Engaging the neighborhood, contributing to the city
"But is it safe for my daughter to walk around campus?" This is the question my father asked at the information session for prospective students. The question of safety was my parents' primary concern about sending me off to Hopkins, after I spent the last four years in a wealthy suburban boarding school environment - a far cry from Baltimore. The Admissions representative quickly quieted my father's concerns with a declamation on the increased level of security all over campus.
Upon receiving word of my early admission into the University, many friends made snide suggestions about me getting sufficient protection against the "inner-city ghetto" to which I would subject myself. Now, in addition to hearing about the cutthroat stereotypical Hopkins student that I was to ward off, I also had to abstain from entering certain streets mere blocks away from the safe haven of Homewood Campus.
It only took me my first night of orientation to see the truth in my friends' sneers. I received many warnings from upperclassmen against venturing several blocks east of campus unless I was interested in supporting the infamous drug dealing community that is apparently too close to campus for most students' comfort. To that end the most interesting fact I have learned about my new residence is HBO's use of it to film for the critically acclaimed series The Wire, which portrays life in the dangerous, drug-saturated neighborhoods of Baltimore.
While we have only been on campus for a week, many freshmen have already developed their own unique perspectives on Baltimore. Hyoshin Son, from Seoul, South Korea, expressed a sense of contentment with Baltimore; she is enjoying the school's community and looks forward to embracing change.
Son explained that she appreciates the diversity in Baltimore that she doesn't experience in her native South Korea. Although "I heard that this city is dangerous, there are so many security people to protect students and residents I feels pretty comfortable," Son explained.
Upon receiving word of my early admission into the University, many friends made snide suggestions about me getting sufficient protection against the "inner-city ghetto" to which I would subject myself. Now, in addition to hearing about the cutthroat stereotypical Hopkins student that I was to ward off, I also had to abstain from entering certain streets mere blocks away from the safe haven of Homewood Campus.
It only took me my first night of orientation to see the truth in my friends' sneers. I received many warnings from upperclassmen against venturing several blocks east of campus unless I was interested in supporting the infamous drug dealing community that is apparently too close to campus for most students' comfort. To that end the most interesting fact I have learned about my new residence is HBO's use of it to film for the critically acclaimed series The Wire, which portrays life in the dangerous, drug-saturated neighborhoods of Baltimore.
While we have only been on campus for a week, many freshmen have already developed their own unique perspectives on Baltimore. Hyoshin Son, from Seoul, South Korea, expressed a sense of contentment with Baltimore; she is enjoying the school's community and looks forward to embracing change.
Son explained that she appreciates the diversity in Baltimore that she doesn't experience in her native South Korea. Although "I heard that this city is dangerous, there are so many security people to protect students and residents I feels pretty comfortable," Son explained.
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