Negative coverage of U. City outrages profs

'New York Times,''New York Times,'other papers unfairly'New York Times,'other papers unfairlylabeled W. Phila. a'New York Times,'other papers unfairlylabeled W. Phila. aslum, some profs say Professors living in the local community say West Philadelphia is getting a raw deal from the national media. Many are upset by the portrayal of the area in recent press coverage dealing with last month's rash of armed robberies near campus. The faculty are reacting to articles like the one in the September 28 issue of The New York Times, which referred to University City as "a working-class area with pockets of poverty and rundown homes." This characterization was echoed by a Daily Princetonian article a few weeks ago and in other papers across the country. Lynn Lees, chairperson of the History Department and a member of Penn Faculty and Staff for Neighborhood Improvement said she is outraged by such articles. "The New York Times and The Daily Princetonian describe a poverty-stricken area that is totally degraded and totally dangerous," Lees said. "University City is a middle-class neighborhood with great housing, schools, retail stores, churches, gardens and a historic society. It is a great place to live that happens to have a lot of street crime." Lees also said a large section of the area is in the process of being registered as a historic district by the city, adding that the community is noted for the richness of its diversity. "This is not an urban slum," Lees insisted. While agreeing that coverage misrepresented the neighborhood as a slum, Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman said West Philadelphia's faculty may be missing the point. "The point is not that the neighborhood is not that bad," Scheman said. "People should not have to live that way." History Professor Michael Katz, who has lived in West Philadelphia since 1978, agreed that coverage of the neighborhood was outrageous. "The gist of most of the articles -- and I must say The Daily Pennsylvanian is very guilty of this also -- is that West Philadelphia is uniform, a slum in terms of housing and undifferentiated in its poverty," Katz said. "All anyone has to do is take a walk around the neighborhood to see that is not true." Katz maintained that West Philadelphia is a wonderful place to live and that his family is pleased with the area. "The neighborhood has some problems, but it is a diverse area with wonderful housing and a wonderful diverse population of people," Katz said. "Lots of wonderful people who care about the neighborhood and have tried very hard over decades to maintain it," he added. And Lees said she was disappointed by student reaction to the crime. "I was absolutely appalled by the rush of statements by Penn students about how they are afraid to walk alone," she said. "There are a lot of people who live quite a normal life here." Scheman explained that what disturbs her is not the area past 42nd Street where most faculty reside but the area between 40th and 42nd streets where students make their home. "The thing that I struggle with is that the worst part of the neighborhood is 40th to 42nd -- it is a student slum," she said. Director of the Center for Community Partnerships Ira Harkavy said although the area has its problems, it also has tremendous potential. "West Philadelphia does have problems like other urban communities," Harkavy said. "But it has the potential to set the mark for solving urban problems through it institutional and communal strengths." Scheman proposed her own solution. "The answer is for many more faculty and graduate students to live in West Philadelphia and for more undergraduate students to live on campus or get with the program," she said. "And by that I mean collect their trash, don't have loud parties and don't pee off their front porches -- you know, little things like that."

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