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Wednesday, April 12, 2000
10A
There goes the neighborhood
Oread residents take precautions to discourage break-ins
Angie Uskokovich always has a friend make sure she gets in safe at night. She has a bodyguard/roommate — a yellow lab named Clarence.
But sometimes she's still scared at home. Uskokovsk, St. Louis senior, lives.
"Be aware of your surroundings," said Sgt. George Wheeler of the Lawrence Police Department. "When you live in an area like that, you need to make certain you're more cautious than you may normally be."
mon, St. Louis senior, lives in the 1300 block of Ohio Street, in the middle of the "student ghetto."
Her complaints are typical for residents of the student ghetto. Traditionally known as the Oread neighborhood, the area's boundaries are informal, but most students live in the blocks bordered by 11th and 19th streets and Ohio and Vermont streets.
"It can be scary to live by yourself in an area that draws a lot of parties and sketchy-looking people," she said.
In August, a 21-year-old man was stabbed at a house party at 12th and Ohio streets. Through the summer and fall, a naked prowler appeared on several Oread porches. Almost every night, Lawrence police report burglaries and thefts in the area.
Before moving to Ohio Street, Uskokovich lived on Kentucky Street. She said while living there, someone broke into her house and stole nearly everything — from CDs to food.
Aaron Grill, Topeka junior, had the same problem.
"We had our Sega stolen," said Grill, who lived in the 1100 block of Kentucky Street. "My roommate got his Sony Playstation, CD cases and VCR stolen."
Grill moved out in August, he said, after the ghetto's loud parties and crime just got to him.
The crime can be attributed to the combination of a lot of people and a small area, said Lawrence police Sgt. George Wheeler.
"We see the same types of crime rate bubbles in trailer courts and apartment complexes." he said.
Most of those crimes, he said, were burglaries and thefts — of anything "not tied down."
That's for sure, said Ryan Butler, Parsons senior. Butter recently had two cement planters stolen off his front porch in the 1200 block of Tennessee Street. The planters were antique and probably weighed about 50 pounds apiece.
"It took me and my dad a lot of work to get those up there," he said. "They must have had about four guys to get them."
In an area abounding with car stereos, Sony PlayStations and even antique planters, students should be more cautious than they normally would, Wheeler said.
"there are so many people and so many opportunities for people to rob or rape or steal," he said.
Students also should control the stuff inside their houses, he said.
"Note the serial numbers on CD players, DVD players and all electronics," he said. "If you become a victim, you won't get victimized twice."
"It's close to campus, so you meet a lot of cool people," she said. "A lot of good stuff goes on."
If students follow some safety precautions,the student ghetto isn't too dangerous a place, Wheeler said. In fact,he'd let his daughter live there.
Sarah Blahut, Shawnee junior, said she had no problems living in the student ghetto. Blahut has lived in the 1600 block of Tennessee for two years.
"But that's easy for me to say — I had boys," he said.
Blahut acknowledged that there were some disadvantages to the area.
"It's kind of noisy," she said. "Parking is hard to find sometimes. Some of the houses need a lot of work."
Blahut added: "Sometimes there are four parties going on at once. If you don't like that, it's not the place for you. It all depends on what you like."