As a student at Tech, I find that living in Midtown Atlanta is one of the reasons Tech's crime rate is up. Second, the writer below is correct: young males typically walk around Home Park (the area of homes just north of campus) and up and down North Avenue/10th street late at night and by themselves--and are therefore prime targets. Females tend to stick in a pack and chances of getting caught are higher.

I, for one, live in Homepark, but don't go out past a certain time. I'm typically hanging out with my roommates, or doing homework (almost always the latter).

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I am weary of hearing this news so often too. I emailed GA Tech about my concerns, and got a reply very quickly. Not sure it makes me feel better, but I will post it for you:

"This is not to dissuade you from your views, but simply to acquaint you with some additional information that you might not otherwise learn. The most important fact you may not know is this: crime on campus is down.

Why do you know about crimes near our campus? All institutions of higher learning are required by federal law (Clery Act) to report any crime that occurs in the general area of their campuses. This is a good practice because it reminds students, faculty and staff to be prudent. The local television stations subscribe to our campus alerts and react in ways one might expect.

The two robberies that occurred just prior to midnight last night in the Home Park area did not involve students. Moreover, students are constantly reminded not to walk in sketchy areas at any time let alone late in the evening. Every crime that has occurred near campus has occurred in places or at times where no reasonable or prudent person would be.

Since we've noted an uptick in crime off campus, all of the victims have been male. Those who have studied this pattern believe that young males think they are invincible and consequently ignore the rules most people follow. We think that it is interesting that none of the victims has been female.

We provide late night transportation for students who are uncomfortable walking anywhere in the area after dark.

In addition to this information, we'd like you to know that we engage in extensive, continuous and creative student safety education. One example is this video which has been played on the campus cable tv system, at student orientations and on the video boards at sporting events: http://www.police.gatech.edu/crimeinfo/safetyvideos/stingerrette.html

Last, the Georgia Tech police force, the Atlanta police, the Georgia Highway Patrol and other agencies work together to aggressively patrol the areas around campus and midtown Atlanta. None of this matters if people behave in ways that most people wouldn't consider reasonable or prudent. I'm sure your daughter would be attentive to safety precautions if she were admitted here.

Sincerely,

James Fetig
Associate Vice President
Communications & Marketing
Georgia Institute of Technology
MC 0181"