Two weeks ago, the fears that lie in the back of students’ minds about safety near Main Campus were realized by four seniors when three men forced their way into the students’ 18th Street apartment, bound them with duct tape and robbed them.
Though vast improvements have been made to the security of Main Campus, this is yet another example of the issues associated with students moving further off campus.
In response to the droves of students flocking to apartments and houses west of campus, the university has implored the help of the Philadelphia Police Department, which in return has added more officers to the area. Campus Safety Services has also relied on social media to provide safety tips to students near Main Campus.
But as students continually push into the neighborhood and pass the Temple Police patrol boundary, they must start to take on the onus of personal safety. The police can only do so much to help students without standing on every corner, so students must take proper precautions to prevent any crime – even the horrific, seemingly random, armed robbery two weeks ago.
Thankfully, none of the four roommates were physically harmed, but this incident should stand as a symbol urging all students on Main Campus to reevaluate what they’re doing to stay safe while either living or commuting to Temple.
The university has taken a hard stance on improving security – even outside its boundary – but we all need to take responsibility to keep the area near Main Campus safe, even if it just means putting away a cell phone or taking out headphones.
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