Greetings From South Oakland

I am planning on keeping my blog up after this semester. However, I wanted to conclude with one last note: People have the power to do as they please. If one wants to do something whole-heartedly, they will do it. To fix Oakland is in fact a large effort on all of our parts.

We need to do what is best for our city. 

Thank you for reading. Let me know if you have any suggestions! Have a wonderful holiday and a happy new year!

I just read recently that fixing up Oakland has been in the works for some time now… well three years to be exact. On the City Council’s website, it showed that Oakland has been a project in the making. But why hasn’t anyone seen improvements? Why are houses falling apart everyday? Why is it that we hear so much about crimes and so little about how to remain safe?

It is one thing to make the initiative and tell people that Oakland is an area that we are going to improve upon. But to do this, is something that people have been putting off for THREE YEARS! I want to know why?

I know that this whole scenario goes along with “it is easier said than done,” but c’mon! This is our home and part of a wonderful city. It is bothersome to see people NOT doing anything about this.

You would think that the City Council would care more… ?

Last weekend, a man named Michael Ross, owner CM&M Fashion store, was shot and killed in his own store. The two young men that were the victims were actually trying to shoplift, but got caught. Ross, trying to stop the two guys, let some shots be heard. One of the boys was injured, while the other boy then shot Ross and is now in prison.

Crazy stuff… Although this horrible incident occurred in the Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood, it is possible that events similar to this one could occur in Oakland or anywhere for that matter. Is there a way that crime can slowly fade or will it always remain a challenge for people, in which they need to pray in order to stay clear from? The answer to that is up in the air. I do not think it is possible to get rid of crime, as hard as one may try. That is why people have to come up with their own personal ideas and strategies to avoid being in these occurrences overtime.

Being a college student, learning information that relates to real life is unstoppable. It always interested me that my classes were intertwined with each other, providing solid lessons as to how to live in the real world. 

For my Small Group Communication class, we were asked to come up with a concern or a proposal in which we were to present in front of the class. Since this was a brainstorming exercise, we had to gather numerous ideas from the class. 

And guess what my topic was? ADDING MORE BLUE LIGHTS. I told the class why I wanted more blue lights and most of them agreed, given the fact that they too, are students of Oakland. I explained to my class how I already went to the Pitt Police for their input, as well as how they told me to talk to the City Council. I wanted to hear ideas that other people came up with to gain the confidence to talk to the Council members and help win this case. There were many great ideas. Some of them included:

1. Petition Signing

• Having a party to raise this issue to residents in Oakland as well as other students who attend colleges in the surrounding area.
• Have people stand at certain corners of Oakland and of Pitt talking to people about it.
• Bring the petition to the Union or the Quad to get people to sign.
• E-mail people, Call people.

It was around 8:30 last Thursday night that I was at the corner by my house, waiting for the shuttle to take me to campus. Here I am, by myself, in the dark. No biggie, right? Okay, well that is what I thought until I head five gunshots. I became startled and tried numerous ways to calm myself down. I thought to myself, “This is nothing. It was probably people hunting.” Ridiculous, I know, but it was better to think there were hunters shooting than real people in real situations. It was soon after that I saw a man speeding down my street, looking for any people or witnesses that were out. Again, I attempted not to think anything of it because accusing people or incidents is not morally correct. The bus was now late and I just wanted to get to campus/have nothing to deal with this situation/pretend this was not happening by my house. However, there were other forms of transportation coming up my street, going towards the areas in which the gunshots were heard. These vehicles consisted of six police cars, three ambulances, and one rescue squad. I was in over my head that all of this happened within a period of ten minutes. Being a girl who has lived in the suburbs all of her life, never hearing a gunshot that resulted in sirens, was a big deal to me. In fact, I slept at my friend’s house that night, frightened.

Moreover, I read in the paper that there were people stabbed at our on-campus, friendly bar, Hemingway’s this past Saturday night/early Sunday morning. I spent the night in Sewickley, but had I been in Oakland, my friends and I would probably do our round-about of all the Oakland bars, including Hem’s. (Gosh, we are too cool.) 

Those two incidents = scary stuff. These are events that college students should not come in contact with. I feel like there would be less amount of crime if we had more blue lights throughout the streets of Oakland up past the Boulevard of the Allies. I think that if Pitt shuttles run through certain areas, that blue lights affiliated with the university should be located there too. 

With this thought in mind plus the incidents that had happened that swayed me into doing something about it, I decided to talk with one of the police officers located in the University of Pittsburgh’s Public Health and Safety, where the Pitt Police are located. I talked to a nice, opinionated officer named Juan Polanco. Polanco, a resident of Shadyside and an alum from Pitt was happy to help. He said, “I have been here to see it all… All of the houses that fall apart and the increase in crime. It’s sad.” I could not agree more. I mentioned to him my idea about adding more blue lights. His eyes lit up and responded, “That is a wonderful idea and we would put more up in a heartbeat. However, that is not university-owned property, it is city-owned. You would have to take this issue to the city council. I hate to tell you this, but it is impossible for you to do this on your own.” He mentioned that I might want to bring this topic up to some student-affiliated groups that could help win this battle and that I might want to make a petition to have facts and many opinions to win this case. Moreover, he said I was the first person to bring this topic up, and I should follow it. He encouraged me to make this all happen. I am going to stay in touch with him because he gave me a lot of inspiration and hope. He also said that if I do decide to keep up with this, that he will contact the Pitt Police’s PR coordinator to help and guide me. I have all my facts, now I have to run with it.

I am not doing this for my project anymore. (Well, I am.) I am doing this for myself, as well as other residents of Oakland. Although many people do not come out and say all of this, I know that they want Oakland to be a better place. What are we all waiting for? Oakland needs our help!! If those incidents mentioned above did not strike people, what will?

