"It's busy": U of M classes begin with excitement, safety at top of mind
MINNEAPOLIS -- It's back to the books for tens of thousands of students at the University of Minnesota. Classes started Tuesday which brought lots of excitement, but also some concern of rising crime near the Twin Cities campus.
The university is welcoming its most-diverse and second-largest freshman class in 55 years, it said.
"I'm an Air Force Veteran, 27 years old, so just seeing everyone's faces again is really nice," Brian Colon said.
"I feel like it's busy. Which is nice since COVID. Our first year was all online so it's nice to see everybody back on campus," Nadia Wadi said.
The return of students means a vital boost for Dinkytown businesses, like Tony's Diner.
"This last weekend, with move-in day and first football game, it was the best weekend we've had in three years," owner Tony Nicklow said.
But with crime near campus up, some students said they are concerned about their safety.
"I got notifications to my phone about that and emails and texts and it was very frustrating, very worrisome," Colon said.
The university said it's taking a "comprehensive layered approach to safety." Some new initiatives underway include steel plates to curb street racing, additional lighting, cameras and blue light kiosks and hiring more police and community safety officers to an already short-staffed department.
"I'm glad to hear the university is stepping it up; we need it. There's a lot more people around here with all the apartments going up, so keeping this place safe is critical for everyone," Nicklow said.
As of two weeks ago, the University of Minnesota Police Department had 51 officers but could have up to 71 next year. Ten additional community service officers positions were also recently posted.