Personal Reflection

When I was accepted at UMD, I knew about College Park, and the crime. I grew up in Howard County, not too far from here, so I was fully aware of what I was getting myself in to. Of course, my parents were worried, but were assured that programs such as Nite Ride, the police escort service, multiple checkpoints, and the Blue Light phones deterred crime on campus. I soon learned that, despite the existence of these programs, crime was still rampant at UMD and Route 1.
When I lived in Centreville my freshman year, I had a clear view of the parking lots behind Comcast. Week nights, the parking lots were generally quiet. But, without fail, every weekend cop cars could be seen at about 3 am in any one of the lesser visited lots. And, only sometimes, I would receive crime alerts explaining a robbery, theft, or even sexual assault in one of this lots. I realized that UMD campus is not a crime-free bubble surrounded by the lawlessness of the greater College Park campus.
Now, as a junior, I have moved off campus and live in the Courtyards complex across Route 193. Despite my isolation from Route 1 and UMD campus, crime still manages to affect my daily life. This year, 3 bars were shut down - most notably, The Thirsty Turtle, due to its lackluster door policy, and its association with a stabbing that occurred earlier this semester. Everyone knows that Turtle can be... somewhat less than safe. I recall an incident the first week of school this semester where a friend of mine was on the dancefloor at Turtle, and an unidentified man broke a bottle over her head and ran away. She was bleeding, and received medical attention, but the incident went unreported. Between this personal experience, and in light of the recent stabbings, I've come to realize that college students are not only victims, but perpetrators of crimes.
Now, whether closing the bar was a good idea, is another issue. The fact is, college kids are going to get drunk and do stupid things. Also, drunk kids are targets for crime, and also more likely to commit a crime. Rather than closing the bars, UMD and the College Park police should spend more time spreading awareness about existing programs, and creating a stronger police presence in the Route 1 area. There will always be crime, all we can do is try to deter it.