<p>...which is exactly where my son and many others live. Also, where Penn kids are likely to be outside/coming home at 2am. I'm still not thrilled with the overall safety of the place. Sorry.</p>
<p>There are gunshots everywhere. I am not sure if it is the same in the Penn area, but I am sure it is a one time thing. Just like the shooting at Harvard was a one time thing, and probably will never happen again.</p>
<p>my niece lives nearby and has for several years. There have been some incidents
but overall if you stay east of 45th and south of walnut you should be ok. I lived
in the same area in 1973 and there was virtually no security in those days. Now
I see tons of Penn security guys all over. Kids learn pretty quickly to lock doors
and windows behind them and other inner city proceedures. BTW, this weekend
a Temple student was shot just off campus. It’s a lot more dangerous there - the
whole place is lit up 24/7 like some scene out of Apolcalyse Now</p>
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<p>university city is not especially dangerous, but this isn’t a one time thing. the philly police get thousands of gunshot calls every year. there were 333 homicides in 2008. boston had 63. cambridge has on average 2 a year.</p>
<p>Philadelphia is no different than any other major city in that regard. However, safety is not something I really worry about on campus. University City? You’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I hear gunshots a few times a month where I live and very rarely does anyone even get hit, and if they do, very few even get bad injuries. Random gunshots aren’t really something to be too freaked out about, however goons rolling around shooting at penn students is, which is definitely not happening.</p>
<p>We need to get rid of that McDonalds.</p>
<p>Well, my point is it is not that often that there are gunshots near universities. Usually they are pretty safe areas.</p>
<p>That McDonald’s is bad news…no dollar menu after 11:00 pm!!! That’s enough reason right there.</p>
<p>I thought Penn students were boycotting that McDonalds.</p>
<p>The McDonalds changed some of their business practices (they stopped being *******s to penn students) so the students were pretty happy. It’s a still a dangerous place though</p>
<p>I remember when the girl got hit with a stray bullet near 7-11 back in my freshman year. I met her about a year later. We were sitting in class one day, and this other guy is just joking around, not knowing who she is, and makes some comment about popping a cap in her ass. She goes “someone already did!” and stands up, yanks up her shorts, and shows us the bullethole scar in her butt.</p>
<p>u have 2 be street smart- not b/c it’s a city, but b/c it’s 2 a.m., no matter where u r, u have to be street smart. it’s just common sense. if u want to party, u should live in a frat/sorority, so that u can stay there. otherwise, don’t be stupid and don’t go out at weird times</p>
<p>I hate to tell you, but 2am is NOT a weird time for a college kid to be coming home.</p>
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<p>Ummm it’s nowhere near that bad here…</p>
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She talked at my NSO about public safety. We need to buy up the McDonald’s and the strip club. If Gutman is raising tuition a few thousand a year buy those properties and turn them into a Starbucks and a book store.</p>
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The best times freshman year were walking back to my dorm at sunrise seeing people jogging. 6am FTW.</p>
<p>"The best times freshman year were walking back to my dorm at sunrise seeing people jogging. 6am FTW. "</p>
<p>Ditto, no other experience like it!</p>
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<p>Penn tried to get rid of the McDonalds. The management, being quite smart, tapped into the local anti-Penn “the university is destroying/gentrifying the community” (thats right because mcdonalds is the community). Penn had to back off.</p>
<p>momofwildchild- of course those are normal hours for the typical partying college student- but in the real world, 2 a.m., 3 a.m… are weird hours, hours in which crime is everywhere. so while college students try to ignore that fact, they still remain weird.
it’s a personal choice of whether u want 2 just forget about the outside world. i personally wouldn’t, but if yr son wants to, as most college students do, then he shouldn’t be so alarmed about hearing gun shots or what not at hours, that for non-college students are, in fact, dangerous.</p>
<p>MomofWildChild, lots of stuff happens at 40th and Walnut. For a student it’s important to know that, especially if you live there. I really hope your son wasn’t surprised to hear about the shooting. Yes, it’s alarming and somewhat frightening, but not surprising. If it occurred at the compass, on the other hand, I would be much more scared.</p>
<p>Also, I feel the need to repeat this for emphasis:
That one really gets to me. :(</p>
<p>theoneo- My son is a rising senior. Nothing surprises him and he has been the victim of non-violent crime while at Penn. Sorry- but it is alarming and not what a parent wants to hear. 40th and Walnut/Radian is, essentially, campus.</p>