So we all know that Penn students stick out in West Philly, but does that mean we deserve to be the victims of crime?

Crime has increased on the northern outskirts of campus, and, according to Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker, Penn students are to blame.

The increase in students living north of campus has created “more opportunities for criminals,” he stated in a DP article yesterday.

“Students are out there later at night in places they haven’t been in the past,” Walker commented.

After the shooting early Sunday morning at 38th and Chestnut, the fourth incident involving gunfire on the north side of campus, I’ll be surprised if HamCo leases won’t be a little easier to obtain in the coming year.

It seems odd that the University hasn’t pledged to increase patrolling in the northern parts of campus in response to the increase of crime. Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush, in the same article, states only that “deployment is very heavy in the center of campus,” conspicuously not reassuring students that patrols would be re-evaluated.

It seems only logical that local bars and nightclubs should be a regular part of the Penn Police patrol. Students frequent these establishments and frankly, they’re the most predictable places for violence to break out. Booze, anger and guns have historically added up to bar fights and violent outbreaks, our campus is no different.

So why don’t I see more police lurking outside of Blarney’s, Koko Bongo and Cavanaugh’s? These places practically leak easy crime “opportunities” onto empty streets at all hours of the night. Drunk girls in heels with expensive handbags? Might as well be a bullseye.

I hope the University sees this shooting as a wake-up call… or a fourth one… because with our impending take-over of the postal lands, our security force had better learn to adapt quickly. I doubt President Gutmann wants to be “Making History” with our campus crime rates. The future site of “Penn Park” could easily become a prowling ground for criminals without proper security. It already looks scary enough.

What to do now? I’ll probably start carrying pepper spray, but I’ll also remember to use 898-RIDE and 898-WALK more frequently, because you’re better safe than dead.

Tags: security

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 1:13 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.