You gotta admire the Penn administration's chutzpah. They spend millions for
the perception if not the reality of safety and security, then say
* "crimes on campus - even those perpetrated by students - [are]
'inevitable' "
* "things that happen in and around the campus are completely beyond
the control of the University's administrators"
* "it's simple bad luck"
Worse, "University spokeswoman Lori Doyle said she isn't concerned that
Penn's image will be hurt by these incidents." They're worried about "Penn's
image." I would think they should be worried about Penn's people.
Anyway, Karen Allen was right. We should post signs for the good folks out
here in God's country warning them not to go into the danger zone east of 43rd
street. Or, maybe suggest they find a Penn Security rent-a-cop to walk them
through -- assuming he won't unzip and expose himself to anyone on the way.
I refer, of course, to the following. from today's DP -- complete &
uncensored (I couldn't make up anything quite this nutty).
Al Krigman
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
University abuzz about 'perfect storm' of crime
Officials not worried about student arrests, violent crime affecting
school's reputation
By: Anthony Campisi
Posted: 12/3/07
Three students have been arrested or indicted in the past week. The north
side of campus has seen two shootings in a month. A female student was
sexually
assaulted in her off-campus apartment, and suspects have flashed students in
two separate incidents.
The crimes are "the perfect storm," said Vice President for Public Safety
Maureen Rush.
Ultimately, Rush said, because the crimes are completely unrelated, it's
simple bad luck that has caused concern among officials and students.
"There's no doubt that [these incidents] … will raise some people's anxiety
levels" on campus, Rush said.
In the short term, officials and experts say, strategies for handling the
situation include communicating with the University about safety concerns and
placing the incidents in the context of citywide crime trends.
University spokeswoman Lori Doyle said she isn't concerned that Penn's image
will be hurt by these incidents.
She called crimes on campus - even those perpetrated by students -
"inevitable" in an urban campus like Penn and said "it's going to take a lot
more than
a few negative media stories to make a dent on [the University's]
reputation."
Public relations experts tended to agree with that assessment, but they said
there are still steps a university can take in situations like this.
David Kirk, president of thePRguy Inc., stressed the importance of
communication about safety issues.
Keeping the Penn community updated about crime problems has become
increasingly important in the wake of last April's massacre at Virginia Tech,
Kirk
said.
Rush said that because a Penn Police officer fired the shots that killed a
gunman at Club Wizzards last Monday, it was especially important to inform the
University about the incident.
"Having a fatal shooting from the Penn Police is highly unusual. … Clearly
this is a huge thing," she said.
Additionally, Penn's strategy of attempting to place recent campus crime in
the context of the wider crime epidemic happening throughout the city is
sound, according to John Moscatelli, senior vice president and COO of Anne
Klein
Communications Group LLC.
"Some of the things that happen in and around the campus are completely
beyond the control of the University's administrators and the student body,"
he
said, making it important for safety officials to place incidents in context.
Jessica Tubbs, assistant program director of Security on Campus, an advocacy
group, agreed, saying that, because the incidents on campus are unconnected,
it's difficult to do anything about them.
"There's no explanation … for the randomness of the crimes," she said.
Still, Penn students are concerned - especially because so many high-profile
crimes have happened within a relatively short span of time.
"All of a sudden all of these things were happening at once," said College
sophomore Sarah Sanchez.
She added that, as a result of the two recent shootings at night clubs on
38th and Chestnut streets, she has begun to attend an earlier Mass at St.
Agatha-St. James, a Catholic church located across the street from the site of
the
shootings. Now, Sanchez said, she doesn't feel comfortable leaving church at
about 11 p.m. when the evening service usually gets out.
And though Emily Price, a College sophomore, doesn't feel unsafe as a result
of these incidents, she noted that it was "strange" that all these incidents
have happened in such a short time span. © Copyright 2007 The Daily
Pennsylvanian
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