Second Harvard student struck, robbed this week
The Crimson reports a Harvard undergraduate was hit from behind and then robbed as she walked down Garden Street around 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, a few days after a Harvard student walking through Cambridge Common was attacked from behind and robbed (also see: Woman robbed, punched in the face in Harvard Yard).
Fox in Detox reports she might have wound up at the same exact place at the same time, only she couldn't find a parking space in time to make her evening class at Harvard - and that, according to an alert from Harvard police, the woman was listening to her iPod at the time:
... The officer's asked her if she heard her assailant coming. Her answer was no, she didn't hear him, because she was WEARING HER STUPID IPOD, while walking alone, at night, down a dark, deserted, street. She didn't see anything wrong with that.
She might as well wear a sign that says "I'm not paying attention, MUG ME!" ...
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Just because you go to Harvard...
...that doesn't mean you're smart.
Oversheltered Kids?
I'm wondering if the trend in parenting toward protecting the little darlings at all times in all ways is starting to backfire a bit, given this and John Boy from Kansas getting his stuff stolen from his car.
If you have a very sheltered upbringing, for whatever reason, you may be unaware of the environment you have moved to. You may not even suspect that you are advertising expensive possessions and removing one of your important sensory inputs if nobody tells you why it isn't a good idea.
That said, she was the particular target of opportunity because of her actions. The asshole(s) that beat her up are still 100% at fault for the incident. I don't like the blame the victim game - she was just the convenient recipient of something that would have happened to someone else if not her.
Not necessarily
The thing is, she could have been used to paying attention on dark side streets, but Garden Street is a well-lit, well-traveled road. It wasn't late at night, there were probably cars and pedestrians around, and if no one had told the girl that Cambridge Common is sketchville, I can totally see why she thought it would be okay to listen to her iPod.
It's pretty disturbing to me that people are getting mugged right out in the open like that.
Garden Street location by Harvard Police station
While the police report was unclear as to exactly where on Garden Street the incident occurred (somewhere between the quad houses and Harvard Square), it sounds likely that it happened within a couple of blocks -- or maybe even right in front -- of the Harvard University Police station on Garden Street.
Fox's in detoxe's
The officer's asked her
I didn't go to Harvard, but at least I know how to use an apostrophe :)
She might as well wear a sign that says "I'm not paying attention, MUG ME!"
...and if she was raped, would we be talking about how she was dressed? A better question is, "how has Cambridge PD responded to prior attacks and crimes on the Common so that the public can walk through it safely?"
All this summer, only rarely did Cambridge PD patrol Cambridge Common; maybe once in the evening someone will slowly drive through it, and that's it. There are a number of shady characters that hang out in the woods. Maybe Cambridge PD needs to start walking it with uniformed and undercover officers.
Why should Harvard Police try?
They'll just be persecuted by the university if they do. A white female officers responding to a call of someone stealing a bike found an african american male cutting a lock off a bike. In the end, it was his bike (he lost key), but before the female officer knew that she spoke to him with an "authoritative" voice. So now she is in hot water for doing her job properly. What do they want cops to do? "Oh, hi there, I'm officer friendly, can I help you?"