This weekend, many Penn students witnessed the crowds of juveniles at the corner of 40th and Walnut streets, and many more have heard about it from their friends.
The incident - where West Philadelphia high schoolers crowded the corner and police officers were called in to monitor them - attracted much attention, due to the arrest of 10 youths for disorderly conduct, the blockade of streets, the closure of McDonald's and the unconfirmed reports of an assaulted officer.
But while certainly the most intense rendering, Saturday wasn't the first time this scenario played out at that corner. Crowds of Saturday's scale have congregated at least twice this year, and McDonald's has closed on occasion due to smaller crowd problems.
Officials are quick to point out that warmer weather draws students out of their homes, ready to shop, socialize and see movies at the corner of 40th and Walnut. Common sense does dictate that more people are likely to leave their homes when the weather is nice. But the same common sense also tells us that something has changed since previous years. This is the first year that these crowd issues have been a problem, and an open, serious discussion of what could have changed from last year to now would be much appreciated.
No student - either from Penn or from a West Philadelphia high school - has been seriously harmed, and these incidences are, for the majority of Penn students, a nuisance at worst. But it's time to start discussing the problem - and the possible solutions - with the community. Officers with nightsticks shouldn't become a regular occurrence in our neighborhood.
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