Restorative Justice makes a difference

Ryan Derfler spills the paint on his job as a MAP guide.

Through the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program’s Albert M. Greenfield Restorative Justice program, Philadelphia prisoners are painting the wounds and broken pieces of the city back together into a mosaic, one stroke at a time.

Crime covers Philadelphia, literally, as city inmates paint murals through Restorative Justice, a program that allows select Philadelphia inmates to help MAP complete murals throughout the city.

The program can serve as a way for participants to be involved in the lives of their children and neighbors, and for many inmates, the murals represent a medium through which they can connect with loved ones and family members.

Ryan Derfler is the touring manager for MAP. One of the most moving experiences he has ever had, he said, came when he had a conversation with a Philadelphia inmate who had been sentenced for life. When Derfler asked the prisoner how he felt about Restorative Justice, the prisoner said it was the only thing he would ever do that would let him see the light of day.

“Poor people in Philadelphia are forgotten,” Derfler said. “The United States has more people in jail than any other country. The poorest neighborhoods have no art programs. [Restorative Justice] creates room for openness and expression.”

Derfler, a self-described “fast-moving, hit-the-ground-running sort of guy” with a passion for art and Philadelphia, earned a minor in art from Lebanon Valley College and studied the Italian Renaissance in Italy. Later, he developed a passion for sales and corporate event planning, and finally, he combined all these passions when he became part of the nonprofit.

“Philly is on the verge,” he said. “It has unlimited potential, especially in the arts and culture scene. I’m glad to be a part of it.”

MAP has completed more than 2,800 murals throughout the city. There is a waiting list of 2,000-plus applications for future murals. To complete all the murals that have been requested, it would take MAP’s 300 artists as long as a decade.

Murals can have a huge impact on the neighborhoods they are painted in. When a new mural is commissioned, community members often come out to clean up the area, removing litter, mowing grass, clearning sidewalks and repainting fences. Weeds, broken glass and other garbage once strewn across abandoned lots can be cleared to reveal lively open spaces.

Derfler said he feels the murals create a community dialogue that is long forgotten. The murals become a positive tool for social change, he said, as an industrial economy in Philadelphia shifts to an informational and creative one.

Matt Flocco can be reached at matthew.flocco@temple.edu.

Philadelphia panel on crime

The city of murals has inmates to thank for their hard work splashing color on community walls.

“The proudest moment in my life was when I was sued by the [National Rifle Association],” Mayor Michael Nutter said to applause and laughter from the audience at a Feb. 15 panel on crime in Philadelphia called City of Numbers: Citizens in Action.

Seated next to four other Philadelphia leaders on the main stage of the Adrienne Theater on Sansom Street, Mayor Nutter gave a response that answered many different questions, which came from Philadelphia citizens instead of the city’s reporters. The panel was hosted by the Mural Arts Program and InterAct Theatre Company.

Nutter, District Attorney Seth Williams, Chief Defender Ellen T. Greenlee and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett A. Gillison convened with Jane Golden, executive director for MAP, for Citizens in Action, one of many events in connection with City of Numbers: Mixtape of a City, a new play commissioned by MAP. With a grant from the Violette de Mazia Foundation, the play was created by playwright Sean Christopher Lewis to portray the lasting impact of MAP’s restorative justice program.

Dave Davies, senior reporter for WHYY, moderated the panel and asked open-ended questions that allowed the panelists to share different aspects of crime and what they each do to prevent it.

Audience members heard firsthand the responsibilities from each city official. Williams prosecutes criminals; Greenlee defends for the public interest; Gillison oversees Philadelphia’s police force, fire departments and prisons; and Mayor Nutter makes the policies that affect them all.

Golden explained MAP’s role in criminal rehabilitation through art and its impact on the community. Through different programs, 30 to 40 selected inmates per year are employed painting murals throughout Philadelphia for 50 cents an hour.

But, Golden said, the pay is less significant than the effects painting can have on the inmates themselves.

