Your Voice | Letters to the Editor

Not a laughing matter To the Editor:

As a victim of a cell phone assault incident last month, I had mixed reactions to the opinion art by Abby Schwartz in yesterday’s DP housing guide. The cartoon clearly depicts the cavalier attitude many students develop toward public safety. We all become disaster myopic as time passes from orientation. Unfortunately, by placing the incident at 43rd and Locust, the cartoon sends the wrong message. As reported in the DP article, “Teens arrested for assault,” (11/10/09) both cell phone assaults occurred on campus [3600 and 3800 blocks of Locust] in daylight. This cartoon only serves to reinforce the perception of an invisible bubble around campus that suddenly disappears once you cross 40th street. This sense of on-campus invincibility is what makes us all vulnerable.

Allyson White The author is a College and Wharton senior

To the Editor:

Abby Schwartz’s Dec. 1 comic--depicting a female Penn student on the verge of being beaten up by two young girls--was insensitive, not funny and served no journalistic purpose. Ms. Schwartz was apparently poking fun at a recent incident (“Teens Arrested For Assault,” Nov. 10, 2009) when two female Penn students were assaulted and had their phones stolen. There are better ways of shedding light on the crime scene in West Philadelphia than making light of what was likely a very traumatic experience for these young women. As a former Daily Pennsylvanian staff member and columnist, I’m embarrassed that this newspaper would publish such a distasteful comic.

Josh Pollick The author is a 2006 College alumnus

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