Summer security tightened

and Betty Yuan Due to low student occupancy on campus and the surrounding vicinity, the University has taken action to strengthen their security initiatives during the summer months. According to Victim Support Director Maureen Rush, several safety measures were implemented last week. "What we have done to insure safety for August is work with the city of Philadelphia in conjunction with the Penn Police department to put together a strike force," she said. The "strike force" consists of plain clothes and uniformed police officers from both the University Police and Philadelphia Police departments, Rush said. "We are saturating areas of campus that we feel are more on the outskirts such as the 4000 block of Baltimore Avenue -- areas where there have been previous reports of crime and/or areas which are off the beaten path," she added. Security is now more visible in these areas, in an effort to deter crime and make students feel more comfortable about the safety of the area. "The best you can expect is no crime being reported, and secondly, people have a greater perception of security for their well-being," Rush said. Rush added that in addition to providing security and comfort, a goal of the program is to encourage students to utilize such services as the Community Walks program, walking escort and mobile escort vans. There are nine transit stops available, which provide students with a safe place to wait for the escort van to pick them up. They include the stop in front of High Rise South, which has been moved over slightly as a result of construction. "People believed that the transit stop at High Rise South was not open and we want to correct that," she said. "In fact, the High Rise South transit stop is open and is being staffed by public safety representatives." Rush added that, as a result, Escort vans cannot drive up to the front of the high rise as they have in the past. Instead, drivers are being instructed to pull up to the intersection of 39th and Irving streets, and beep their horns as a signal to students waiting either inside the lobby of High Rise South. "All people need to do is keep an eye out but stay in the building," Rush said. "We have a security monitor inside the building with them." These transit stop monitors are stationed at each of the transit stop locations in order to insure students a safe waiting environment.

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