LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Students, parents still scared

To the Editor: When I was an undergraduate, about a year or two ago, administrators claimed they were going to solve our crime problems with a master safety plan. With great fanfare, a plan for better lit "Community Walks," security kiosks and some other useless measures was announced. This major initiative bought us a few meaningless "Community Walk" signs (look for them, they are small but they are there) and kiosks rarely manned at night. These measures are obviously completely ineffective. Patrick Leroy was shot within sight of a security kiosk. This nonsense must end. We need to have security guards patrolling campus regularly. As a temporary measure, while those silly kiosks were being built, Allied guards walked the streets and campus walkways. This is the solution we need! Only the presence of security personnel will make students feel safe enough walk in this dangerous area. I hope the University doesn't respond with its usual empty promises. We deserve better. Bradley Tevelow Medicine '00 n To the Editor: At 9 p.m. Thursday evening, I headed over to Video Library. Upon arriving, I found out Urban Outfitters had just been robbed. This is less than a block away from the shooting last Wednesday morning. Where were all of the police who were supposed to be on special alert? Then again, nearly all of the incidents have occurred within the "danger zone" between 40th and 42nd and Baltimore and Walnut streets. How can the University police be unable to properly patrol such a relatively small area? Friday's DP reported that University officials believe the police force to be appropriately staffed. What is the problem? The University is just not taking proper action. Every time a robbery occurs in the aforementioned "danger zone", the University announces it will increase security around the dorms and on Locust Walk. These areas are already safe! There are tons of people around and plenty of lighting. But what about the "danger zone"? I live at 40th and Pine streets, where at least three of the robberies have occurred, and I have not seen one police officer on my street yet this year. Pine is poorly lit and there are no blue phones on my block. How can I walk in well-lit areas or make use of blue light phones if there are no well-lit areas and there are no blue light phones? Does the University really want to improve the situation off campus, or does it hope that the situation off campus will get so bad that students will be forced to move back into its dorms, which it can't seem to fill to capacity? A few weeks ago, the DP reported that the University was looking into high tech security for the dorms such as iris identification. So rather than increase police presence in the "danger zone," the University would spend millions of dollars to scan students' eyeballs before they enter the dorms. Sounds like a good plan. Now no criminals can get into the dorms, but students can get shot the second they leave. After all, Penn is now a tourist attraction for criminals, attracting out-of-state gunmen to rob and murder us. Jason Seldon Wharton '97 n To the Editor: I am writing to express my concern and outrage regarding campus security. I hope the administration will take all appropriate steps to immediately correct the situation. I am an alum who contributes annually to the University. I have a daughter who has just begun her sophomore year in the College. The college experience is very special -- an opportunity to learn and grow into a wholesome adult prepared for the challenges of life. Penn offers an excellent academic program and affords students virtually unlimited opportunities for personal development. Unfortunately, these attributes become virtually meaningless if the quality of life is destroyed by constant anxiety for one's safety. Campus life should be reasonably open and free. To be concerned about personal safety while on campus is not acceptable. To use the Escort service and take an hour for what would be a five-minute walk from the high rises to 40th and Sansom streets is not appropriate, either. To feel imprisoned in student housing is a tragedy. To expect there to be no crime of any kind is unrealistic. However, the lack of security on and around campus is bewildering at the least. I was personally accosted this past August at the 7-11 at 38th and Chestnut streets. I am 6'5" and weigh well over 220 lbs. It was quite disconcerting, and there was no police or security presence to be found. I appreciate the fact that University President Judith Rodin is installing more blue light phones and beefing up investigative resources, but these efforts are kicking in after a crime was committed. I would expect there to be an increase the number of security officers and police on patrol, especially around 40th Street. I trust that all appropriate steps will be taken immediately to resolve this matter. If not, the University risks losing a lot. I, for one, will have to cease my support for the University in all areas, dissuade potential applicants if asked my opinion and reassess my daughter's continued attendance at Penn. I will also be contacting other alumni and parents to discuss this matter. Ron Urban Wharton '70 n To the Editor: As a "Proud Penn