On January 31 at 12:31 pm, Parker students were greeted with an email from Upper School Dean of Student life Christian Bielizna. This wasn’t Bielizna’s typical notification about a summer program or rock-candy availability– instead, he shared a more ominous message: “Recent robberies in the area were reported to Parker,” the email read.

Bielizna was referring to a series of robberies and crimes that occured the week of January 30th. These included a robbery on Webster in which a purse was taken from a car, and although the victim was not affiliated with Parker, the incident was reported by a Parker parent. Additionally, on Lincoln Park West, a car was stripped of its tires, and there was a break in to a vehicle on Belden. The exact dates and times of the various incidents are not known, but they were all reported to Parker on the 30th.

When she learned about the incidents, Assistant Principal Ruth Jurgensen made sure to communicate with the administration. “I immediately emailed Mr. Brandon and Mr. Bielizna, saying he should let upper school students know — they’re walking around in and out of Parker all the time, ” she said. “What we know is this: there seems to be an uptick in activity around the school, in Lincoln Park specifically.”

In addition to the events on Webster, Lincoln Park West, and Belden, Bielizna mentioned two separate events. “People were approached on the street and there were face-to-face interactions,” Bielizna said. “I don’t know the particular details.” Bielizna said that these events occurred within 24 hours of the robbery on Webster. Although Bielizna said that the initial incidents seem to be unrelated each other, “the personal robbery attempts may have been connected,” he said.

The robbery on Webster, which Jurgensen said occured around 5 o’clock in the afternoon on the 30th, was immediately reported to the police. The victim was not affiliated with Parker. However, the police do not know as of now who was responsible for those incidents. “We have a lot of faculty and staff who are here late, we have lessons going on, games going on, and we have teachers who are writing grades and comments and reports,” Jurgensen said. “They’re here late. We want to make sure that everyone is more aware of their surroundings when walking to their car. You don’t think at 5 o’clock that you have to worry about anything.”

Parker has heard from city officials. “I contacted the Alderman right away,” Jurgensen said. “She said she was calling the commissioner right away, and requested more patrols around the school and the Lincoln Park area.”

Jurgensen mentioned another incident that happened on the morning of February 6, in the lot on Webster. “A panhandler approached a car in our lot where a teacher was parking, and asked for money. He didn’t get any money, and he proceeded to urinate in the lot,” said Jurgensen.“This is the type of thing I certainly haven’t seen in my time here. Principal Dan Frank said it’s reminiscent of the neighborhood 30 years ago.”

“I can only imagine it has something to do with the weather,” said Jurgenson, on a possible reason for the uptick in in crime. “There’s a lot of systemic issues in the city of Chicago, that aren’t being addressed clearly. I’m not in those rooms, but just like in every major city, we have levels of violence and crime. We have a larger population, so statistically, it’s more likely that more crimes are committed.”

Senior Olivia Levine was happy that Parker had let her know. “I think it’s great that the school reached out to us to let us know about crime in the area,” she said. “It makes us more aware.”

In light of these events, Jurgensen offered some words of caution to Parker students heading outside of the building. “Do not walk with your headphones on,” she said. “Don’t do it. Don’t carry your valuables with you, just in case.” Bielizna pointed out that these incidents coincided with the freshmen’s new permission to scan in and out of the building. “We want students to be mindful,” he said, “staying in groups, staying on main streets.” He also wanted to remind the Parker community of the key numbers to contact in case of an issue, including security (773-797-5300) and Parker’s main number (773-353-3000).