a bumper sticker that read "New Orleans -- Third World and Proud of It." That certainly came back to bite them in the ass.

 

[jetproppilot]

Why all the hate Jet...why don't you move to the suburbs...Jefferson Parish is pretty much back to normal...you can find yourself a nice house in Metairie or Kenner.

I live in Old Metairie.

The safest area in New Orleans proper.

Harry Lee is my hero.

But my hospital is in Orleans Parrish, and I'm in a specialty that requires night call....so its not uncommon for me to have to drive into Orleans Parish at 3 am...a non-suspecting, innocent crakka...and the division between the three million dollar St Charles Avenue home and Da Hood is literally LESS THAN TWO BLOCKS FROM WHERE I HAVE TO PARK at 3am.

So theres your answer.

 

[2tall]

Crime in NO makes places like DC, NY, Detroit etc. look like Camp Snoopy.

👎 Washington, D.C.
👎 Detroit (see above)
👍 Yes, there's less violent crime per capita in New York City

You're 1 for 3

Nix...just thank God you didn't get into Emory or WashU...It's like Iraq in those cities. 🙄

 

[2tall]

I live in Old Metairie.

The safest area in New Orleans proper.

Harry Lee is my hero.

But my hospital is in Orleans Parrish, and I'm in a specialty that requires night call....so its not uncommon for me to have to drive into Orleans Parish at 3 am...a non-suspecting, innocent crakka...and the division between the three million dollar St Charles Avenue home and Da Hood is literally LESS THAN TWO BLOCKS FROM WHERE I HAVE TO PARK at 3am.

So theres your answer.

Have you been a victim of a violent crime in New Orleans or any other city?

 

[jetproppilot]

Have you been a victim of a violent crime in New Orleans or any other city?

A year ago my wife and I enjoyed a great dinner at The Foundation Room, a members-only subsidiary of the House of Blues.

We emerged at midnight to the curb and hailed a minivan taxi.

The taxi driver inadvertently pulled out in front of a cuppla motorcyclists, forcing them to stop.

Next thing I know, my wife and I are in the back seat of this minivan taxi with 2 pissed off motorcyclists revving up to the minivan while we're doing 30mph in the quarter, the motorcyclists yelling to the driver:

PULL OVER!! PULL OVER!!!

Said motorcyclists position their cycles so taxicab driver has to pull over. Motorcyclist gets off his (positioned) motorcycle, walks angrily/hastily over to drivers door and in a rage jockies the (locked) door handle saying..

OPEN THE DOOR MOTHER F U KKER!!! OPEN THE DOOR!!!

Taxi cab driver dials 911. Door is locked. Enraged motorcyclist continues to try and open the locked minivan door.

Police arrives.

Motorcyclist (and girlfriend on accompanying motorcycle) is black.

Policeman is black.

Taxicab driver is white.

So are we.

Scene settles down. Policeman walks back to cruiser. Motorcyclists follow. Conversation ensues.

20 minutes pass.

I've gotta go to work in the AM. I emerge from minivan, walk back to police cruiser.

"Officer, I gotta work in the morning. Do you wanna take a statement from me?"

"GET BACK IN THE VAN. I'LL GET TO YOU WHEN I'M FINISHED HERE."

ahhh. a racist policeman. Siding with the (black) motorcyclist against an inadvertant move by a white taxicab driver.

I say to myself, f ukk this.

Grab wife's hand, emerge from minivan, disappear into the quarter's darkness.

Hail another cab to take us back to metairie.

Just the facts, folks.

I'm not racist.

I have a black partner. And an Indian partner.

But alotta the (black) police officers in Orleans parish are racist.

To our demise.

 

[Nix06]

You're 1 for 3

Nix...just thank God you didn't get into Emory or WashU...It's like Iraq in those cities. 🙄[/QUOTE]


Yeah-- I've noticed the National Guard being deployed to those cities.. NOT.

There were more shootings last night.. the best source for crime info on New Orleans is NOLA.com, the Times Picayune's online site.

 

[jetproppilot]

Have you been a victim of a violent crime in New Orleans or any other city?

SO,

the answer to your question is,

CLOSE ENOUGH.

 

[jetproppilot]

Have you been a victim of a violent crime in New Orleans or any other city?

Oh, additionally,

I went to med school at U of Miami.

Where the med-school campus abuts Liberty City , a hood akin to South Central Los Angeles.

2 Live Crew has rapped about Da Hood of Liberty City.

I was never accosted in Miami.

 

[jetproppilot]

I was never accosted in Miami.

Oh,

and I was at U of M during the days of the genesis of The Camillus House , a charity place for the non-insured to seek healthcare.