On Nutter’s annual visit to each of Philadelphia’s prisons, he was able to witness the process firsthand.
“We have six different prisons, and out of five of them, the inmates gave me portraits,” Nutter said. “Some of them are really talented, but because they have a felony, it’s very difficult for them to realize their potential when they get out of prison.”

“A felony is like an economic death sentence,” Gillison added. “It was hard for ex-inmates to find employment before the great recession. Now it’s nearly impossible.”

MAP’s restorative justice program is specifically designed for ex-inmates reentering society.

“Ex-inmates are encouraged to apply for our reentry program, and most of them have been involved in our art instruction program while incarcerated,” Robyn Buseman, the restorative justice program director, said.

When admitted into the program, ex-inmates receive training from muralists, attend workshops and paint and install murals. This program has contributed to approximately 20 murals.

Other programs conducted by MAP in the past have involved sessions where inmates spoke with at-risk youth about their experiences. But these programs were discontinued about three years ago when the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections put in place a new policy that prohibits youth under the age of 18 to participate.

Golden said that hearing directly from inmates what life in prison was like really opened the eyes of a lot of youth who would have otherwise been lured into crime. Nutter and Williams agreed.

“By sixth grade, conditions exist for [youth] to be criminals,” Nutter said. “Early intervention is key. It’s not about rounding these kids up. We have to connect with them and engage them.”

Williams said 85 percent of homicides in Philadelphia are due to gun violence; nearly all the criminals involved never graduated high school.

“Fifty percent of Philly high school students drop out,” he said. “We’re trying to dramatically reduce the truancy rate.”

When the panel finished, Davies opened up the floor for a question-and-answer session. At least half the audience members’ hands went up, with questions on MAP and drug and handgun policies.

It isn’t difficult to illegally obtain a handgun, panelists explained. People who couldn’t legally buy one in Philadelphia could easily get one in Florida, where gun-control policies are less strict, Gillison said. Some bars in Philadelphia even rent handguns, he added.

After Citizens in Action concluded, some officials lingered for a few minutes to talk to citizens.
Andrew Davies, 26, said the panel changed his view on Philadelphia’s government.

“I appreciate the DA’s view on drugs and rehab and what the mayor is doing for gun control,” he said. “It’s good for people to know what’s on their radar.”

Manuel Agurto can be reached at manuel.agurto@temple.edu.

Priorities Adrift

The university dropped the ball on recent events: snow and two shootings.

Temple officials have the monumental task of providing for the safety and well being of thousands of students during their time at this university. This is by no means an easy or simple challenge, and we recognize that.

At the same time, two recent, separate events call into question the university’s execution of their duties.

The first event is the police incident on the 1800 block of Cecil B. Moore Avenue that occurred two weeks ago. The incident did not involve Temple students or Temple police, but it happened on a block that is home to many Temple students and only three short blocks from Main Campus.

And yet, Temple did not send out a TUAlert, or at the least, a TUAdvisory. Advisories are used when there is no present danger to students, but something has occurred in Temple’s vicinity that students should be aware of. Considering the incident didn’t involve Temple students or officials, an advisory would have sufficed, but it was absent.

The issue here is not the safety of Temple students, as there was no threat. Instead, it is peace of mind, the assurance that Temple officials knew what was happening and would have taken the proper precautions to make sure Temple students were not in harm’s way.

The other incident is minor, but still worth mentioning. Temple held classes on Friday, as it should have, but it did not properly prepare Main Campus for students. Liacouras Walk and a few other main thoroughfares were clear, but too many entrances and walkways were still icy.

This is a minor issue, but if Temple is going to hold classes, it should do more to make sure walkways around campus are clear. Commitment to education is admirable, but ignorance to safety issues is not.
Temple has a reputation of being the school that’s always open, and in a way that’s a good thing, but school officials need to make sure the school is prepared to uphold that tradition before they follow through.

Shootings shake area near campus

Last week, two shootings involving police occurred within blocks of campus.

