When I first arrived at UW-Madison my freshman year, home was the Chicago suburb where I grew up and Madison was where I went to school. As time progressed, Madison became my home and the Chicago suburbs were where I grew up. Home is where I am comfortable, happy and safe, but this year when I returned to school, I was not safe.

When asked about the recent violence issue in downtown Madison, as any loyal Madisonian would answer, I reply, "It's not that bad." I tell them what they want to hear: that I never walk alone, use SafeWalk and am always fully aware of my surroundings. For the most part, my statements are true — I try not to walk alone, but am I really going to make two other people walk to come get me from the library at 2 a.m.? Am I supposed to stop ordering pizza because two of four suspects were employed at pizza restaurants?

Reading stories about a girl being beaten up in the stairs of her apartment complex on Langdon street and then another being sexually assaulted behind Ian's with little to no improvement of police patrol was infuriating. As groups of us shuffled to State Street, so as not to be caught alone — only to find the Madison police in mass quantities on State Street — we were disheartened. They tell us what to do yet fail to provide action themselves, until last week.

Home felt increasingly safer the past two weeks with officers patrolling neighborhoods by car and by foot. It is refreshing to see that there are as many police cars parked on Langdon as there are outside of Monday's. It is even better to know that the suspect from the attack on Langdon Street and the three suspects from the University Avenue sexual assault are all attending court this week.

Last Thursday, Mario Amaya, an Ian's Pizza employee, was the first suspect arrested for the Sept. 4 sexual assault of a young woman on the 500 block of University Avenue.

On Friday, the Madison Police Department identified Marcus Bonner of Madison and Anthony Feda of Waukesha as suspects in the case as well.

In addition to the capture of these men in the University Avenue sexual assault, police charged Madison resident Paul Curtis Aud Thursday with attempted second-degree sexual assault and battery for crimes allegedly committed on Aug. 23 on the 100 block of Langdon Street. Mr. Aud was a downtown resident formerly employed as a delivery man for Toppers Pizza.

I applaud the work of Alds. Mike Verveer and Austin King for taking these threats seriously and responding with action via MPD. Mr. Verveer previously commented in an interview with The Badger Herald: "We have among the absolute best sensitive-crimes detectives working [on] this horrendous crime." He continued, "One thing I'm sure a lot of students and others don't realize is that … this is, luckily, an unusual and isolated incidence."

MPD has made their presence known, which not only deters criminals but also makes all students feel safer. The bar raids have not gone down, but assaults have. The Madison Police Department has finally found a balance between sifting through underagers while keeping them safe at the same time. Their challenge is to continue their patrolling off State Street and maintain a high level of safety. While it is always discouraged for students to walk home alone at night, they can rest easier knowing the recent assailants are not on the streets.

Welcome back to the Madison that we all idealize, and better yet, welcome home.

Joelle Parks ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and Spanish.