America’s most dangerous campuses
November 27, 2009 by Claire KnightPosted in: Campus Safety, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
Ever wonder which college campuses are the most dangerous? Here’s a list of the “worst of the worst.”
There’s already been more crime than college officials could have anticipated this year, including:
- the recent, high-profile murder of Yale graduate student Annie Le
- four reports of sexual assault at Penn State — in the first two weeks of classes, and
- a doubling in underage drinking arrests in the past year at Arizona State University.
Check out the top 10 campuses with the highest crime rates, according to The Daily Beast rankings:
- Emerson College (MA)
- St. Xavier University (IL)
- University of Maryland, Baltimore
- Tufts University (MA)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- University of Maryland, Eastern Shore
- Grambling State University (LA)
- South Carolina State
- Bowie State University (MD)
- North Carolina Central
The Daily Beast compiled its list after universities across the country submitted their incidents of crime, as required by the Clery Act.
Keep in mind, schools are required to report incidents that occurred on — and around — campuses, such as incidents occurring on nearby public subways.
Officials from some schools on the list say their campuses are safe, but they have to include local crime.
For the Daily Beast’s full report — and comments from school officials — click here.
Do you think the Daily Beast’s list is a fair measure of campus safety? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Tags: Campus Safety, Emerson College, Harvard University, Penn State University, Yale
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November 24th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
On September 18, The Daily Beast (thedailybeast.com) reported that Saint Xavier University in Chicago “ranked” as the second most dangerous college campus in the country. Is that dubious distinction based on some independent credible source of information? No. It is based on some indecipherable and non-scientific methodology as determined by that particular internet entity. The blog states “[Saint Xavier] suffers primarily from off-campus violence” yet for the record, and according to the official Chicago Police Dept. Crime Summary – Past 365 Days using “All Crimes” criterion, the 19th Ward, in which SXU is located, is the safest of all 50 Chicago wards. That fine report card is something its resident population, packed as it is with police and firefighters is proud of. Copy/paste this link into a browser to see the data:
http://gis.chicagopolice.org/website/clearMap_crime_sums/viewer.htm?SUMTYPE=WARD&SUMCATA=ALL_&SUMTIME=365&STARTLEFT=1063112&STARTTOP=1951663&STARTRIGHT=1233221&STARTBOTTOM=1813889
As for the official SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY CHICAGO CAMPUS CRIME REPORT, copy/paste this:
http://www.sxu.edu/Administrative/Public_Safety/Chicago_Campus_crime_report.asp
…the numbers are very low and easily available online to the public, including diligent reporters, as is the official City data. Low as those numbers are, they also show a decrease. To put the term “low” into perspective: in 2008 at SXU there were zero sex offenses, zero robberies, certainly zero anything worse. In 2007, there was one sex offense. Therefore, year-to-year, that amounts to a decrease from one to zero, which could be stated as a %100 decrease to sound dramatic. In real-world terms, it is what it is – zero. That is low. Is it fair or accurate to “rank” SXU “2nd most dangerous campus in the nation”?
I recall tragic instances of horrific mass acts of violence on other American campuses in 2007 and 2008. Perhaps The Daily Beast filtered those out of its “most dangerous” methodology, raising reasonable questions about the age and efficacy of its data. Yet that is beside the point. The point is this: any honest, common sense consideration of this dubious “ranking” will conclude that it is flawed and even irresponsible, like falsely shouting “fire” in a crowded theater.
In sum, the Chicago crime data cites the 19th Ward as the safest in the city. SXU official data shows a very low and decreasing number of reported incidents. The neighborhood is renowned as home to numerous police and fire fighters. Finally, all of this data is easily available and accessible to responsible reporters online via search engines at the click of a mouse. It is fair to ask, is this particular The Daily Beast post with its purported rankings credible? The answer is no, but it is definitely misleading.