Students were rocked last week when the news of two shootings within blocks of campus broke.
Around 6 p.m. on Feb. 3, two Philadelphia Police Department Highway Patrol officers got word of a robbery in progress in a residence on the 1800 block of North 18th Street, Philadelphia Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore said.

When the officers responded to the call, they saw three men inside the home committing the robbery. After one of the robbers saw officers through a window and began shooting at them, the officers returned fire, Vanore said. The three men attempted to exit the rear of the home, but an officer covering the exit intercepted them. Another exchange of gunfire occurred and one of the suspects, Lenford Fletcher, 31, of the 1200 block of Passamore Street, was wounded in the arm and arrested at the scene. Another suspect was arrested as well, while the third fled before police later apprehended him on the 1700 block of North Gratz Steet.

The other two suspects were identified as Mikle Eubanks, 29, of the 6700 block of Large Street and Jason Graddick, 31, of the 1100 block of the Windrim Avenue. All three were charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, burglary and related offenses, Vanore said.

At 9:30 p.m., officers from the 22nd District stopped a suspected stolen SUV at Girard Avenue and Broad Street. The driver drove off and was later trapped on Oxford Street near 16th Street between a Highway Patrol car and the 22nd District officers who followed the suspect.

In an attempt to escape, the suspect put the SUV in reverse then in drive, hitting and pinning the two Highway Patrol officers between their car and the SUV. One of the officers shot at the suspect, wounding him in the leg.

The suspect fled and was arrested 12 blocks away on the 1900 block of North 25th Street. The suspect, Andrew Bell, 35, of the 3300 block of Kensington Avenue was treated at Temple Hospital for his injuries. The two Highway Patrol officers were also treated but did not sustain any serious injuries.

Bell was charged with aggravated assault, attempted murder and possession of stolen property. He had 38 prior arrests.

Brian Dzenis can be reached at brian.dzenis@temple.edu.

New class studies urban violence

In a sociology special topics course, college and high school students will work side by side to understand and explain violence in urban areas.

During the university’s winter recess, Gladfelter Hall’s seventh floor saw students return early to the quiet classrooms.

In a small meeting room, sociology Professor Mary Stricker and 30 of her students gathered around a dark brown wooden table to discuss a new sociology special topics course, Urban Violence – A Critical Look at the Institution.

The pilot urban violence course is unlike others at Temple. It was created after a campaign by the Student Peace Alliance related to an independent study for SPA Vice President Max Cuddy, a senior sociology and African-American studies major.

Cuddy, backed by his organization and Stricker, organized the course so that in addition to the Temple students, 15 high school students could take the college class.

“The most important component of the whole class is the high school students,” Cuddy said. “That’s what makes this awesome.”

SPA came up with the idea for the class and began campaigning for it to begin during the 2008-2009 academic year. The group researched ideas and topics before finally voting and deciding on urban violence.

“We want to explore the causes of violence, what it is and how we think of it in an urban context,” Cuddy said, adding that SPA members wanted to know the history of violence and explore it through themes such as gangs, drugs, gun control, masculinity, family issues and incarceration.

Stricker said the course will begin with the history portion, not just in Philadelphia, but elsewhere. Philadelphia will be a focus, she said.

Once they established course objectives, SPA members proposed the idea to the General Education curriculum heads before pitching it to the head of the Sociology Department. From there, it was a matter of finding someone to help develop and teach the course.

The group met Stricker when she aided with course development, and after what she described as persistence by Cuddy, she agreed to teach it too.

“This is [SPA’s] vision. It’s their course,” Stricker said. “They created it as best as they could from start to finish, and I came in and made revisions as I saw fit.

“Max has worked very hard on helping me design the syllabus, come up with readings, themes for the course, et cetera. The Peace Alliance’s stamp is on this syllabus. It will be a big stamp on this entire course, equally with mine,” she added.

One of the three high schools involved in the special topics sociology course was misspelled. The Philadelphia school, “YouthBuild Charter School” is an academic and service learning process charter school that allows engaged young people who’ve dropped out of high school the chance to earn a high school diploma within a year.

