The article “Choosing off campus” (March 25) failed to address the main issue of living outside the pearly gates: safety. A legion of grad students know that East Rock, for example, is no Fraggle Rock.

This morning I received Chief Perrotti’s e-mail about a graduate student that a “group of males” assaulted at 8:30 last night and sent to the emergency room. Yale’s mantra is “take the shuttle.” The shuttle/minibus/drunkwagon is a great idea, but it shouldn’t allow us to ignore the problem of violent crime in New Haven.

I wish the News would report more on crime, and give victims a voice in the wider community. I’m not sure how to reduce the risk of living off campus, but complacency will empower none

Grant Wiedenfeld

March 28

The writer is a graduate student in Film Studies and Comparative Literature.