Parent" I am shocked by the crime wave that has enveloped the campus the last two weeks. The news reports have upset our family very much. Having been raised and educated in West Philadelphia, I was not naive to crime when I supported my daughter's decision to attend Penn. We knew the facts. This would not be Dartmouth in beautiful Hanover, N.H. I became extremely upset when I received e-mail informing me the campus has been under siege with crime. It seems as if only Superblock is patrolled. Security is weak past 40th Street, where my daughter lives. Blue light phones are not available at major intersections just off campus. The corner of 40th and Locust streets used to be a safe place. But not anymore. What is Penn waiting for? Maybe if "the Donald's son" is hurt, Penn will finally get it together! Elizabeth Barone Parent n To the Editor: I graduated in May and spent the next two months traveling through Southeast Asia alone. I returned to the United States in time to start law school at Columbia. Upon my arrival, I was surprised by the number of misconceptions people held about Penn. They seemed to think that it was in a dangerous area and that the University did not properly protect its students. I defended my school. I was wrong. Over 20 incidents of armed robbery should have provided the impetus for action; instead, it seems that a student had to be shot in order to finally bring the administration's attention to a frightening reality. Maybe the answer is that no one is ever safe -- a woman was raped near Columbia's campus this week. The difference is that security here has already been increased drastically. The difference is that I feel safe. It is pathetic that while I could travel alone safely through Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, I will not be able to walk back alone from Smoke's when I return for Homecoming. Rebecca Hornstein College '96 n To the Editor: I am not impressed by the administration's response to the recent shooting or the crime wave. This is not the time to consider canceling Escort service to Center City. Many students who live in Center City rely upon it as a crucial safety feature. Now that a student has been shot, it would be simply absurd to deny us this basic necessity. Obviously West Philly is not a safe place to live, and forcing students to live there is not the answer. There is a simple solution: Spend more money. We need more cops. Those useless blue light phones are a waste of funds. The cost of a major increase in security is certainly expensive, but there is no alternative: Our University's reputation and students' lives are at stake. Parents are afraid to send their kids to Penn. Will it take another tragic murder to wake up the administration? Ken Solt Medicine '00 n To the Editor: I'd like to thank the DP for printing University Police Captain John Richardson's comment, "If I had to choose between my daughter and my son being robbed, I would choose my son. I think he would be able to handle it better because he wouldn't do anything dumb, like scream" ("Four more U. students robbed near campus," 9/24/96). Now at least the rest of the Penn community is aware that the University hires sexists. The article mentions that most of the robbery victims have been men. To follow Richardson's sexist thinking, perhaps that is because all the women are home, barefoot and pregnant. I wonder how Richardson's daughter is taking the news that he thinks she's stupid. Laura Lynch College '88 Veterinary School Research Technician n To the Editor: I'm still not sure whether I am more amazed by the ignorance or the attitude displayed by Captain John Richardson of the University Police Department ("Four more U. students robbed near campus," DP, 9/24/96). I have the greatest respect for police officers, who risk their lives to maintain peace in our cities, but I am absolutely appalled that Richardson commented, with reference to the trend of attacks on male rather than female victims, that "the trend is good.? If I had to choose between my daughter and my son being robbed, I would choose my son. I think he would be able to handle it better because he wouldn't do anything dumb, like scream." Perhaps my years as an undergraduate in enlightened Berkeley, Calif., have blinded me to the harsh realities of the world, but I thought women today were considered to be equals of men. Since my field, veterinary medicine, has many women in the "upper ranks," I thought perhaps I should check in with my colleagues in my former field, UNIX system administration, a male-dominated field. Maybe someone there would agree with Richardson, that women under pressure tend to do dumb things like scream, instead of using their wits to control the situation. But, no, actually, my system administrator friends were equally appalled. It is unbelievable to me that a police officer today could actually believe that women are in any way more likely to do "dumb things" than men. Honestly. Was our fellow student shot Wednesday night because he did a "dumb thing" like running away? Or will Richardson let that go since, after all, he's a man? Perhaps Richardson would care to apologize for insulting the women of this University? I wonder if University President Judith Rodin read his comments? Hillary Gorman Veterinary Medicine '00