10 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
JUNE GUIDE
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2004
A patrol car from the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department drives in front of America's Pub on a weekend patrol in Westport. The police regularly patrol the area in an attempt to control crime.
Perception VS reality
Story by Laura Pate
Why the conception that Westport is more dangerous than Massachusetts Street may be false
Once a week, Lauren Tramposh treks down Highway 10 to what she says is not the safest of places. She goes to a place where at least 20 police officers from the Kansas City Police Department patrol on the weekends. It's a place where hundreds of urban youth hang out on side streets, except on Saturday nights during the summer. On those nights, people have to be 21 or older to pass through the street's barricades.
As of March of 2004, downtown Lawrence has had 48 aggravated assaults, according to the Lawrence Police Department.
But is it really more dangerous than Massachusetts Street?
This dimly-lit district, home to nine aggravated assaults between January and March of 2004, frightens some University of Kansas students.
Photos by Abby Tillery
Westport had nine, according to the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
The Shawnee senior goes to Westport, a club and entertainment district located in the heart of Kansas City, Mo.
Though the area attracts KU students,it garners most of its business from an older urban crowd.
One reported rape occurred in Westport, while zero were reported in
downtown Lawrence.
Students "freak out" about Westport, because 16 bars are clumped within a twoblock radius, said Donovan Mouton, director of urban affairs for Kansas City, Mo..
Some students may be less afraid of Massachusetts Street, because its 39 drinking establishments are spread across five blocks.
"It's the Midwestern mentality of wanting more personal space," Mouton said.
Six months ago, Tramposh was walking behind her friends as they bar-hopped in Westport. Her friends leered at an outdoor hot dog vendor, joking around. The vendor then asked her if she would like to buy a hot dog.
Lauren's story
To her surprise, the vendor chased her down the street, yelling at her friends to "shut up."
She said no.
From then on, whenever Tramposh leaves a bar in Westport, she stays close to her friends and boyfriend.
Especially troubling to Tramposh are underage revelers who loiter on the sides of the street.
"They say, 'What's your name?' and they stand too close," Tramposh said. "I
just kind of cringe."
So Tramposh holds onto her boyfriend's hand when she walks through Westport.
Steve's story
Steve Wichman listened to Tramposh as he drank beer at Porter's Bar & Grill in Westport on a Saturday night in April. Porter's Bar & Grill, Pennsylvania and Westport Streets, attracts a preppy, college-age crowd.
Wichman, who shares an apartment in Lawrence with Tramposh, said he has had a few close calls in Westport.
In March, after a night of drinking, the Roeland Park junior rode down Westport's brick roads in the back of his friend's Chevy Tahoe. With his legs hanging out of the back of the SUV, he noticed some younger men in a parking lot thirty feet away.
"We're going to an after-party," Wichman had asked the younger men. "Do you want to come?"
The younger men ran after the car, and some of them pulled on Wichman's legs.
"What are you trying to yell?" the men screamed at him.
Some girls who were with the younger men asked them to stop grabbing Wichman's legs.
"They didn't say nothing," the girls said.
Devid Hodison pats down a patron in front of Stanford & Sons on a Saturday night. Hodison started working there last year.
"They didn't say nothing."
After he kicked the younger men off his legs, Wichman's friend sped up and drove out of Westport.
Is Westport safer than Lawrence?
To other students, Westport seems much safer than downtown Lawrence.
Sarah Dreiling, Lawrence senior, has bartended at America's Pub, 510 Westport Rd., Kansas City, Mo., for three years. She works three nights a week, usually from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. During her time there, Dreiling has never had