Now THAT is a REALLY scary thought. 

On Saturday morning, about ten people gathered at a small park on Lawn Street/Ophelia Street. We were handed gloves and trash bags in order to clean up in a sanitary manner. I know cleaning is not one of the more “exciting” tasks to perform, but for some reason, I felt a sudden rush of excitement. I thought about it for a while. I think that the main reason why I felt this way was because I was not complaining about how dirty Oakland can be, and how unsafe it can be too, but I was actually doing something to better it. I think that that fact was enough to want to pick up every bit of trash there was lying around. I talked to some of the people that I was with and they all confessed that in cleaning up Oakland, they felt much better about themselves. 

Maybe if everyone did their part, a little each day to make Oakland cleaner and safe, eventually it can become a more livable place to be. 

The other day, I had an interview with a nice, young fellow named Justin, the President of Circle K. Circle K is a national community service organization, which is located on campus. The group meets every Tuesday night at 10 p.m. Many of their projects include bringing dinner to families staying in The Family House, playing BINGO with the children battling with cancer over at the Children’s Hospital, and most importantly- cleaning up Oakland.

Considering that is “right up my alley,” I decided to do more research on the programs that Circle K provides. There is a program called KICO (aka: Keeping It Clean Oakland) in which participants clean up the streets of our college town and make it look like there was not a party there the previous night! Moreover, the city of Oakland has established a new program called “Adopt-A-Block.” This service designates certain student groups (As well as fraternities and sororities) to different areas in Oakland in which they are to clean and beautify it.

Circle K meets every FIRST Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. The area in Oakland that Circle K is entitled to is a small park on Lawn St., which is perpendicular to Ophelia St.

I got special permission from Justin to attend Saturday’s event. I am excited to see what Adopt-A-Block is all about! It sounds like a wonderful concept and I cannot wait to see the results!

I will report back after my findings… Stay tuned.

–If impatient and cannot wait for MY findings, visit Circle K’s website: http://www.pitt.edu/~sorc/circlek/

I was wandering the streets of South Oakland this past Saturday night with my boyfriend who was visiting from “nothing-out-of-the-ordinary-happens” Penn State. We were walking down McKee Street and my boyfriend was staring at the pavement. I did a double-take before I asked him what was wrong. He then shouted out loud, “The streets are so dark!” 

It was right then and there that I realized it myself. Later that night, my friends had admitted that as well. How come I never picked up on that? I know at my house in the suburbs of Bucks County, PA that my neighborhood is full of street lights. There lies one at almost every single house.

True, South Oakland is an older town, I get that. However, I wonder how much money it would cost to put up more street lights. Even if there were just a couple more on every street in Oakland, it would still be highly beneficial. 

No more walking down dark streets, there would not be as much “shady” business, and of course there would be no more worries from my boyfriend (Who is not here to walk me around at night!) 

Two Sunday nights ago, I was taking the shuttle back to my house from the library around 10:30 pm. There were three people on the bus: the busdriver, another girl with a heavy-duty suitcase, and myself. The driver made sure to stop at every stop in which he was supposed to. Impressive, I know.

We were on the other side of the Boulevard, when the girl on the bus asked to stop at a certain street. Now keep in mind that this was not a stop that was “technically” on the schedule. The driver sighed in annoyance as if he were the one who had to walk far with her 20-pound suitcase. However, points for the busdriver- he did let her off.  Unfortunately, he could not just let this situation go: mean sighs and all. No no, instead he had to proclaim to her that this stop was not on the schedule and to never ask again. It really boggles my mind because this innocent girl’s stop was on the same route and there were no other people on the bus. The rude driver decided that his mean comment just HAD to be said.

I thought the bus driver was extremely inconsiderate. It was dark, not to mention, we were in a not-so-great part of town. Not only did the driver make this girl feel as if she could never ask a single question again, but it made me think. Are campus “safety” resources really out for us: making sure we get home or are they just doing their job so they can receive a paycheck that equals a pile of bull and laziness? I am curious. But moreover, I am thoroughly disgusted. 

It may be a sensational idea to interview the PITT shuttles and services because I am interested in how far these safety resources will go for the residents (college students) in South Oakland.

Welcome to South Oakland! Home of the University of Pittsburgh’s students, noise, dirt, and drunkenness. All of college I have lived in a place in which I felt safe. Some people may call that being “sheltered” and maybe I was. It was not until a month ago that I moved into the dirty South. I moved into a house on Juliet Street that I was (and still am) in love with. The first few days I was hysterical. I felt comfortable in my surroundings, yet was terrified to step one foot outside. The reasons being:

a. I was far from campus

b. I lived on the edge/other side of the Boulevard of the Allies… need I say more?

and c. It was upsetting to know that I couldn’t leave my friend’s house at night without it being a hassle as to not walking back home alone… finding other means of transportation.

So here I am upset about my living situation, brainstorming ideas as to what I should do next semester: should I study abroad? Apply for on-campus housing? Live in the infamous Tower C? All these ideas were shooting out of my head like rapid fire. All for what? So I would not have to live in South Oakland.

I want to bring this topic up to other people who reside in South Oakland because maybe if we all try, just a little each day, maybe one day we all can make our college town a better place to reside. Being in an area in which people claim to be a “ghetto” is not really an ideal place to live. Moreover, I am focusing my attention to the female residents of South Oakland. Being a lady in this area, I do not want to sit there and cry about my living situation (like I did within the first month of living here.) I believe it is time to go forth in my thoughts and make some important, assertive actions in making South Oakland a better, more safe place. 

Within the next couple of months, I will begin thinking about ways in which we can improve this old (sad) town. A little happy thoughts and a forceful drive for improvement will eventually lead to this goal.