Safety Of The Ryerson Campus Area

What conditions must apply before an area can be considered safe? A safe area according to the definition from the Encarta is summed up as an area where one can find refuge and safety, while living in security, (Encarta. 2007). Would you consider the Ryerson Campus area to be safe? This depends on a certain individual's bias which is based on the gender and age of that individual. Another factor that comes in to play is the time of day you are viewing the area, different opinions may be generated on an area if it were daytime as opposed to night time. Personally I'm an 18 year old male and from my exploration I generally found the Ryerson area to be unsafe, especially during the night time. Many factors came in to play for me to generate such an opinion such as lack of light in certain areas, narrow alley ways and construction that can be dangerous to anyone walking within the area.

The general opinion on safety during daytime from Ryerson students is that it's not a big concern because you're in broad daylight and there are always people around. A first year Electrical Engineering student, Obaid Ansari responded, "So far I found Ryerson to be very safe during the daytime, in fact I found it safer than my high school because there are always lots and lots of people around!", when asked how he felt about the safety of the Ryerson area during daytime. Although daytime seems pretty safe, there are still major concerns with safety around the Ryerson campus. A major safety concern particularly at this time includes the construction at Point 1 in the daytime map. The construction that is happening on Yonge and Dundas is dangerous for citizens regularly passing by the place in order to get to their destination. The construction that is being built in this area is dangerous because anyone is in danger of being hit by an object from above. Since they are constructing a building from the top, anything can fall from above and hit a citizen, which can lead to serious injuries. Personally I have to pass by this area every time when I get off the Dundas Subway, and I'm in constant fear as I walk by the area and so are my peers as we walk by really quickly to avoid any injuries. Another safety concern with the Yonge and Dundas area which is denoted as Point 2 on the map is that it's overly crowded. Many issues develop from crowded areas, but the main issue is the fear of being robbed or pick-pocketed. The downtown core has a variety of locals which range from the rich class to the poor class. This opens up possibilities of people from the poor class stealing from the rich class, especially in crowded situations where it's easier because everyone is in a rush and no one will know who the robber is when they noticed that they have been robbed. Especially at times when crossing the street or getting out the subway station, it makes it very easy for the robber who just has to be quick while stealing and later try to blend in with the crowd. The last major safety concern at Ryerson during the daytime is the traffic problems along Gould Street ranging from Yonge all the way down to Church which is denoted as Point 3. For many students who have classes in buildings on the opposite sides of Gould Street, it's difficult for them to quickly cross between the road in order to get to the opposite side because of the traffic and lack of traffic lights. The fact that the road is packed almost every time in the day and the traffic lights are only on Yonge or Church Street along Gould Street, students almost every time have to cross by themselves with nothing to stop traffic. Especially when students are in a constant hurry to get to class, sometimes they might not look when crossing the street and become in danger of being hit by a vehicle. "A lot times when I'm crossing Gould Street I run cuz I'm scared of getting hit by a car or even a bike", says Sajjid Malgi a 4th year Graphics Communication Management student at Ryerson.

There are many safety issues when it comes down to night time around the Ryerson Campus area. This fact is due to the lack of light, loneliness of not having much people around and this leads to a different perspective on certain areas when observed at night. Such as the Quad denoted as Point 4 on the night time map, which seems like a perfectly normal place in daytime, but can transform to become a really unsafe area at night. During the night the Quad doesn't have sufficient lighting and when observed seems like a very dim place and it's an open area surrounded by buildings which is alone enough to place fear within people. On top of that it has many corners and walls which act like hideouts where subjects can hide in order to rob, harass or even rape the victim. Another area similar to the Quad is Point 5 which is a circular area behind the Rogers Communication Building. Small leading alleyways around buildings meet at this area. Although there are emergency poles set up at the center of the area, it's not enough because the entire area is unsafe. This area can be the perfect hideout at night for strangers who are just looking for students to pass by the area, and the fact that it's a closed area makes it all the more easier for them. Many students who have classes in this area and the Quad during night time are subject to using the "Walk Safe" program developed by Ryerson available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, which dispatches security guards to escort students to their destination at night, (Stricker, L. 2007). Other than these two main areas there are many other areas which can be labeled as unsafe to students depending on which route they walk to class and they are denoted by Points 6, 7 and 8. Point 6 is an alleyway that leads to the back of Roger Communications center and also allows students to get to Gerrard Street, making it a frequent alleyway walked by people. This alleyway is very creepy because at night you feel trapped when you enter the alleyway, it's kind of like once you're in it it's difficult to get out. So if there is any trouble faced while walking through the alleyway it's difficult for the victim to turn around and go back. Point 7 is a long pathway which is between the Library Building and Kerr Hall West. This pathway similar to Point 6 makes it difficult to anyone who feels unsafe to turn around and head back, giving a trapped kind of feeling, but on top of that this pathway is even longer and has many hideouts that make it easy for subjects to hide behind before they confront their victim. Point 8 is probably the worst alley way which is located behind Jorgenson Hall. It gives you a very gloomy feeling at night because it's a very narrow alleyway filled with graffiti, garbage and etc... I would believe this alleyway would