Council meeting centers on crime

University Council members heard an emotional plea yesterday from a College sophomore victimized by crime to take action on the topic before it's too late. College sophomore Stephen Wilson said he was robbed at gunpoint two days ago as he walked home from a friend's off-campus house to W.E.B. DuBois College House. Wilson said two men came up from behind him and made him lie on the ground in a muddy puddle, while one held a gun to his head. The men then took all his possessions, even his shoes. An emotional Wilson told Council members engrossed in his story that no one would help him when he rang two doorbells for help after the crime. Finally, he found a pay phone and called Philadelphia Police. Although he is from Philadelphia, Wilson said he has never been robbed. He said he is now scared of West Philadelphia, and even to go out at night. He concluded by asking for specific assurances from the University that it would improve safety. He requested priority Escort Service off-campus, more street lighting and trimming of bushes that can hide criminals. University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich told Council about the security services University Police currently provide. "[We want to] re-assure people that the University is taking this issue extremely seriously," he said yesterday. Kuprevich also discussed University Police's legal jurisdiction and why officers cannot legally patrol past 43rd Street unless his department is deputized by the city. Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and Wharton junior Dan Debicella asked Kuprevich if he wanted the University community to put pressure on the city to have University Police deputized. "The University and the students should be pressuring the State of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia to give Penn Police jurisdiction in the [entire] 18th [Police District]," Debicella said. But Kuprevich said University involvement would not be helpful in attaining deputy status. He added, though, that he would continue to discuss the matter with Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Neal, as he has done for the past three years. Executive Vice President Jack Freeman offered few new solutions, but said that the University is committed to safety. Acting Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum distributed copies of a campus safety proposal, "which will inform the campus community about existing safety and security resources." She mentioned that one of her work-study students was robbed in front of the VPUL's offices in the Mellon Bank Building at 36th and Walnut streets last week, with the draft in his hand. The proposal contains short-term strategies such as increasing police patrols at student hang outs to long-term plans, such as enhancing cooperation between Philadelphia and University Police. One of the Division of Public Safety's newest strategies is a publicity campaign. A full-page security advertisement was placed in today's Daily Pennsylvanian. "We can't get the message out too often or too clearly," Kuprevich said. The University's discussion of crime went city-wide last night in a segment on crime at the University, which aired on KYW Channel 3's 11 o'clock newscast. Kuprevich said the attention being drawn to the University is due to the murder of fifth year Mathematics graduate student Al-Moez Alimohamed and the shooting of Wharton senior Samir Shah last month.