I did something both Saturday and Monday night that terrified me — yes, I was stubborn enough to do this twice.
I know you’re asking yourself: “What ever could scare you so much, Chris?” Brace yourself, and I’ll tell you.
I walked down Alvin Dark Avenue behind Tigerland — unarmed.
Unspeakable things happened.
First, I was easily mugged at gunpoint since there are no streetlights. The culprit stole my wallet, keys and cell phone.
Afraid and shocked, I picked up the pace, heading toward the safety of Brightside Drive — but I didn’t move fast enough through the darkened street.
About two blocks later, I was mugged yet again in the darkness. This time they stole my expensive Polo and Top Siders combo.
I felt disoriented. How could this happen twice?
I started running down the street looking for some sort of lit area or a distinguished sidewalk to feel safer.
But there was none.
Finally, I saw a group of football players walking down the street. “Excuse me! Help!” I shouted, only to have my face meet the foot of Jordan Jefferson.
An hour later, I was home — beaten and half-naked, lucky to be alive.
OK, you guessed it. Not much of that story was true. I don’t own anything Polo or a pair of Top Siders, and I wasn’t confronted three times on my way down Alvin Dark. However, I did complete the journey from Brightside Drive to Tigerland twice with a group of friends.
Prior to these pilgrimages, I had heard the area behind Tigerland was not a particularly nice place to be at night, and once I made the journey, I understood.
First, there are few streetlights illuminating the street and sidewalks, leaving numerous nearly pitch-black pockets where people can hide.
Also, a distinguished sidewalk only exists a few blocks from Tigerland and a few from Brightside. The existing sidewalks are so cracked and overgrown with plants that you have to walk in the street, which is not a problem because all the people who drove to Tigerland found a designated driver.
I asked a couple students how they felt about safety in the area.
Josh Decareaux, a criminology freshman who lives near Tigerland, said he doesn’t even feel safe driving through the area at night, much less walking.
“I don’t even like to drive my car back there,” he said.
Mason Montney, a kinesiology junior who recently moved to a neighborhood off of Alvin Dark also felt a safety concern.
“It’s not very good to have to walk down a street with no sidewalks or streetlights,” he said.
In a prime example of the lack of safety in the area, a University alumnus was shot in the stomach in November 2010 while trying to prevent a robbery on Earl Gros Avenue — one street away from Alvin Dark Avenue.
This area shouldn’t be so dangerous. Something needs to be done to make it safer for the residents and students living in the area.
One solution is to call on the city to improve the whole area, installing more streetlights and fixing the sidewalks.
Another simple resolution to the problem would be to reduce the number of police officers hanging out on the median in Tigerland and have more of them patrol the surrounding neighborhoods. Writing MIPs to drunk students preparing to ride Tiger Trails back to campus makes some money, but doesn’t make the area safer.
Kinesiology senior Evan Riley summed up the entire situation well.
“[Alvin Dark] is such a convenient way for us to get to Tigerland and since it’s not safe to walk, some people may choose to drink and drive,” Riley said. “It needs to become more acceptable so students can go through the area