They demanded more police near campus and booed Rendell for questioning such a tactic. An angry and often unruly audience of more than 500 parents grilled University President Judith Rodin about her administration's efforts to safeguard their children during an open forum Saturday. Parents filled the lower level of the Zellerbach Auditorium, sitting in the aisles and lining up behind microphones to address Rodin, Public Safety Director Thomas Seamon and Chief of Police Operations Maureen Rush. Parents commented repeatedly that they saw too few University Police officers or security guards near campus. Many demanded that the University implement a more visible security presence and spend more money fighting crime. The forum gave Rodin an opportunity to highlight the safety initiatives she announced this fall, outline the University's safety-related programs and discuss her plans for new residences and retail spaces to draw student activity back on campus. "I think about [the reputation of the University] 24 hours a day," Rodin said. "But the safety of your kids is more important than the reputation of this University." Mayor Ed Rendell joined the forum late and said despite this fall's safety problems, he and his wife, both alumni, still hope their teenage son will apply early decision to Penn. Rendell, the city's former district attorney, called the crime wave this fall a "statistical aberration," adding that he believed police had already arrested most of those responsible for the crimes. And he announced that four more Philadelphia Police officers will patrol the campus area when the next police academy class graduates in early December. But when the mayor tried to segue from discussing police to talking about the socio-economic reasons for crime, audience members got angry, refusing to acknowledge possible solutions to crime that don't involve heavy policing. "Does anyone here think that police presence in and of itself is going to reduce significantly or eliminate crime?" he asked -- and was met by a loud chorus of "Yes." At that point, Rendell cited Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics showing Dallas, Texas, has both the highest number of cops and crime per capita, leading one man to shout an obscenity at Rendell and leave the theater. "I hope I don't have to come back here for a funeral," the man shouted. "This is nonsense." Audience members booed Rendell when he suggested that Penn students are victimized because they aren't street smart. He drew similar responses when he said other areas of the city and other universities are more dangerous.
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