Although campus tour guides continue to trumpet Columbia's safety record, some students fear for their safety in Morningside Heights. Recently, members of the Columbia community report being robbed at gunpoint in Riverside Park and attacked on Morningside Avenue. While most find campus safety adequate, students cite several areas that they avoid.

"Actually, I feel that campus safety is not very effective. When I am on campus, literally on College Walk and coming back from anywhere, it’s fine. But, in the event that I study at SIPA a lot, and I walk down Amsterdam and turn on 114th, there are a couple of bums that sleep on the grates of John Jay and all that Public Safety does is drive past you and continue driving around campus and really doesn’t do anything. And, it’s really dangerous on Amsterdam for some reason, and it always feels really freaky at night, to the point where I should just cut through campus and take the long way, instead of going down Amsterdam and making it shorter. However, on campus, it’s fine, since it’s a closed campus and it’s not so bad. But I feel like they can do a lot more in terms of outside the immediate area."

"I guess campus safety isn’t too bad. I mean, if you avoid the parks at night, you should be okay. Pay attention, don’t flash your iPhone or whatever around everywhere. The recent crime wave has really disturbed me, and I hope that Public Safety and the police will be able to crack down on this to make sure it doesn’t happen again."

"I wouldn’t walk on Amsterdam or nearby Schermerhorn."

"Even though the emails about security alerts have been increasing lately, I personally haven’t experienced any issues with campus security. I have always felt safe on campus specifically, and the surrounding area, particularly on Broadway, maybe with a decreased safety feeling on Amsterdam and further that way. I feel security on campus is not an issue for me personally."

On the other hand, several students felt no concerns about neighborhood safety and say they have not changed their behavior despite the recent spike in crime.

"Even though there have been a lot of happenings in terms security, I still pretty much do whatever I used to do, including running in Riverside Park at 12 AM at night with nobody with me. A lot of people say that’s not a good idea, but I’ve never had a problem. I’ve done it for the last two years that I’ve been at Columbia, and it seems to be working out well for me."

"I don’t really do anything different because of the safety [concerns]. It actually feels safer than at home, so I’m comfortable here."

"I feel very safe, I always see security guards going around, so I feel their presence. At night, I don’t really walk around 125th Street, which is where I live because I don’t feel too safe at night. During the day, it’s fine though."

"I think campus safety is pretty good. Sometimes you just need to be careful about where you are and at what time of the day. Morningside Park is probably not a great place to be walking around in at night. You just have to be smart and be in groups. It’s a really safe campus, but it’s still New York City. Actually, from what I’ve heard, the safety in New York is much better than a lot of other major cities. I think people just need to be smart about where they are and whom they are with."

"I still feel pretty safe at night. I don’t really go anywhere totally off campus. I wouldn’t go for a walk alone in the park at night. But, the gates and the guard at the Barnard gates make it really safe. Generally, in this area, I wouldn’t wander too far at night, but for the most part I feel really safe on campus and around here."

Regardless of their views, students hope that Public Safety will be able to address the problem and keep the community safe.