Started by a hepatology fellow in the late eighties....dude used to spend his time off meandering the Miami streets, offering his medical care to the homeless/drug addicts/prostitutes/etc.

Now, the Camillus House is probably a multi-million dollar government funded entity.

Back then it was just a philanthropic pipe dream of a great doctor who wanted to care for those who didnt have any money.

Said dude wandered very dangerous territory in Miami.

Wasnt once accosted.

Don't try this in New Orleans.

 

[jetproppilot]

Oh,

and I was at U of M during the days of the genesis of The Camillus House , a charity place for the non-insured to seek healthcare.

Started by a hepatology fellow in the late eighties....dude used to spend his time off meandering the Miami streets, offering his medical care to the homeless/drug addicts/prostitutes/etc.

Now, the Camillus House is probably a multi-million dollar government funded entity.

Back then it was just a philanthropic pipe dream of a great doctor who wanted to care for those who didnt have any money.

Said dude wandered very dangerous territory in Miami.

Wasnt once accosted.

Don't try this in New Orleans.

HA!

Said hepatology fellow had the car stereo stolen out of his jeep one night while meandering the streets offering free health care in a dangerous section of Miami.

Some "local" homeless people banded together after learning of the crime, found the non-local vagrants responsible for the larceny, recovered the stolen goods, and gave the good doctor back his car stereo.

OK, I'm on a pro-Miami roll and an anti-New Orleans roll due to personal experience.

Someone please post some positive (verifiable) stories about The Big EZ's hood since I'm stuck here anyway.

 

[2tall]

SO,

the answer to your question is,

CLOSE ENOUGH.

Is your wife pregnant?

 

[peptidoglycan]

SO,

the answer to your question is,

CLOSE ENOUGH.

What you meant to say was NO.

Try again.

 

[jetproppilot]

What you meant to say was NO.

Try again.

Oh, OK Slim.

So I've gotta have a Glock-hole in my dome in order for my posts to have relevance.

Gotcha.

 

[jetproppilot]

Is your wife pregnant?

huh?

 

[Nix06]

Well I guess our current (so to be former) dean doesn't think NOLA is so safe-- I just learned he's looking for work at OHSU. That's the second dean to quit in a year. So much for loyalty in the face of adversity.

 

[KAI1927]

Well I guess our current (so to be former) dean doesn't think NOLA is so safe-- I just learned he's looking for work at OHSU. That's the second dean to quit in a year. So much for loyalty in the face of adversity.

Dr. Welton took over when Dean Taylor resigned, but i believe his appointment was intended to be temporary, being V.P.of of the entire TUHSC is enough of a job. I don't think the school meant for him to be the dean of the SOM permanently and also have his other job, he was just taking over until they could find a replacement. So this may appear my dismal than it really is. I would concerned if they had hired some new person to be the dean, and then they quit, but Whelton was not meant to be the new guy anyway. He is applying to the president of a health education system(similar to what he does at Tulane), not the dean of the SOM @ OSHU, slightly different career paths. While this development could be seen as negative, i don't really think it is a huge cause for concern.

 

[southerncomfort]

JetProp--

I think I've actually addressed this to you before on a similar topic--instead of complaining about all the problems, try being part of the solution to the problems. Do you do any community service? Do you mentor any kids? What are you doing to make your community a better place (outside of epidurals)?

If you hate the city that much, then leave. Really. If your wife doesn't want to move out of state, then move to the northshore at least (we have hospitals over there too). At least try to open yourself to see what the natives see, dumb as you think they must be to live here. It really is a special place, with more good people than the few knuckleheads who make the news. I think that's what gets the natives all in a tizzy--there has been so much criticism about our quirky city, that we shouldn't live here at all, we shouldn't rebuild, we're all crooked, criminal, and stupid, etc.

BTW--I wouldn't call your cab incident "violence" or "racism". It sounds more like road rage, albeit extreme. Even traffic incidents can take a dangerous turn for cops, which is a more likely reason than racism that the cop was telling you to get back in the car and not talk to him at that moment. It was not an unreasonable request, IMO.


Nix--When I see the problems--the flooded cars, spotty traffic lights, spotty garbage pick-up--it doesn't convey a "sense of lawlessness" to me, it conveys the wounds of a city that was gravely injured. It makes me sad, not scared. I grew up in this city. I know what it's supposed to look like, so it makes me sad.
And the National Guard was deployed to assist in fighting looting that is still occurring in the rebuilding areas. Read the newspaper--people rebuilding and having their new appliances delivered one day, and stolen the next. With the Guard patrolling those areas for looters, it frees the police to focus on the more inhabited areas to focus on crime. That's it, pure and simple. We are not under martial law, we just need help for a police force that is spread too thin and understaffed.