Additionally, the University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia (UCCP) was in collaboration with the development of the special topics course’s syllabus, and helped Max Cuddy access and partner with the schools participating in the class.

Students from the high schools attended the meeting Jan. 13 and met their professor and college peers. All seemed to be enthusiastic about taking a college-level course on Main Campus.

“I think it’s an awesome topic,” Youthbill senior Ashanti Scafford said. “It’s going to be a good experience, especially not knowing what to expect.”

“It’ll be a perfect opportunity to voice my opinion on topics like urban violence,” said Bryan Collins, another senior Youthbill student.

“I want to get to the understanding of the violence in Philadelphia,” said Crystal Hickson, a senior at Kensington Business School. “It’s supposed to be the City of Brotherly Love, but where’s the love?”

Stricker said the high school students will bring perspectives of stopping violence, whereas the Temple students are coming in with perspectives of avoiding it.

“This course will hopefully go beyond these messages,” Stricker said. “The goal is to get both high school and college students to understand that urban violence, stopping and avoiding, demands a host of economic, cultural and social transformations.”

Cuddy said he and his fellow SPA members are pleased to see this class in the curriculum.

“We live in an urban area,” said SPA President Rowena Lair, a senior education major. “This is an SPA step to get Temple and the community together and bridge the gap between North Philly and the university.”

Joshua Fernandez can be reached at josh@temple.edu.

Criminal Minds

College students with criminal backgrounds still deserve an education.

College students are trying to get an education, but some have already received their own informal education in the law.

A recent study, conducted by a company that carries out background checks, found that one in 29 college students has a criminal record.

This study brings light to a fact not often brought up by college admissions advisers or high school guidance counselors: A student can make a pretty big mistake and still get into college.

The majority of the crimes were fairly obvious. Sixty percent of the crimes were traffic violations. However, the next three most-occurring crimes in the study were not so innocent. They were, in order from most to least common, disorderly conduct at 9.5 percent, theft at 8.8 percent and drug possession at 7.4 percent. Of course, these percentages only apply to the one in 29 college students who has a criminal record.

Applying this figure to Temple, approximately 1,000 university students could have criminal records. And about 400 of those students – again, applying percentages from the study’s results – could have records for crimes other than traffic violations.

So, there’s a significant percent of students that have somewhat questionable backgrounds. Somewhere along the way of checking SAT scores and counting extracurricular activities, college admissions either overlooked or saw something more in those students who were arrested for stealing, possessing drugs or displaying disorderly conduct.

On one hand, this hardly seems fair. If so many students toe the line, work hard and get involved in order to get into good schools, how do so many students with somewhat serious criminal records get into school – and stay there?

There are two good reasons to allow students with criminal records to enroll for the first time, or to stay enrolled, if they earned their records while in school.

First, colleges and universities would only alienate those potential students further by keeping them from higher education. College tends to change people’s lives, and students will be much more assimilated in college than kept out of it.

Secondly, and probably more importantly, colleges and universities, especially Temple, pride themselves on diversity. And if diversity means more than black and white numbers, it should also include people who may have less than squeaky-clean backgrounds. This is not to say Temple should invite criminals into its numbers, but there can be a lot to learn from people who have made a mistake or two along the way.

Lax landlords cause trouble for students

Two students recently had their near-campus apartment broken into after their landlord failed to install security sensors on their windows.

Juniors Natalie Ramos-Castillo and Eva Alkasov came home on a recent Friday night to one of the worst fears for students living off campus – someone broke into their home and stole their belongings, including laptops and a television.

Burglars broke into the apartment near Willington and Oxford streets through the second-floor window by knocking out the screen and escaped with the living room TV, laptops and their backpacks. In the aftermath of the robbery, the students, who both serve as Temple Student Government senators, have met plenty of other issues, beginning with compiling a record of what was stolen to try to replace their property with insurance.

“I have no record of what was stolen, so basically we have to start fresh.” Alkasov, a political science major, said.

“On top of that, there’s deductibles we have to pay. I have to pay $500 to get stuff back.” Ramos-Castillo, an education major, added.

