The Daily Pennsylvanian :: Jacob Schutz | Getting past 43rd Street

As the Class of 2012 arrives on campus, they will be thrust into a bewildering new environment with little to no operational knowledge. What food trucks to go to (Yue Kee and Magic Carpet), what classes to take (Creative Writing) and where - or more importantly where not - to go within West Philadelphia?

As usual, the University has provided information on this last question to incoming freshmen through an imposing presentation of the Penn patrol zone.

Couched in terms of public safety, and surely done to assuage the fears of anxious parents, Penn demarcates our community into rival factions. Many nervous freshmen will hence label the areas past 43rd Street as a no man's land.

Students seem to already have subscribed to this dichotomy. Wharton freshman Andrew Roberts said he felt safe on Penn's campus but had yet to make it farther west than 42nd Street.

"I would probably never go without a big group of people," he told me.

I had the same view as a freshman, new on Penn's campus after growing up in a Colorado town of 2,500 people. I remember approaching "The Boundary" at 43rd Street as if it were the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. I would stand with a pair of binoculars, trying to catch a glimpse of the chaos and confusion that surely permeated any area without the protection of unarmed walkie-talkie operators in neon yellow vests (i.e., Penn security). Thankfully, I soon met an upperclassman who divorced me of my ridiculous views. He complained that too many Penn students view campus and the few surrounding blocks as a playground - a fun area to stumble through while inebriated - but not a living, breathing community deserving of one's transformative time and energy.

It's not just NSO security presentations that contribute to the idea of Penn as a fortress against the forces of a real-life Gotham City. Parents too often warn their kids, in the tone of Oz's Dorothy, "You're not in Manhattan anymore."

No, you're not. And such a comparison speaks to a failure of imagination.

This summer, I decided to finally contribute to the change I wanted. I taught in a summer program at West Philadelphia High School. It was an immensely rewarding experience, and it made me feel like I was helping the area. Or more correctly, the area was helping me.

For although I was woefully inadequate as an educator, the experience helped me gain a small amount of knowledge of West Philly's challenges and successes. I know I will now follow news of WPHS with a certain amount of involvement and passion. My experience tied me to the community in a way that was mutually beneficial.

College junior Jamie Tomczuk, associate director of Community School Student Partnerships, says she has seen similar epiphanies in others. Penn students sometimes forget to realize West Philadelphia is someone's home, Tomczuk said. Volunteering makes "students realize West Philadelphia is a community."

Although I mocked Penn's security presentations, the University is justifiably recognized as one of the most community-friendly in the country. Penn's Netter Center for Community Partnerships was the umbrella organization for my summer job, and they provide an amazing amount of resources to improving Philadelphia.

Tomczuk's CSSP runs fantastic after-school tutoring projects at local schools. Civic House is another obvious stop for those looking to get involved. And for those religiously inclined (see: uncorrupted freshman) there are plenty of organizations on campus - from the Catholic Newman Center to Hillel - that offer service opportunities.

Beyond the actual work, this summer I found more interesting places to go outside of our hallowed patrol-zone than within it.

Abyssinia on 45th and Locust has some of the best Ethiopian food in the city, and the microbrews at Dock Street Brewery on 50th and Baltimore makes a night of jungle-juice-based inebriation even less enticing.

So go out, change our world, and grab yourself a beer. You just may, like me, fall in love with our little hamlet.

Jacob Schutz is a College junior from Monument, Colo. His email is schutz@dailypennsylvanian.com. The MacGuffin appears every Monday.

Comments (5)

I think the Inquirer shootings map is pretty good, but you should probably look at the homicide map instead, because really, as long as you make it back alive from west philly to tell your story to the rest of the undergrads, that's what counts: http://inquirer.philly.com/graphics/homicide%5Fmap%5F2007/ even if you do want to draw imaginary lines across certain streets you won't cross, which i'm sure even many of us west-of-campus residents do, i still think it's perfectly reasonable for undergrads to come out to abyssinia on 45th, or to the fruit truck guy on 44th, or just come out and walk around just to see what it's actually like. nothing bad will happen to you, unless you run into me and you're wearing those plaid, frat boy shorts. no one's asking you to do it alone or to do it at night. the better you know the area, and the smarter you are about it, the more comfortable i think you'll feel, and the more likely it'll be that you bring your friends. that doesn't guarantee i won't fuck you up if i see you out here, but at least you'll have a good story to tell. the other aspect of jacob's message to students - community service - is really worth considering, even if you don't think a great bar is. rather than see the violence and poverty that plagues certain neighborhoods in West Philly, maybe try to be part of a solution, maybe consider yourself a citizen of the city and a person with a stake in its present and its future. once you do that, i think that sort of mentality ties directly to coming to west philly for leisure as well, since it's probably just as bad a penn student stereotype to see west philly as a place to go do service but not stay for some food or a beer. so come one, come all. i'll see you out here. -Freddie (first yr ph d student in the history dept)

[QUOTE id="e7a2a239-9ad2-4e26-be14-802d3a18ae78"]The area that Jacob is talking about doesn't seem particularly dangerous from that map. There were 4 shootings in 2007 between 43rd and 50th St.s and between Baltimore and Market. There were 2 within the zone that Penn Police patrols.[/QUOTE] Any shootings are noteworthy, within such a small area. The fact is, handguns are widespread and accessible accessories for young and old in Philly. This doesn't mean don't go, but it does mean only go in a group, don't walk around so drunk you have no judgment, and that it's just stupid to go thinking there's nothing to look out for. That's just part of exploring any city. Kudos to Jacob for a thoughtful and thought-provoking article, and for his call to service.

I've been through the area west of 43rd a number of times...there may be a few good spots, but overall it's an extremely high crime area. Here's a map of 2007 shootings...zoom in and checkout the "great" area you're referring to: http://inquirer.philly.com/graphics/shootings_map_2007/ Also, Penn's campus isn't kept safe by "unarmed walkie-talkie operators" (although the visual deterrent of security helps)...it's kept safe by 100+ sworn, armed Penn Police officers, who supplement the Philly PD.

The area that Jacob is talking about doesn't seem particularly dangerous from that map. There were 4 shootings in 2007 between 43rd and 50th St.s and between Baltimore and Market. There were 2 within the zone that Penn Police patrols.

[QUOTE id="1bb82367-34cd-474b-a90c-d50acd1b50c2"]I've been through the area west of 43rd a number of times...there may be a few good spots, but overall it's an extremely high crime area. Here's a map of 2007 shootings...zoom in and checkout the "great" area you're referring to: http://inquirer.philly.com/graphics/shootings_map_2007/ Also, Penn's campus isn't kept safe by "unarmed walkie-talkie operators" (although the visual deterrent of security helps)...it's kept safe by 100+ sworn, armed Penn Police officers, who supplement the Philly PD.[/QUOTE] It is totally natural to avoid environments which we consider unsafe. However, we must first keep in mind the social forces and structures that are perpetuated, which allow these communities to experience unsafe conditions.Both community observers and community members alike, do not want to be apart of these unsafe circumstances. Therefore, the most pertinent fact is not the statistics of murder rates. Instead,the fact that the members of these communities are killing eachother at alarming rates, is more revealing of their social condition than the actual incidences of murder.

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