The Rice Thresher

Location: http://the.ricethresher.org/news/2005/09/09/offcampus_students_safety

September 9, 2005 > News > Off-campus students worry about safety, change routines

Off-campus students worry about safety, change routines

Apartment complexes increase security as evacuees move nearby

By Lauren Murphy | For the Thresher

Although the arrival of thousands of hurricane evacuees in Houston has not dramatically increased crime in the city, some off-campus students have safety concerns.

Rice University Police Chief Bill Taylor said crime in the area and at Rice has not increased significantly since the evacuees arrived in Houston.

Taylor said some RUPD officers have been reassigned to patrol more closely locations along the perimeter of campus, including the college lots and Greenbriar Lot, as a preventative measure.

Martel College senior Lauren Candia moved out of her Harvest Hills apartment about two blocks away from Reliant Park the day after the evacuees arrived.

Candia said her parents were concerned about the influx of evacuees.

Candia said she was unaware of any serious crimes at her apartment complex, but said Harvest Hills management had distributed a flier notifying residents of several car vandalisms.

Nancy Lin, a Hanszen College junior, said the change to the area around her apartment at Archstone Medical Center — which is located across Fannin Street from Reliant Park — occurred rapidly.

Lin said she noticed a dramatic increase in the number of pedestrians on the street and around the METRORail stop.

News crews and filmmakers also interviewed people outside, and voices from people in the streets were audible throughout the day, Lin said.

“It’s changed the dynamic of our apartment complex,” Lin said. “Driving toward [Interstate] 610, there are people everywhere, there’s trash everywhere. It’s completely different from what it was just a couple of days before.”

Lin said Archstone Medical Center has hired security guards to check identification cards before people are allowed to drive into the complex.

She said guards are also positioned around the perimeter of the complex.

Lovett College sophomore Preethi Prasad, who lives in an apartment at Archstone Medical Center said she altered her routine after the evacuees arrived at the Reliant Park shelters.

“I was used to coming back from Rice pretty late, but I had to adjust my schedule to either come home earlier or just [sleep] at Rice,” Prasad said.

Prasad said she has had to rely on friends for transportation to and from Rice because she feels uncomfortable riding the METRORail — especially at night — and she does not have a car.

Brown College senior Andrew Pacifico also said the heavy concentration of hurricane evacuees in the area has changed his off-campus habits.

Pacifico said he will not shop at Fiesta or Target and will not use the METRORail.

Lovett College junior Addison Hopkins, who lives at Archstone Medical Center, said his proximity to the Reliant Park shelters has increased his awareness of the evacuees’ situation.

When buses transporting evacuees arrived from New Orleans, Hopkins and his roommate brought water and granola bars from their pantry to the evacuees.

“It’s in your face when it’s right across the street,” Hopkins said.

Will Rice College senior Megan Sandler also said her awareness of the evacuees was increased because she lives off campus.

“Being off campus really allows you to see for your own eyes what these people are going through,” Sandler said. “Living at Rice can shield you from a lot of what’s really going on in Houston.”

Will Rice College junior Jenn Reid said her decision to help the evacuees was not driven by her proximity to Reliant Park.

“I don’t feel like just because I live across the street from [Reliant Park], I should volunteer more,” Reid said. “I feel like it’s something that involves the entire community.”

Some off-campus apartment complexes are encouraging residents to help the evacuees.

Sandler said her apartment complex, the Camden Greenway Apartments at Buffalo Speedway and Kirby Drive, is collecting cash donations for the American Red Cross.

End of article

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