Editorial | Acting like children

With an overall grade point average of 3.83 and average SATs of 1417, Penn students should be some of the smartest in the country.

But there's another thing Penn students are getting good at: fighting.

So far this year, 25 aggravated assaults have been reported in the campus area - compared to 12 in the same period of 2005 and eight in the same period of 2004. We've got issues; that's for sure.

It's unclear why students are having so much trouble containing their anger or stopping small disputes from turning into assaults. What is clear is that incidents such as one student smashing a glass beer bottle over another's head at Copabanana last month are becoming common occurrences.

Moderation in alcohol use would certainly help - many of the incidents involve intoxicated students - but it really comes to whether Penn students can actually control themselves and not behave like immature kids.

And why should it matter? Who cares if students brawl at Smokey Joe's or get into a fight at a private party?

Well, besides the fact that it makes all Penn students look stupid, it's creating useless work for a police department that should be spending its time protecting Penn students from danger.

"We work to protect students from perpetrators, and now we have to defend students from each other," Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush told The Daily Pennsylvanian yesterday.

It's time for students to grow up.

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