<p>What do you like? What don't you like? Areas where you feel safe? Areas where you feel your safety is at risk?</p>
<p>also, do you guys ever close school for snow at penn?
sorry to hijack your thread, just didn’t want to spam and make another one.</p>
<p>Well the area between 40th and 42nd, Baltimore/Pine-ish to Sansom is basically an extension of campus since it’s practically ALL students living there. The bars and nightlife are great. As you go southwest of campus between Baltimore and Locust, you’re in the Spruce Hill neighborhood, and there are plenty of restaurants, bars, delis, etc. Personally I don’t really feel safe west of 40th on Market Street, but that is relatively standard… plus there really isn’t much around there that students would be interested in. Center City is awesome… culture, nightlife, shopping, etc. South Philly is a gem that most Penn students never get to experience. The Italian Market is a Philadelphia staple! Plus the sporting events at the Sports Complex way down at Broad and Pattison is THE place to be for Philly sporting events.</p>
<p>As for snow at Penn, we have had two snow days in my four years. Both were last year, and they were after we got a 6" snow that preceded a 22" snow that preceded another 20" snow. By the time we had four feet of snow on the ground, Penn realized it couldn’t handle things, so they closed school for two days (one because it was a freakin’ blizzard all day and the next because they needed to clean up, and it was a Friday anyway so it wasn’t a big deal). This year, they did not close school for the 14" snowstorm we got, but they also didn’t really do a spectacular job cleaning up, so the moral of the story is to bring boots. haha</p>
<p>My son attended Penn 2006-10. It is a very urban campus. The campus itself is semi-bubble, meaning, it is well enclosed although there is no compound wall or anything like that around it.</p>
<p>There is nice park that you walk to when the weather is decent. </p>
<p>The campus and buildings are very nice. When you walk along the Locust walk, if you look around at all the buildings (some with the green copper tops) and the activities of student organizations along the walk, you will really feel that you are in a oxford-like campus. It gives the feel of a really great university.</p>
<p>It would be a privelage for anyone lucky enough to get into Penn.</p>
<p>College Hall across from the main library is said to be the first building on campus - the original structure was built over 2 centuries ago. In the waiting hall of College Hill, you will find copies of year books from over 100+ years ago. I noticed that in those year books, they have hand-drawn pictures of students. Then it occured to me that when those year books were published, photography didn’t exist.</p>
<p>Penn is a very reputed school with one of the best recruiting scenes anywhere in the world. Wharton draws many companies to campus (not just the wall street financial empires, but top companies - the likes of Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble etc etc). Although drawn by Wharton, they end up hiring a lot of CAS majors as well.</p>
<p>Are there enough campus police around to keep the area very safe? How about walking around campus in the dark?</p>
<p>Campus is never dark… it’s so well lit, it’s ridiculous. Also, Penn’s police force is a civil police force with power of arrest anywhere in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the largest private police force in the Commonwealth, and only the six cities have larger police forces than Penn (i.e. Penn’s police force is bigger than the vast majority of municipal police forces in Pennsylvania). </p>
<p>Penn’s near-off campus area is protected by Penn Police, Philadelphia Police, Penn security and University City security. You can’t go anywhere at night without seeing at LEAST a security guard present, and they do an excellent job of protecting students from any potential threats. The Penn Police patrol zone is bounded by the Schuylkill River to the East, Market Street to the North, 43rd Street to the West and Baltimore Avenue to the South, but I have actually seen Penn police officers patrolling as far west as 47th Street.</p>
<p>You also have the option of using 898-WALK if you would like a security escort. Actually, just the other night, a security officer asked me if I needed any assistance getting home (I am a 6’4" male, but I was walking with a noticeable limp after receiving a cortisone shot in my foot earlier that day).</p>
<p>It is never dark. There are always people walking in around penn campus unless you wander off to alley ways outside teh campus. Returning to dorm/apartment late night? Call for escort. Returning from a bar/nighclub? Walk in groups. You really have to go out of your way to get mugged or harmed.</p>
<p>Until 10 or 11 PM the area is very vibrant with lot of pedestrians. </p>
<p>There were reports that a student or two were murdered some years ago. Such occurences happen once in a while even in quiet suburbs anywheer in America or in any part of the world.</p>
<p>Penn is a very safe campus. And it is a very beutiful and stately campus.</p>
<p>Why are there so many police and security people on campus? Is that area of Philly sketchy without them around?</p>
<p>We are part of an urban city, one of the biggest in the United States. So yes, things would happen without a police force. The Fresh Prince of Bellaire didn’t move out of West Philadelphia because he didn’t like the restaurant options.</p>
<p>You just need to use common sense/street smarts and most likely you will be fine. West Philly is actually pretty safe compared to some other places (I hear north Philly has some pretty rough areas), but again it depends on where you are. I personally walk down to 46th street (for a program I’m in) by myself in the afternoon quite frequently and I’ve always felt safe. You just need to pay attention to your surroundings. You are in a city.</p>
<p>hahahaha fighting quaker i love your posts. “The Fresh Prince of Bellaire didn’t move out of West Philadelphia because he didn’t like the restaurant options”</p>