We experienced the most destructive natural disaster in American history. If other cities had experienced the same, I'm sure they would be calling up the Guard to assist in policing too.

 

[idealist]

so where do i live? im starting tulane med in august, but im in NY till then so i cant check out apts right now..where do i live..

 

[chaeymaey]

so where do i live? im starting tulane med in august, but im in NY till then so i cant check out apts right now..where do i live..

Don't you live in the Tulane med student apartments that are across the street from the med school and connected by a skywalk? I thought that's where all the students lived.

 

[Nix06]

so where do i live? im starting tulane med in august, but im in NY till then so i cant check out apts right now..where do i live..

As a matter of serendipity, you don't really have to choose, since the number of habitable neighborhoods are limited to Uptown and the Garden District. Choose Uptown over the Garden District, and stay away from anything too close to Tchopitoulas. If you want to live in the burbs-- and coming from New York I would caution you not to, you can always live in Metarie. Just go to Craigslist to find a place. Also stay out of the student housing the previous poster referred to -- not in a good part of town, and the area is essentially abandoned now.

As for the previous poster from New Orleans-- I found New Orleans natives to be suffering from a severe case of denial (and defensiveness) before the storm (i.e., this is the greatest city in the world because we've got great food, architecture and partying) but consistently ignoring what was obvious anybody else: the crime rate was impossibly high, the city was wracked by poverty, race relations resemble the 50s, local and state govt. were completely corrupt, the police force was unreliable, corrupt, unprofessional, etc.). The only way to deal with a problem is to acknowledge it-- more denial ("crime here isn't scary and the city's fine") is just the same garbage that got NOLA into this jam in the first place.

 

[jetproppilot]

JetProp--

I think I've actually addressed this to you before on a similar topic--instead of complaining about all the problems, try being part of the solution to the problems. Do you do any community service? Do you mentor any kids? What are you doing to make your community a better place (outside of epidurals)?

If you hate the city that much, then leave. Really. If your wife doesn't want to move out of state, then move to the northshore at least (we have hospitals over there too). At least try to open yourself to see what the natives see, dumb as you think they must be to live here. It really is a special place, with more good people than the few knuckleheads who make the news. I think that's what gets the natives all in a tizzy--there has been so much criticism about our quirky city, that we shouldn't live here at all, we shouldn't rebuild, we're all crooked, criminal, and stupid, etc.

BTW--I wouldn't call your cab incident "violence" or "racism". It sounds more like road rage, albeit extreme. Even traffic incidents can take a dangerous turn for cops, which is a more likely reason than racism that the cop was telling you to get back in the car and not talk to him at that moment. It was not an unreasonable request, IMO.


Nix--When I see the problems--the flooded cars, spotty traffic lights, spotty garbage pick-up--it doesn't convey a "sense of lawlessness" to me, it conveys the wounds of a city that was gravely injured. It makes me sad, not scared. I grew up in this city. I know what it's supposed to look like, so it makes me sad.
And the National Guard was deployed to assist in fighting looting that is still occurring in the rebuilding areas. Read the newspaper--people rebuilding and having their new appliances delivered one day, and stolen the next. With the Guard patrolling those areas for looters, it frees the police to focus on the more inhabited areas to focus on crime. That's it, pure and simple. We are not under martial law, we just need help for a police force that is spread too thin and understaffed.

We experienced the most destructive natural disaster in American history. If other cities had experienced the same, I'm sure they would be calling up the Guard to assist in policing too.

Thats a well put post that I respect.

Me leaving the city isnt gonna change the city.

I guess I'm just incredulous why someone of power (Nagin, Jindal, etc) doesnt do something drastic to put this city on the right track.

This is the opportunity New Orleans needs.

Crime is lower than its ever been.

Time for the mayor to think like a new NFL head-coach, clean house, and start from scratch.

Where are the police department reforms? The crooked-politician reforms?

And your description of my french quarter incident, after careful thought, is probably right.

 

[TygerTyger]

I'm an undergrad here in NOLA and I live in the "abandoned wastelands" and I think it's really worthwhile helping to rebuild and all, even when disaster tourbuses come through my neighborhood. I feel safe coming home from work every night at 3 am, and getting to my car from where I work on St Charles nearer downtown. Safety in New Orleans mostly means not being totally smashed, alone, and walking long distances, especially through bad neighborhoods. You can easily avoid these by having a social life and using cabs if designated drivers are too much to manage. And obviously if you're a drug dealer, it's a problem. Beyond that, if you act terrified of every black/poor person you see, eventually someone will pick up on that and you may be in trouble. I feel very safe living here, with those minimal precautions, and it's a really great place to be--there are a lot of opportunities to help out, and the people, music, bars, food, architecture, even plants are awesome.