Safe Colleges in Mass. (Amherst: school, university, parks)

[badluck]

To the OP. Springfield College better be Ivy league (it isnt...I looked into it) for you to be considering moving to Springfield. If not, forget Springfield if youre worried about safe cities...I have a word that I have used in several other posts to describe hamlets similar to Springfield. That word is 'dump'

Northeastern is expanding into lovely cosmopolitan Roxbury...I mean the South End...I mean SOMA or whatever the hell its called this year.
Go there...the city is alive with culture!

[Finch347]

I am actually a sophomore in a suburb outside of Houston, TX. However, I have been to Mass. Multiple times visiting family and I have always loved it. I'm trying to get a head start so I can make sure that Mass. Is as good of a place to live as I think it is (Basing that off of a week up there two or three times a year) Thanks for the help everyone!

[Finch347]

Originally Posted by Rhapsodie2014

Are you a senior in high school, from what you are asking it sounds like it. What state are you coming from if you do not mind me asking. My son is going to be applying to Emerson,,,,we are from Boston but have been So. Cal since 2003......we all want to move back. I will be looking more into Emerson in couple months,,,son wants to study film there,,,,can you tell me anything as a prospective student.

Northeastern, I went there, and it borders on bad neighborhood, trying to remember but I think that there are projects behind it,,,,,,but so many people around you will be okay. Very crowded area,,,,but many amenities,,,you should go visit and see what you think.

I miss Boston

Sorry I forgot to quote you in my previous response. That was directed to you.

[Finch347]

Originally Posted by badluck

To the OP. Springfield College better be Ivy league (it isnt...I looked into it) for you to be considering moving to Springfield. If not, forget Springfield if youre worried about safe cities...I have a word that I have used in several other posts to describe hamlets similar to Springfield. That word is 'dump'

Northeastern is expanding into lovely cosmopolitan Roxbury...I mean the South End...I mean SOMA or whatever the hell its called this year.
Go there...the city is alive with culture!

The safety won't make or break my decision, I am just curious because I have heard mixed things about all three schools.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Unless something has changed in the last few years, some colleges are some aren't. Some smaller private colleges have a "Dept. of Public Safety" which are unarmed and nothing more than glamorized security guards. All state colleges/universities have sworn police forces. It was the comment that they are all "state police" that confused me.

The MA statute that gives campus law enforcement/security departments the option to become sworn officers confers a status called "special state police officer." It offers the option of sworn status mostly to various state agencies that are not law enforcement departments per se but may find it useful to have some employees with this status (lottery commission, natural resources dept., etc.), but colleges and hospitals are also included.

I don't really know, but would assume that the title special STATE police officer refers simply to the fact that police status comes directly from the state, rather than through some other jurisdiction, like the city or town where the institution is located. Again, I don't know for sure, but I'm going to guess that the word SPECIAL implies that they are not state police in the sense of any affiliation with the agency The Massachusetts State Police.

Not sure, but I don't believe the statute automatically confers police officer status on campus police at private colleges, but gives them the option to attain this status if they wish to apply. I have no idea how many do. I doubt that it's every college in the state, as stated in an earlier post, but some do.

I'm not sure about whether there's a specific statute granting police status to the Public Safety departments of state colleges, or they apply for the general special officer status that private colleges would use.

By the way, years ago I worked in law enforcement for a few years. I can tell you that some of those supposedly "nothing more than glamorized security guards" departments at many small colleges actually are way more the real deal than that, though they do have to deal with a persistent assumption by the public that anything falling outside the traditional public jurisdictions of law enforcement--state, municipal, county sheriff, etc.--is not really a true police agency in the fullest sense. Having had up-close dealings with some of these departments, I beg to differ, but that's a subject for another thread, and probably not at a state forum either. I mention this only because the thread has drifted into this area, and I have some knowledge of the matter.

To move back to the thread topic, Emerson's neighborhood is fine, though the usual prudent precautions apply in any urban setting.

Northeastern is fine immediately around campus, though you're not too far from some fairly bad areas if you go a bit to the south of campus, though not immediately adjacent to campus. It's mostly a question of making a wrong turn and wandering off into a bad area where a NU student most likely would not ordinarily go. That's really just an example of a phenomenon you can find here and there all over Boston. It's such a compact city that neighborhoods of very different character can be located very close to each other. In general around NU, it's another area where you should be fine if you exercise city smarts.

Springfield in general has a bad reputation, but I don't know the neighborhood around the college, so I can't comment on whether it might be one of the okay areas in S'field. The trouble is that even if that neighborhood is decent, it's difficult to go out and do anything in S'field without going into some not-so-nice areas.

[western mass and love it]

The area around Spfld College is pretty sketchy, Actually the only college in a decent area in Spfld is WNEC. AIC and STCC are both in questioable areas. As far as going out in Spfld, the entertainment district(what they like to call it)is pretty safe during peak bar hours but can get slightly hairy at times, The hall of fame area is pretty safe and has some decent bars and resteraunts(sp) to make for a fun night. And there is always Northampton up the road if you have a car. My brother went to NU and they had some pretty sketchy people wandering around the campus,plus they have the YMCA across from the dorms that houses some pretty questionable characters but aside from that i think NU is an awesome place to go to school.

[sheena12]

I would concern my self more with the caliber of college and not make "safety" such a huge issue. Personally, when I was in college in Massachusetts, I was happy that the campus police worked for US - not the government. They were there to help us to keep the campus safe and not to monitor our activities.
Even when I went to college, there was a security code to get into your dorm. I went to college at Clark University in Worcester, and I never felt threatened in any way.
Springfield is a mediocre college. There are so many better options in MA.
I would also say that living in Boston on a non campus, bisected by streets and distance would not be my first choice. There are no real campuses in Boston. Like NYU, it is spread out all over the place.I like being near a city but being in one can be distracting and confusing.

If you are a good student and you want to go to school in MA, I would look into -
Hampshire College
Amhurst College
Clark University
Brandies University
Tufts University
Holy Cross
Wheaton ( I am pretty sure that it is co-ed now)

Best of luck in your search!

Sheena

[Justin Sparks]

Originally Posted by sheena12

Hampshire College
Amhurst College
Clark University
Brandies University
Tufts University
Holy Cross
Wheaton

Er...you probably mean Amherst College but Clark on the safe list? lol I would only hope that as a parent forking over $40+K@yr my child didn't develop a weakness for opiates and hookers, despite the efforts for the campus to create a gated island on Main South across from "needle park".

[badluck]

What a thoughtful answer...to a question nobody asked

Originally Posted by sheena12

I would concern my self more with the caliber of college and not make "safety" such a huge issue. Personally, when I was in college in Massachusetts, I was happy that the campus police worked for US - not the government. They were there to help us to keep the campus safe and not to monitor our activities.
Even when I went to college, there was a security code to get into your dorm. I went to college at Clark University in Worcester, and I never felt threatened in any way.
Springfield is a mediocre college. There are so many better options in MA.
I would also say that living in Boston on a non campus, bisected by streets and distance would not be my first choice. There are no real campuses in Boston. Like NYU, it is spread out all over the place.I like being near a city but being in one can be distracting and confusing.

If you are a good student and you want to go to school in MA, I would look into -
Hampshire College
Amhurst College
Clark University
Brandies University
Tufts University
Holy Cross
Wheaton ( I am pretty sure that it is co-ed now)

Best of luck in your search!

Sheena

[jbushkey]

I have lived in Springfield and just outside Boston. Do yourself a favor and choose Boston. The only advantage Springfield might have is if your getting a huge scholarship or you will be too distracted by the fun of Boston. Springfield vs Boston is night and day.