Editorial: Don't Expand Escort Downtown

Which is not to say that the University should be indifferent to safety and security concerns of students living downtown. Already, the Green Route Shuttle Bus will pick students up at several locations around campus and drop them off at their doors in Center City. Perhaps the University could expand the Green Route's area of coverage and hours of operation. At the very least publicity about the shuttle service could be increased. But the murders had nothing to do with any service that the University did or did not provide. The fact that two graduate students were killed in the space of a month in Center City was pure coincidence. It could have happened to anyone; there is no evidence that an expanded Escort service would have changed the course of events. Secondly, the University's commitment to serving students living off-campus should be primarily centered in West Philadelphia. The stability of these neighborhoods that adjoin the University is crucial to the University's future. Students living in West Philadelphia form an important link between the University and the community. Also, they help to ensure the prosperity of local businesses. Expanding Escort Service to Center City would help to speed the flight of students from University City and the decline of the neighborhoods surrounding the University. Finally, expanding Escort Service as far east as Broad Street, as the graduate students have proposed, would be a tremendously costly and cumbersome endeavor. It would mean, in effect, building a totally new Escort Service East from scratch. Hopefully, a solution can be worked out that is palatable to all concerned parties and at the same time does not detract from the University's concern for West Philadelphia.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.