Illustration by Josh Hagler

Tucson and the UA community have been stunned recently by multiple reports of sexual assaults and a double murder either on or near the UA campus. The most recent and chilling event occurred during the weekend when Jianquing Yang, a chemistry doctoral student, and his wife Yu Yu Chen were slain in their apartment.

The campus is also reeling from a third sexual assault in a matter of a month. A 22-year-old was assaulted Nov. 1 at her home in the 1400 block of East Blacklidge Drive. The first sexual assault occurred Oct. 3 when a UA student was raped at her off-campus residence, and a second incident happened a few weeks later when two UA students encountered a man who reportedly attempted to assault them near campus.

The recent events add weight to a recent FBI annual Uniform Crime Report that ranks Tucson's crime rate as the 10th highest in the nation. Tucson Police Department officials scrambled to deflect the criticism and adamantly claim that Tucson is not a dangerous place to live - though recent evidence suggests the contrary.

The rise in violent crime has many Tucsonans and UA students wondering if the police have neglected their usual beats to concentrate on the threat of terrorist attacks or if this is a random peak in crime.

Either way, the recurring sexual assaults are terrorizing our community, and the double murder during the weekend is simply overwhelming. People are beginning to wonder if Tucson is, indeed, a dangerous place to live.

We should be a little scared

Cory Spiller

Tucson is a dangerous place to live, and no one should say otherwise. Tucson will continue to be a dangerous place to live until the rapists walking our streets are behind bars, the murderer of Jianquing and Yu Yu is caught, and the Tucson and University of Arizona police departments realize the urgency of our situation.

If you aren't worried about crime in Tucson, you shrug off reports of assaults, and you are naive enough to believe that it won't happen to you, I am here to argue.

A friend of mine was mugged trying to stumble a little more than a football field's length from Frog 'n Firkin to his apartment. Luckily, muggers only took some money and left him with some bruises. Thank God he was not female or good-looking - they may have taken much more.

Crime strikes randomly, and eventually it hits home.

TPD and UAPD need to do something. I'm not sure what. They can start by catching these bastards assaulting women in their homes, then they can stop making excuses for themselves and admit that this is a dangerous area - because saying otherwise only makes it worse.

We must be vigilant, and, I'm sorry to say it, we should be a little scared. If we are the slightest bit scared the next time one of us decides to walk alone at night, maybe we will call SafeRide. If we are a little scared before we go to bed, maybe we'll get up and lock the doors. If we are scared, then we are recognizing that Tucson is a dangerous place to live. We are determined not to be victims.

Cory Spiller is a creative writing and history senior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.

We need to protect ourselves

Jessica Lee

Yesterday, my roommate Alice and I had a dead bolt installed on our front door. We had been getting by well enough with just a knob-lock, but lately we have been extra-super freaked out.

Just like probably half of the female population at UA, we are just girls in the house. We like it that way. Boys are a pain in the butt - they are stinky, messy, and watch ESPN re-runs all day. But lately, it would be nice to have a man around. Especially when horrible rapists, stalkers and murder-perverts loom around the campus area.

It pisses me off that women have to feel scared all the time. We shouldn't have to scour the entire house, including closets and showers, every time we get home.

Illustration by Josh Hagler

We would like to think that the Tucson and University of Arizona police departments are doing everything in their power to track down the perpetrators and prevent any future attacks. But the papers or news haven't reported any arrests or leads. I haven't noticed any increase in the number of police cars patrolling the neighborhood.

It isn't comforting. And it sucks to have to lock ourselves inside the house while doing homework in the afternoon. Women should not be prisoners to a world dominated by the male sex drive.

The police cannot be entirely blamed for the recent increase in local crime. It is impossible to stop all violent acts of human nature. The only thing we can do is attempt to protect ourselves on our own. Get to know your neighbors, and if you have the money, hire yourselves an Arnold Schwarzenegger-like-bodyguard.

Jessica Lee is an environmental science junior. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.

Depends on where you're sitting

Laura Winsky

Does Tucson have a crime problem? If you've been reading the papers or watching the news lately, you would think that we've experienced a rash of sexual assaults and murders, and you'd be absolutely right. But the novelty of the recent Tucson tragedies is the possibility that many of the sexual assault incidents have been perpetrated by the same man, the incidents have all occurred in a concentrated area, and that area happens to be (gasp!) midtown - the university neighborhood. The victims are often affiliated with the university.

Does Tucson have a crime problem? The media snapped to attention - on guard. Not that recent events should be trivialized, but they're nothing new for Tucson. The only change is the scenery. When the victims are young and healthy, with assumed great potential for the future, the story is somehow different, more important. The media report these same types of incidents from poor neighborhoods, minority areas and South Tucson every single night, and we get used to it. We expect it. We don't demand change.

Now it hits home. We're the victims, so we pay attention. We're the ones who don't feel safe at night anymore, so we suddenly look to support police programs, encourage prevention and finance victim aid. Suddenly, we care.

Does Tucson have a crime problem? You bet it does, just like it has for years. But for now, the answer still depends on where you sit. If you're in an apartment in midtown the answer is yes, crime is up. But those in their thrones up in the foothills would probably answer, "What's the question again?"

Laura Winsky is a senior majoring is Spanish and political science. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.

No to gun control, yes to drug control

Shane Dale

First of all, let me affirmatively state that while violence and lack of safety in Tucson has undoubtedly become a greater issue of late, tighter gun regulation is not the answer to our problem. Take guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, and only criminals would have them. Gun control legislation does nothing to prevent one from illegally purchasing a handgun; it only restricts the freedoms of those who wish to acquire one legally. So throw that idea out the window.

It's pretty well known that most murders committed in America today are drug-related. Drug dealers sort out their differences with violence, because there is no legal recourse for the business they're in. It's also well known that people get involved in dealing drugs because it's by far the most high-paying job for which they're "qualified."

It seems to me that the simplest answer to help rid this town of violent crimes would be tougher drug regulation - maybe not against marijuana, but certainly the harder stuff.

"But people deal drugs because they have no other way to provide for themselves," some say. Come on. Anyone who wants a minimum-wage job can find one. It doesn't nearly equal the income that dealing cocaine or running a meth lab does, but it's legal, and it doesn't lead to violence - unless, perhaps, you're a minimum-wage-making postal worker, which is a whole other issue.

Shane Dale is a political science sophomore. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.

Safety does not exist - it never has

Zack Armstrong

Is Tucson a safe place to live? Well, that's a stupid question. Not stupid in the sense that the answer is readily available and apparent, but stupid in the sense that safety is totally subjective and 100 percent impossible to calculate.

I would say that Tucson isn't as safe as say, a little rubber room, but it is certainly a hell of a lot safer than Beirut about 20 years ago or than Afghanistan is right now. How safe do you want to be? How safe can you be? I mean, even in a little rubber room you could probably still suffocate yourself or, at the very least, bounce yourself to death.

Yes, crime may have increased recently, or at least become unique and newsworthy enough to make the front pages of our newspapers, but the truth of the matter is, you are very rarely safer in one place over another. You can make all the preparations and careful decisions that you want, but the bottom line is that safety is entirely beyond your control. I'm sorry, but it's true. You may be able to stack the odds in your favor a little bit, but you can never do enough to prepare you for anything.

Americans have been lulled by the illusion of safety for a long time now, but the events of Sept. 11 changed that forever. We are beginning to understand, better than ever before, that we are not untouchable, and that is a terrifying thing. Our safety is not at greater risk, we are just finally aware that it isn't real.

Zack Armstrong is a creative writing senior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.