Spring Break
Philadelphia: Another day, another murder
By: Noah Cohen
Issue date: 5/11/07 Section: Ed-Op
Originally published: 5/11/07 at 3:05 AM EST
Last update: 5/11/07 at 10:05 AM EST
Originally published: 5/11/07 at 3:05 AM EST
Last update: 5/11/07 at 10:05 AM EST
A lot of students think that the upcoming Mayoral election doesn't have anything to do with them, but it does.
The City of Philadelphia is slowly dying. A murder rate of one dead and five shootings per day has turned neighborhoods into war zones and forced many residents into a constant state of fear.
Yet this sad reality is not easily realized strolling around University City or doing homework in Hagerty Library. The world we exist in is vastly different from the majority of this city.
Thankfully, many of us cannot say we understand what its like to live in a neighborhood where stray bullets are common place and drug dealers control the corners. For the most part we are the privileged and the fortunate. The very opportunity to attend Drexel puts us in a unique position to build a comfortable life for ourselves. This is an opportunity that many Philadelphian's can only dream of enjoying.
Drexel and Penn both benefit from a team of professional public safety staff who is well funded and focused on protecting students. Those who live only minutes from campus have a very different reality.
In the Mantua section of Philadelphia, which borders Powelton Village and University City, there were 1,365 "Part 1" serious criminal offenses in 2005 almost double University City's 737, according to the University of Pennsylvania's Neighborhood Information System.
Criminology professor Lawrence Sherman told the Daily Pennsylvanian, "Penn is an island of safety in a sea of crime."
Obviously life on campus is not the normal way of life for most West Philadelphians. As Drexel students we are privileged with an education. Almost all of us have a bright future with virtually limitless opportunities.
This privilege though, comes with a responsibility to our community. The purpose of this writing is not to drone on about civic engagement or to say that this kid from Northern New Jersey knows "life on the streets".
My goal here is make people understand that every day we do nothing crime continues to devastate our city. Currently 137 people have been murdered in Philadelphia - this year. Last year over 400 were killed by violent crime. At what point does this number become too high?
The City of Philadelphia is slowly dying. A murder rate of one dead and five shootings per day has turned neighborhoods into war zones and forced many residents into a constant state of fear.
Yet this sad reality is not easily realized strolling around University City or doing homework in Hagerty Library. The world we exist in is vastly different from the majority of this city.
Thankfully, many of us cannot say we understand what its like to live in a neighborhood where stray bullets are common place and drug dealers control the corners. For the most part we are the privileged and the fortunate. The very opportunity to attend Drexel puts us in a unique position to build a comfortable life for ourselves. This is an opportunity that many Philadelphian's can only dream of enjoying.
Drexel and Penn both benefit from a team of professional public safety staff who is well funded and focused on protecting students. Those who live only minutes from campus have a very different reality.
In the Mantua section of Philadelphia, which borders Powelton Village and University City, there were 1,365 "Part 1" serious criminal offenses in 2005 almost double University City's 737, according to the University of Pennsylvania's Neighborhood Information System.
Criminology professor Lawrence Sherman told the Daily Pennsylvanian, "Penn is an island of safety in a sea of crime."
Obviously life on campus is not the normal way of life for most West Philadelphians. As Drexel students we are privileged with an education. Almost all of us have a bright future with virtually limitless opportunities.
This privilege though, comes with a responsibility to our community. The purpose of this writing is not to drone on about civic engagement or to say that this kid from Northern New Jersey knows "life on the streets".
My goal here is make people understand that every day we do nothing crime continues to devastate our city. Currently 137 people have been murdered in Philadelphia - this year. Last year over 400 were killed by violent crime. At what point does this number become too high?
Cherron Thomas
posted 5/11/07 @ 11:07 AM EST
I feel as though the numbers were to high last year and probaly will double this year. Yet we as a city are saying the murder rate is high but really what are we doing about it. (Continued…)