On urban campus, panhandling a perennial problem

My husband threw me out of a window this morning, a woman said anxiously as she approached. I am pregnant and need money to get to a shelter.

College senior Hoa Hoang had never been confronted like this. Though accustomed to the presence of panhandlers on campus, Hoang had never met someone who was so rushed and intent on getting money.

Hoang said panhandlers normally “appear homeless and just stand on the side” without actively approaching anyone. This woman’s extreme behavior led Hoang to feel that the woman’s problem was “urgent and consequential.” After listening to her story, Hoang handed her a $20 bill that would provide her money for a train ticket to the shelter.

Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said this is a typical scam by panhandlers. “They have a van to get to the shelter in less than 20 minutes and they know that,” Rush said.

The money they ask for isn’t usually for food or transportation, Rush said. Rather, she suspects most goes toward feeding their drug addictions.

Jazar Tribble, a male in his early 40’s, has been asking for money to buy food in the 40th and Walnut area for about two to three years. He lives in West Philadelphia with his girlfriend, and walks to McDonald’s to ask for money twice a week for two hours.

He likes Penn’s campus because “most of the people here are nicer” and give him money. He added that he has never run into trouble with the Division of Public Safety or other police in the area.

He started panhandling after being released from his job at McDonald’s on 30th Street. He has been unable to obtain another job because most require him to complete an application on a computer, something he doesn’t know how to do.

“Panhandling is different than homelessness,” Rush said, explaining that most of these individuals aren’t homeless. She added that students should not encourage their behavior by giving money and should instead notify DPS.

When dealing with panhandlers, DPS’s first approach is to speak to them personally, obtain biographical information and understand the problems the panhandlers are facing. They then ask them to “cease and desist.”

Penn Police officers are organized based on what Captain Joe Fischer called “sector integrity.” Under this system, the same officers are consistently stationed in the same areas, allowing them to have a relationship with those in their patrol area — especially the panhandlers.

“We want to be told if someone is being a problem to let them know it’s not acceptable,” Fischer said.

Engineering sophomore Anthony Martin often encounters panhandlers on his way home in front of the CVS at 40th and Walnut streets. One time he encountered Penn Police interrogating a panhandler.

“I was actually thinking of getting him something inside of CVS but right when I’m checking out I see that there’s a Penn Police car pulled over and they are basically interrogating him and apparently he stole something,” he said.

Although panhandling isn’t a crime, their behaviors can get alarming, Rush said.

Fischer added that they can get arrested for obstruction of highway — blocking an individual’s way — and defiant trespass.

“Many of these individuals have warrants for similar crimes,” he said.

Defiant trespass has been an ongoing issue especially in ATM enclosures. Fischer asks students to “get out of there and call [DPS] before it escalates into a worse crime.”

Students can call DPS’s emergency phone system, and cameras can locate the individual.

“For the most part we’ve stabilized [panhandling],” Fischer said. DPS’s goal is to “make it uncomfortable for them.”

However, many students still encounter panhandlers on a regular basis.

Engineering freshman Rocky Diegmiller, who is from West Virginia, isn’t accustomed to encountering panhandlers. Though he doesn’t normally give them money, he assumes the money would go toward food and necessities.

“I kind of just look at the ground and try not to make eye contact,” he said.

Despite the panhandling on campus, “I feel really safe on Penn’s campus,” he added.

Wharton freshman Alexander Izydorczyk is also unaccustomed to dealing with panhandlers. Though he has never encountered the woman asking for transportation to a shelter, he said, “I wouldn’t give money because I wouldn’t believe it.”

“The fact that there are panhandlers here certainly decreases the Penn experience,” he said.

Engineering junior Stella Latscha sometimes gives money to the panhandlers she sees. “It depends on how pushy they are. If they make you feel like you have to give them money, if someone is really in need and they are outside in the cold and it’s really obvious they need help, then that’s then I usually think it’s appropriate,” she said.

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