<p>Part of a wider trend in Philly, which has had 140+ murders (more than NYC, which is 8 times larger!) so far this year?</p>
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<p>One of the other two suspects was apprehended at about 12:15 a.m. when he entered the Penn Police headquarters, located at 4040 Chestnut St., looking for his sister, the juvenile arrested earlier.
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<p>Smart are we?</p>
<p>Is the Penn campus really unsafe? I'm sort of concerned, because I'd heard it had gotten much better...</p>
<p>the whole thread topic absolutely sensationalizes this story. she wasn't "beaten up," she was pushed to the ground. conveniently, the OP doesn't mention that this crime was committed by juvenilles. honestly, its nothing more than a distraction-=>snatch purse--->run robbery. it doesn't take a genius to realize that connecting this small theft to the overall murder rate in philly is pretty foolish.</p>
<p>I think it is part of a wider trend, such as the sophomore who was shot a few months ago on the campus. There is an extremely high poverty rate and over 400 murders per year, but the city and University is doing nothing about it except for subsidizing very expensive condominiums for the ultra-rich in the downtown area. Meanwhile, the rest of the city has 60,000 empty lots growing weeds, by far the highest rate per capita in the U.S. and more than the entire rest of the East Coast. It's sad to see a once-great city be like that.</p>
<p>she wasn't beaten up.</p>
<p>She was just pushed to the ground...</p>
<p>How is Philly a "once-great" city?</p>
<p>There's plenty of great things about this city. Take a look at a website like phillyskyline.com, which shows how many new projects are blooming. Just because some people decide to kill each other in isolated neighborhoods, which every city has, doesn't make this place unlivable. That's not to say that there isn't a problem which needs to be addressed, but the media is killing the city's image right now.</p>
<p>For some reason (rejection, perhaps?) posterX finds the violent acts around Penn comparable to situations such as..the genocide in Rwanda, the war in Iraq, etc. But REALLY GUYS! 140 murders in a major U.S. city! Can you believe it? What is this world coming to?</p>
<p>actually, i think 140 murders a year is quite a lot....</p>
<p>It's over 140 just so far this year. Over 400 total last year and on track to be higher than that this year.</p>
<p>I agree, but most of the incidents are isolated in certain neighborhoods and over things such as drugs. The murders are definitely a problem, but there's little that can be done to stop them immediately. I just think it's ridiculous to make such a big deal of this when there are many more pressing concerns.</p>
<p>I think it is smart to make a big deal out of it. The violence IS increasing, despite huge efforts on the part of campus and Philadelphia police. I grew up in the Philadelphia area, so don't accuse me of being a wimp about city violence. Many of these violent crimes occurred in the immediate campus area. This latest one was ON campus and is very disturbing to me since it was NOT late at night and it involved a family- could have been any of us. It is easy to dismiss many of the attacks- "well, if you are on 40th Street at 3am, what do you expect?" This one hits too close to home. My conclusion is that this is not a safe area and one is advised to be always on guard. Sorry to say this, but I really believe it's true. I had absolutely no illusions that my son was careful on and around campus. In fact, it was a little concerning to me that a Penn security guard advised him to carry a gun for protection!</p>
<p>Momofwildchild,</p>
<p>Give it a rest already! Your motives are pretty transparent. You constantly post bashing Penn to rationalize your son's transfer decision (no different than Dulce Luce sour grapes posts after getting rejected). Don't you realize that most of us love it here? We find most (OK, not all) of our classes & classmates interesting & stimulating, campus security more than adequate and love having a great city as the backdrop to our time here. I am counting the days until I can return in August!!</p>
<p>Penn is located in a city the does have a lot of crime including homicide. No one will dispute this. Out of all the murders last year 2 occurred "on" campus and neither of the victims were affiliated with the University. I definitely agree that we must attack the root problems of crime (poverty, education, etc.), but I am not exactly sure how Penn is somehow responsible for doing this. I disagree with posterX's blatant ignorance with his comment that the University is "doing nothing about it except for subsidizing very expensive condominiums for the ultra-rich in the downtown area." Please see this link for some information about some of the things the University is doing to help the city: <a href="http://www.upenn.edu/compact/locally.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.upenn.edu/compact/locally.html</a>. In addition, Penn has a strong sense of civic duty and many student organizations contribute as well to Philadelphia. They do things like mentor kids in West Philly, tutor and provide music lessons for students at schools, run a youth basketball league for kids in Philadelphia, Hillel runs a soup kitchen, and the list goes on. Penn students are very concerned about the murder rate and what happens in Philadelphia, but we knew what we were signing up for. I love Penn and I have found that the security is great and I have never felt unsafe on campus. The Penn Police are very good. Notice that in neither of the incidents mentioned in OP's article were the criminals able to flee campus. MomofWildChild is right in that it could happen to any of us. We know that we go to school in a big city and there is crime, but knowing that gives us the vigilance that we need to stay safe.</p>
<p>An article from the DP about the murder count in 2006:
<a href="http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2007/01/23/News/In.A-Year.Of.Violence.Penns.An.island.Of.Safety-2668599.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2007/01/23/News/In.A-Year.Of.Violence.Penns.An.island.Of.Safety-2668599.shtml</a>)</p>
<p>Let's not forget that crime is also a huge issue at stake in today's mayoral election, and all of the candidates are running on very tough anti-crime platforms. We'll see how the plans actually pan out, but I think the candidates know people want something to be done about crime and will make a stronger effort than Street to combat it.</p>
<p>quaker- don't display your ignorance. I was thrilled with my son's choice of Penn and I wish he was staying! I realize it is wonderful for many students, but there are also many who go in not realizing what they are getting. I can't tell you how many kids and parents have written to me saying they wish they had known more about the negatives of Penn (and other colleges) before choosing. The positives outweigh the negatives for most students- but not all. By the way, most of my family graduated from Penn and I did coursework there myself, so I think I know what I'm talking about.
Sorry if being realistic is so offensive to you.</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4072943&postcount=71%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4072943&postcount=71</a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4088317&postcount=42%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4088317&postcount=42</a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4115271&postcount=32%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4115271&postcount=32</a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4131917&postcount=2%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4131917&postcount=2</a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4062681&postcount=12%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4062681&postcount=12</a>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4026963&postcount=2%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4026963&postcount=2</a></p>
<p>"I was thrilled with my son's choice of Penn and I wish he was staying!"</p>
<p>WHY?</p>
<p>Why? Because Penn is a great school in many ways, he chose it over many others, we have a lot of relatives there and transferring is a pain in the a$$! </p>
<p>Everyone's experience is unique to them. I'm glad yours has been so positive. Don't slam me (or my son) because his has not been. There are a lot of factors that come into play.</p>
<p>Sorry if I misinterpreted your posts (they did seem awfully one sided). Best wishes to your son...I really mean that!</p>
<p>Thanks. I appreciate it. My computer background is a shot of Franklin Field I took a couple of weeks ago at Penn Relays. I am a big Penn fan. I think there are things that can be improved, which is the case everywhere, of course.<br>
I just wish it were easier to determine "fit" ahead of time!</p>