Students at the University of Minnesota don't feel safe out of campus

By Jane Lee

A light-rail station, which is located on East Bank campus

Several commuting students at the University of Minnesota said they don't feel safe once they leave off the campus.

Ally Cook, a junior student who lives in St. Paul, said she feels safe during the daytime on campus, but she gets a little bit feared when she goes to Dinky Town to hang out with her friends.

Cook said she got many crime alerts of rape and robbery cases in Dinky Town.
  
“That’s the place where those crimes usually happened,” Cook said. “It is even worse when I take the light-rail on the way back home.”

Nick Hutton, a senior student majoring in Computer Science

However, Nick Hutton, a senior student, who drives to the campus, said he feels OK either on and off the campus because he hasn’t really experienced any dangerous situations during the journey.

More than 23 percent of university students use public transportations to get to the campus, according to the annual report in 2019 from Parking & Transportation Service at the university. 

Emily Li, a senior

Another senior student, Emily Li, said she tries to go home before it gets dark to avoid homeless and people yelling each other in the rail platform.

The public transportation in the Twin Cities face the growing number of violence and nuisance crimes during the last few months, according to the Star Tribune.

The Department of Public Safety at the university suggests students using 624-WALK, a service available 24/7, while waiting for trains.