In my early years at UWM, I mistakenly labeled Riverwest as a neighborhood that should be avoided as much as possible. Looking back upon those years, I feel both foolish and embarrassed over my perceptions of the area at the time.

To many people, the area of Riverwest is almost as foreign as a completely different city would be. Many East-Siders at UWM are fairly unfamiliar with the area, especially the younger students here. I can say this with near-certainty because I was once one of those younger, uninformed students.

Admittedly, when I was a freshman I was a bit naive about the UWM neighborhood. As a Madison-area native, I didn’t know what to expect in “big-bad” Milwaukee. So I tried my hardest to go out in groups with friends to unexplored areas, rather than venture into them by myself.

One thing I do recall about those early years was the advice given to me by my resident assistant at the time: “Don’t ever cross the river; that’s where all the crime is.”

This advice resonated within my college career for another year or so, but it was unwarranted advice. While it came from good intentions, I was unaware it was falsely labeling the area over the bridge that I knew very little about. It was only a matter of time before my peers began renting houses, and renting them in the neighborhoods that harbored “all the crime.”

Fearing for my life, I encouraged those friends more often than not to come visit me on the East Side rather than venturing across the river myself. But eventually, I had to go over. What I found was not, however, a crime-ridden area, but rather an exciting new neighborhood, filled with interesting cafés, bars and other establishments as well as equally interesting people.

While I was still an East-Sider, the area of Riverwest became a new world of opportunity for me. Still naive, but becoming more accustomed to the area, I even began to venture out on my own, especially after I turned 21, within the area. I began to notice the crime wasn’t so bad “over there.” In fact, in recent months I’ve been more afraid of the east side of the river than the west of it!

In my early years at UWM, I mistakenly labeled Riverwest as a neighborhood that should be avoided as much as possible. Looking back upon those years, I feel both foolish and embarrassed over my perceptions of the area at the time. While it is not entirely without crime, it is not the criminal haven my former R.A. made it out to be.

The stigma I placed upon the area could have hurt my chance to have a great collegiate experience – an experience that included many great times in the Riverwest neighborhood. Since then, I have grown to learn that to have a true perception of neighborhoods, in any city, you must experience them for yourself. I have since been a regular patron of many establishments in Riverwest, having even been employed at one of the local bars there for a short time.

Do yourself a favor; if you are an East-Sider and still consider the neighborhood across the river “dicey,” go over for yourself with a couple of friends and experience the good times Riverwest has to offer. You won’t be disappointed.

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