Jay Foot
Executive Director, Media Relations
Saint Xavier University
November 27th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
As a former faculty member and one who follows closely all the available news concerning St. Xavier University, I can fully endorse Jay Foot’s assessment of fabricated false information regarding that institution. It is not surprising that the Daily Beast should publish this; it is surprising that HigherEdMorning would give it credence.
Justus George Lawler
Emeritus Professor of Humanities
St. Xavier University
November 29th, 2009 at 10:01 am
I’m not quite sure how Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. cannot be listed in these top 10 results!
Mass Murder, A student Decapitated in a cafeteria commons area by another student, and a gun carrying criminal from the community loose on campus shooting people…. and these are just in the past couple of years….Who knows what else has happened that hasn’t made the news?!
November 30th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
RE: St. Xavier Univ. and others listed in the ‘top ten’:
While you may, in fact, have a safe campus it’s only fair to include the areas surrounding the campus for safety. Many students live off-campus or at the very least must leave to attend to shopping, socializing, or whatever within the community. Let’s be honest here, Chicago does have some very vulnerable areas to high crime – as do many other cities across the US. Don’t downplay this information to give potential students a false sense of security. It’s a dangerous world!
I do have to agree with Vanessa related to Virginia Tech. However, the examples of crime there were high profile – all over the media. The actual number of crimes committed in the area may be lower compared to other campuses but headlines are hard to ignore.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Mel-I agree that surrounding community data is fair game. That is why I cite Chicago Police Dept. current (not 2+ years old) data that shows the 19th Ward (where Saint Xavier University is located) to be the safest of all 50 wards in the city.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Mel–I agree that campus surrounding areas are fair game. That is why in my original post, I cited (and presented a link to) current official Chicago Police Department data that shows the 19th Ward, in which Saint Xavier University is located, to be the safest of all 50 wards in the city. Here is the link:
http://gis.chicagopolice.org/website/clearMap_crime_sums/viewer.htm?SUMTYPE=WARD&SUMCATA=ALL_&SUMTIME=365&STARTLEFT=1063112&STARTTOP=1951663&STARTRIGHT=1233221&STARTBOTTOM=1813889
In sum: Saint Xavier University is located in the safest ward in the city, and there were zero violent incidences on campus last year. I wonder where that really ranks among big city universities in America, and for that matter among those in the city of Chicago?
November 30th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Should it be any surprise to anyone that 7 of the top 10 schools are in 3 of the most anti-gun states (translation: states in which people are not allowed to defend themselves.) in the U.S.?
November 30th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Jay Foot: I did review the link and you are correct about the area surrounding St. Xavier. I have friends who live in the near vicinity of whom I’ve visited on a few occasions. It’s a great area/neighborhood for sure! You are correct in that there is no reason why St. Xavier University should be the #2 on this list – out of all the universities and colleges throughout the US. The title of the article itself is misleading: “top 10 campuses with the highest crime rates” since it refers to the CAMPUS itself. Very unfair and I’m glad you provided the links to back your claim.
Best wishes and happy holidays-
November 30th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
There’s no way Emerson is really the most dangerous college in the country. Yes, some of the areas a few blocks away from the school are a little rough but no student goes travelling there alone at night (unless she is an idiot). I suspect the numbers are high for Emerson because of the radius for nearby crimes. Having gone to school there and lived on campus not too long ago, I can say I never felt unsafe. Plus, each building has security guards and stringent rules about entering buildings… these stats just don’t add up.
December 30th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Apparently, obama needs to station a special forces unit at St. Xavier.
December 31st, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Tony, based on what criterion do you draw your conclusion?
February 26th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Forget the list — the Clery Act is not doing the job intended. These stats are ridiculous. Look at the schools: Emerson, MIT, Harvard and St. Xavier are all great schools I would be proud to attend. The point is that the cities they are in have high rates of crime close enough to the campus to screw up the figures.
http://osdhorn.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/how-safe-if-yo…eep-and-wolves/
October 2nd, 2011 at 5:33 pm
The college campuses are getting just as bad as the high schools. As home schooling has been the solution for so many families at the grade school level, it will soon be a much more common way of getting a college degree.