Since the robbery, the pair has also encountered problems with their landlord.

“She’s tried to pin a lot of this on us,” Ramos-Castillo said. “She said we didn’t lock the windows, and that’s how they got in.”

Ramos-Castillo and Alkasov contend that the windows in their house were either broken or left open by someone other than the tenants and said a contractor working at the house had scaffolding set up outside the window where the burglars entered. The landlord also agreed to install security sensors in the windows but never did, the students said.

The situation is one example of how students sometimes face landlords who don’t make good on safety promises.

“I know a lot of landlords promise the world verbally but deliver nothing with actual services,” Yamile Perez, interim coordinator for Off-Campus Living and Summer Conferences, said. “I think a lot of students are finding out that if it’s not in the lease, legally they’re not bound to offer it.”

Once a student signs a lease to live off campus, there is very little Temple can do to help that student in any direct capacity.

“It’s a contract between them and the management company, so Temple has no wherewithal,” Perez said. “If they sign a lease, it’s tough. By signing it, they’ve agreed that everything in that lease is correct.”

The off-campus living branch of Perez’s job focuses more on helping students find favorable living situations and leases before they sign themselves into trouble.

“A lot of the students we see are already fed up or want to break a lease for whatever reason,” Perez said. “We would like to see students that are starting to look and give them the tools to be better consumers other than renting something and finding themselves in a bind.”

The extent to which a student reviews a lease and can interpret the statutes of it before signing can be critical. Off-campus Living offers a review process to students who have not yet signed leases to ensure they follow all the guidelines from Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections.

“Before you sign the lease, it’s a good idea to write what you think is fair and then have the landlord review that,” criminal justice major Madalee Apgar said. “I did that. I was lucky to room with some girls who are knowledgeable about that kind of thing, so they taught me a lot about my rights.”

Ramos-Castillo and Alkasov, however, say they had to see and sign their lease under suspicious circumstances from the get-go.

“The problem with the realtor was we didn’t get to see the lease till the day we moved in, so we had no time to look over it,” Ramos-Castillo said.

The fact that a landlord would not give out a lease until moving day is a cause for concern, Perez said.
“If a landlord will not show you a lease until the day you move in, that should raise red flags,” he said. “If something does not look or smell right, it’s not right.”

If students find themselves bound to unfavorable leases, Off-Campus Living can direct them to the Tenant Union Representative Network, a non-profit that advocates for tenants.

“They answer those kind of legal questions like ‘Can I sue them?’ [and] ‘How much can I get out of this or break my lease?’” Perez said. “They help you in that sense.”

TURN does not provide lawyers to tenants, just legal advice. Campus Safety Services does not get involved in disputes between landlords and tenants because it is a legal issue, not a law enforcement one.

If a student cannot reach an agreement with his or her landlord and cannot get the help of a lawyer, a last resort would be to withhold rent or break the lease, which is what Ramos-Castillo and Alkasov did. They will move out by the end of the month.

“It actually went really well, just because there have been so many problems,” Alkasov said. “This is the easiest way not to get into any legal issues.”

Their landlord could not be reached for comment Monday.

Students can also use the terms of their leases against landlords if they are aware of their tenants’ rights to settle disputes. It is better for a student be aware of the service he or she is getting before signing a lease than to find issues after a legally binding contract has been signed.

“If the landlord is offering you the world, make sure it’s in the original lease,” Perez said. “So you have a leg to stand on and say, ‘You didn’t give me this service.’”

Brian Dzenis can be reached at brian.dzenis@temple.edu.

Street smarts a necessity for student safety

In response to the recent break-in of Temple Student Government members’ apartments, columnist Carlene Majorino offers tips for protection.

Like many students living near Main Campus, two Temple Student Government members recently had their apartments broken into. The result was the theft of valuables and newfound fears of the place they should feel most safe and comfortable – their home.

