After crimes, students afraid but resigned

The recent upsurge of violent crime around the University has been met with more despair and resignation than shock and anger from students. Many said yesterday that while they are more afraid now than ever, they do not feel there is much they can do to avoid becoming victims. Most students agreed that the crime wave of the last two weeks, which includes a series of stabbings and the attempted robbery of two undercover University Police officers, has been the worst to hit campus in recent years. But many said that the incidents will not prompt them to make drastic changes in their daily lives. Beyond staying behind locked doors all day, they said that there is not much they can do. Most said that they will just "be more careful" when walking the streets at night, or take Escort Service more often. But they admitted that even these measures can only marginally affect their chances of being victims. "Even if I go out at eight, I take Escort, " College junior Miriam Zibbel said yesterday. "I never have done that before . . . but it seems like there's absolutely nothing you can do." First-year Fels Center graduate student Kerry Davidson echoed those sentiments. "I feel pretty helpless," he said. Along with the hopelessness there is a rising tide of fear among members of the University community. "I'm afraid to go out at night, especially alone," Wharton junior Carol Cadullo said Tuesday. "I'll stay in rather than go out alone." "It's still hard for me to believe . . . that I could go out and there's a legitimate chance I won't come back," grad student Davidson said. Many criticized Philadelphia and University Police for being too reactive to events instead of having been pro-active in the past. But, they said, there is "only so much the police can do." "You just don't lessen crime with more police," CGS senior James McEvilly said yesterday. "Just stay off the streets at night. I don't let my girlfriend walk alone at night." The doubling of police patrols, announced Tuesday, will make some students feel a little more secure. Students said that just the sight of an officer standing on a corner or driving by in a patrol car often lessens their fears. "I went to a party at Beige Block and I was really surprised to see a police officer," College sophomore Allison Polin said Tuesday. "It made me feel a lot safer." Others noted, however, that the University runs the risk of turning its campus and the surrounding streets into an overly restrictive area. "If they have [police] at every corner, it could be effective, but I think it would spoil the school atmosphere," said College freshman Yutaka Nakayama. "We would feel secure but not comfortable." Fear caused by the recent crime wave would prohibit some students from recommending the University to prospective frshemen. Students said they do not think the administration has placed safety high enough on its list of priorities. "Now its like they [the administration] are saying, 'We don't care if you live or die," she added. "I would tell [prospective students] not to come to Penn." Some students said that by only reporting on-campus incidents of crime to the state, the University administration is giving prospective students the wrong view of what crime in the area is like. In most students' eyes, the risk of crime is still minimal on campus, and violent crimes seem to take place in off-campus areas. They noted, however, that while previous crime waves have centered in the largely commercial area around 40th and Walnut streets, recent incidents have occurred in the residential areas of 41st and 42nd streets. One student called the area a "combat zone." "I only live a block off campus and I'm still scared," College sophomore Eric Levin said Tuesday. Many said that they are afraid to live off-campus now and have recommended that friends stick to on-campus dorms and venture off campus only during the daytime. Some students said their parents have prohibited them from moving to off-campus houses. "I'm not allowed to live off-campus at all and the crime is a major reason why," College sophomore Polin said. Staff writers Emily Culbertson and Roxanne Patel contributed to this story.

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