2008 Woodie Awards
RSSStaying safe off campus
Editorial
By Edit Board
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Opinion
Student opinions on the safety of South Side Bethlehem vary widely. Some believe it to be relatively safe, while others perceive it to be a war zone. Whichever way students feel about their safety off campus, when two robberies occur in two consecutive days, it's hard not to acknowledge some of the safety concerns that affect Lehigh students, especially because both robberies happened at around 8 p.m., according to police.
Adding to the problem is the perception by some students that the streets of Bethlehem are filled with hardened criminals, drug dealers and other undesirable characters. In reality, only a small number of an otherwise law-abiding and friendly local population are creating problems with Lehigh students.
Robberies, assaults and other crime on the South Side, however, cannot be solved easily. Staying in groups can help, but students can't depend on having someone with them all the time. Concealing valuables and not carrying large amounts of cash also lessens the likelihood or impact of robberies, but students should not have to strip themselves of valuables every time they want to run out to buy milk. Increased police coverage might help, but most robberies take place in an instant, so criminals will just wait until police are out of sight, or attack in areas with less police coverage. Other ideas of how to stop a robbery - fighting back, for example - are more likely to land someone in a hospital than to get their wallet or purse back.
Instead of being reactive to robberies, we need to move to a proactive way to actively seek solutions, rather than just attacking the problems. These solutions will take many years and address many different sides of the problems, such as improving Bethlehem residents' standard of living, improving educational standards and reducing criminal activity.
On a large scale, Lehigh members - students, faculty and all - will have to live in and interact with the South Side residents even more. People look out for and protect their neighbors, but this is impossible if they don't know who to look out for. Supporting local businesses will improve local economy and ease tensions between students and local residents.
Adding to the problem is the perception by some students that the streets of Bethlehem are filled with hardened criminals, drug dealers and other undesirable characters. In reality, only a small number of an otherwise law-abiding and friendly local population are creating problems with Lehigh students.
Robberies, assaults and other crime on the South Side, however, cannot be solved easily. Staying in groups can help, but students can't depend on having someone with them all the time. Concealing valuables and not carrying large amounts of cash also lessens the likelihood or impact of robberies, but students should not have to strip themselves of valuables every time they want to run out to buy milk. Increased police coverage might help, but most robberies take place in an instant, so criminals will just wait until police are out of sight, or attack in areas with less police coverage. Other ideas of how to stop a robbery - fighting back, for example - are more likely to land someone in a hospital than to get their wallet or purse back.
Instead of being reactive to robberies, we need to move to a proactive way to actively seek solutions, rather than just attacking the problems. These solutions will take many years and address many different sides of the problems, such as improving Bethlehem residents' standard of living, improving educational standards and reducing criminal activity.
On a large scale, Lehigh members - students, faculty and all - will have to live in and interact with the South Side residents even more. People look out for and protect their neighbors, but this is impossible if they don't know who to look out for. Supporting local businesses will improve local economy and ease tensions between students and local residents.