This incident is tragic, though it is certainly not the first, nor the last, occurrence in North Philadelphia. Furthermore, there probably wasn’t anything the two students did to cause this, which is most upsetting.
However, there are precautions students can take to make their apartments safer and to minimize crime. What follows are a few suggestions that, over the years, have proven to be a “best bet” for students:

First and foremost. don’t leave anything out in the open – not even for a minute.

This may seem obvious to most of you, but many students come from historically safe neighborhoods underestimate peoples’ intuitions and downright morality at times.

About a month ago, I had a tire and seat stolen from my bike in Center City, and when I went to a local bike shop to see what they could do for me, the cashier said, “You know this city. If it’s not nailed down, it’s free. They took everything from your bike that wasn’t locked.”

I’ve come to learn that this is absolutely true. Never leave a bike, a bag or anything else outside while you run inside for 10 seconds. Be sure to properly secure even a decoration you might want for next year, or don’t put it out at all.

Get a good security system, and leave your blinds closed.

Never make sacrifices for the sake of your landlord. Upon moving in, demand a security system if one isn’t provided. Demand bars on the window if you feel you need them. The TSG members said their landlord refused to provide bars for the windows on their house – they should have gone further to make sure it happened. Remember, the landlord isn’t the one who has to live in the apartment.

Don’t flaunt your belongings.

I often see students walking off-campus at places like Montgomery Avenue or Diamond Street, where many students live, and they’re talking on their cell phones or looking through their bags. I’ve also heard that some students are told to talk – or pretend to talk – on their phones on the way to class if they feel unsafe.

Not so surprisingly to many, this is one of the most unsafe things a student can do in an unsafe neighborhood. When a person wants to commit a crime, they tend to look for the most vulnerable person to victimize – if a student is on his cell phone, he’s most likely not paying very much attention to much else.

Of course, looking through a bag or into a wallet is another “given,” but for those who associate a desolate street with safety due to their suburban upbringings, this is a mistake that causes muggings – or sometimes more – for innocent students.

Don’t be hesitant to make friends or become neighbors with the police.

Campus Safety Services is here for you if you live almost anywhere near campus. CSS patrols 24 hours a day between 8th and 17th streets from Oxford Street to Dauphin Street. And, of course, if you’re a student in distress, they will help you if you call from outside those boundaries.

If you’re skeptical of someone in your neighborhood who has posed a threat to you or your home, it’s simple to call CSS. Granted, there’s a lot of work to be done daily there, but the Temple Police can’t refuse you – so, remember, the ball is in the student’s court. The more you’re in touch with the police, the more they’ll look after you.

Finally, don’t forget to locate the police stations near Main Campus, and find housing near them, if possible. Many students live close to the 23rd Police District on 17th Street and Montgomery Avenue, which is convenient in the event of an emergency or even just a worry.

Don’t make your neighbors angry.

Most likely, if you moved off campus and into North Philadelphia as a second- or third-year Temple student, you live on a street that was once populated completely with North Philadelphia natives. Try to remember that when going about daily activities.

Your neighbors have probably lived on that block for most of their lives and may not have been thrilled when nearby houses became populated with rowdy college-aged students. Though I’m not implying that this fact would cause a crime on your block, it may agitate a neighbor enough to complain about you or show disrespect if your actions disrupt their lives.

Unlike some Temple party-goers, many locals have families and won’t be in the mood to listen to loud music until 4 a.m. on a Thursday night. So, more than anything, always keep in mind the golden rule.

Carlene Majorino can be reached at carlene.majorino@temple.edu.

Avoiding the fear-filled break from daily routines

Regardless of Philadelphia’s reputation for violent crime, females should not allow themselves to become victims of their own fear.

During this past summer, I would lace up my sneakers at 11:30 p.m. some nights, pop in my earbud headphones and run through the streets of Philadelphia until the next day, making sweaty returns to my doorstep around 12:30 a.m.

When a woman was raped Aug. 11 on Forbidden Drive, my occasional late-night runs didn’t cease. Nearly two weeks later, a 21-year-old female was raped in Fairmount Park as she went for an early-morning run on Aug. 24. My sneakers said hello to Kelly Drive the following weekend anyway.

