Your Voice | Letters to the Editor

Littering hurts Penn students' image

To the Editor:

As a UPenn employee, I get to travel across campus and around University City every day. I'm unfortunately one of those parking spot sharks, though it's tolerable.

What isn't is the almost laughable amount of garbage filling the sidewalks outside of off-campus student housing all year long.

Even though Penn participates in various recycling and other "green" efforts, the sloth of the off-campus students is atrocious. The infamous "red plastic cups" are scattered along Baltimore Avenue behind the Vet School along with broken furniture, soiled clothing, and other curious items carelessly tossed onto the curb.

"The garbage man will clean it up. It's his job," they must think when tossing out a kicked-in television on top of broken glass.

I can see how the non-Penn University City community can tolerate typical college student behavior. It's one thing to walk past a frat house at 5 p.m. on a Wednesday and see a crowded porch full of beer, grilled meat and music - but beer pong tables left out overnight on the sidewalk?

The irresponsibility and lack of respect these students show for their community doesn't help assuage the "spoiled rich kids" perception in Philadelphia.

Sam Rixey

The author is a University employee

Showing respect for West Philly residents

To the Editor:

I wanted to call out Alicia Puglionesi's "West Philly X-mas" comic as disrespectful and distasteful.

The suggestion that students' trash constitutes "X-max" for residents of West Philadelphia brazenly illustrates the elitist attitude exhibited by (I hope) a small minority of Penn students towards the men, women and children whose neighborhood we live in.

It is one thing to make social commentary on the lavishness of those who can afford to throw away furniture; it is quite another to poke fun at our very own neighbors on the basis of socioeconomic class.

Donations are an excellent way to help communities, but no one wants your stuff if it comes bundled with arrogance.

Nikhil Nirmel

The author is a 2008 Wharton graduate

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