Living in an urban setting means realizing that crimes can occur and taking the proper precautions - don't travel alone in dark alleyways late at night comes to mind.
But Locust Walk doesn't exactly spring to mind when thinking of dark alleys.
The main artery of campus, on 37th Street, played host to a recent theft, and a number of other instances of crime have been reported on Locust between 39th and 42nd streets.
Even worse, these crimes have been occurring as early as 4:30 p.m., before the sun even goes down, by male juveniles.
Penn students know to keep their wits about them when walking around West Philadelphia in the early morning hours, but your average summer student wouldn't think to worry about being robbed on Locust Walk while he departs from an early evening Math class.
To their credit, Penn's Division of Public Safety has responded admirably to the situation by increasing the number of officers on duty, making a number of arrests and sending out a campuswide e-mail notice.
Hopefully, their efforts will be successful in preventing further crimes so close to our classrooms.
But, in light of the situation, it is worth remembering to exercise caution as much as possible, particularly for high school students or others on campus for the first time who may not be used to living in a big city.
To those who are unfamiliar with campus security programs, note that DPS provides both walking escorts and a transit service, and blue-light phones are located across campus in times of emergency.
Crime will never be wiped out, in the area or anywhere else. Still, DPS should continue efforts to stem its incidence in the heart of campus, and students should remain aware of potential dangers wherever they go.
