While both Drexel and Penn have big plans for the future, both institutions are working cooperatively — but independently — to develop West Philadelphia.

Not a single crime has yet to be reported at Penn Park. The 24-hour security and patrolling officers on cars, bicycles and electric three-wheeled T3 vehicles help keep the area safe. However, according to DPS, its surveillance system is no different from the one used on the rest of campus.

Greening vacant spaces in Philadelphia has been found to reduce crime, according to Perelman School of Medicine research.

A seasonal air structure erected over Dunning-Cohen Champions Field in Penn Park will keep athletes warm this winter. The structure was less expensive than building an indoor sports facility.

Starting Friday, students were no longer charged the $5 hourly fee to play recreational tennis at Penn Park’s outdoor Hamlin Tennis Courts. Following complaints from students, the Undergraduate Assembly worked with Penn Athletics and the Office of the President to remove the charges.

Since Penn Park’s opening over a month ago, the University community has been using the space for athletic practices, student-run events and general recreation. TOPICS: Penn Park

Students, staff and other community members participated in a charity softball tournament. Sixteen teams competed throughout the day and the winner took home a $500 cash prize.

Now that it’s been built, Penn Police will do what they can to ensure crime doesn’t come to Penn Park.

Penn Park has a multitude of benefits, but the question remains — will students actually go that far east to utilize it?

Upon stepping into Penn Park, it becomes clear that the space is dedicated to serve a purpose — to provide a space for organized games, and not for simple lounging. It’s not so much a park as a collection of fields.

Bounded by the cement and steel of urban traffic ways, Penn Park — which opened to fireworks and celebration on Sept. 15 — marks a historical development in Penn’s eastward expansion.

Penn has put up a paradise where there was once a parking lot, but will students and the surrounding community return to this Eden once its gates open?

The new softball field and outdoor tennis courts will be a major selling point to recruits.

Men’s club soccer captain Ben Wang recalls a spring day last year when field space was so limited, the team held practice on varsity baseball’s batting cage field. That will no longer be a problem with Penn Park.

Penn’s seasonal air structure will provide a large, heated space for use during the winter months — an amenity Penn has never experienced. difficult to simulate game-like situations.

As Penn Park opens and you explore its many fine qualities, I hope it fills you with pride.

The Campus Loop Bus will operate between the Levy Tennis Pavilion in Penn Park and 40th Street between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.