A Philadelphia police officer or women’s self-defense instructor would probably call me reckless.

According to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System, there were 1,190 actual offenses of rape by force and 1,335 known offenses in the Philadelphia metropolitan area in 2008.

For women to be restricted by fear is sensible, but fear, sensible or not, shouldn’t claim precedence over our lives.

Little more than an hour after reading the TU Advisory sent to students last Wednesday, following the abduction and release of a 20-year-old Temple female near TUCC at 16th and Market streets, I was on my bike, hungrily pedaling to the Whole Foods Market at 2001 Pennsylvania Ave. for a 7:30 p.m. grocery store visit.

It was not a sensible decision. No one rode alongside me, and by the time I returned home, night had fallen. But, with no granola on my shelves, it was a necessary trip.

The abduction occurred at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday, relatively the same time of day as I’d made my food run. But in August, the second Fairmount Park rape happened nearly 12 hours earlier in the day, at 7:30 a.m. When, then, is it appropriate for a female to go running or grocery shopping?

After the second rape in Fairmount this summer, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported many female joggers changed their routines, either shifting the time of day they went or adhering to advice offered by Capt. John Darby of the Special Victims Unit for “folks to use a buddy system.”

After the TUCC abduction, Campus Safety Services reminded students via e-mail to be aware of their surroundings, to avoid talking to strangers and not to “approach or get in a stranger’s vehicle.”

Such safety procedures are simple and are repeatedly spouted off. During its fiscal year 2006-2007, Women Organized Against Rape reported that nearly 1,500 educational programs were performed in Philadelphia schools, and almost 300 were conducted within the community at large.

Yet somehow, WOAR’s 24-hour hotline received 2,000 calls the same year. It’s clear that a victim cannot control his or her attacker, but it seems there’s a lack of focus on what we can control: becoming a victim of fear.

Come nighttime, Celeste Sumo, a freshman university studies major, does not walk past the security post at James S. White Hall nearing Susquehanna Avenue alone, nor will she pass the Student Center on her own.

Walking alone on a Thursday night, though, Sumo said she didn’t let the TUCC incident stop her from journeying from White Hall to Paley Library to pick up a few films, making a pit stop at the Student Center to seek out fourth meal. Sumo will probably “look over my shoulder a little more” after the TUCC incident, but she said it all comes down to the basics.

“They teach you in third grade that if someone says, ‘Look at my dog or my kid,’ you just don’t go near them,” Sumo said. “I haven’t lived in the city for four years, but it’s easy to remember you have to be a little more vigilant.”

Ashley Nguyen can be reached at ashley.nguyen@temple.edu.

Keeping Watch

Recent crimes should serve as reminders to stay alert, not to stay naïve.

In 2007, there were approximately 2.6 reported rapes per day in Philadelphia.

According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports for that year, there were also 392 homicides and 9,574 aggravated assaults.

These staggering numbers of violent crimes alone speak for themselves – Philadelphia can be a dangerous place. But, although we should, we don’t think about this throughout our daily routines. There is so much beauty, culture and fun to experience, especially for college students, in the city that we often forget the type of world we live in.

The attack and attempted abduction of a Temple student this week, however, should be a wake-up call for all of us.

Granted, the victim in the situation should never have agreed to help a man she didn’t know when doing so required her to approach his vehicle. It’s one of the first safety tips any person learns as a child, especially as a young girl. Never talk to strangers, and never, ever go near anyone’s car.

But are we vigilant enough? And when does vigilance cross the line and prevent us from living our lives? Can we find a balance?

If our fellow student hadn’t been quick enough to escape her attacker’s car, anything could have happened. And while the experience she suffered will likely change her life forever, it could have been much more severe.

When university students – especially female students – are out on the streets of Philadelphia, every second of awareness and precaution counts. As students, we need to look out for ourselves and each other.

Many Temple students come from places outside of Pennsylvania, and they need to understand and respect that this city, whether you’re in Strawberry Mansion or Bella Vista, is just that – a city. And with that title comes some of the most prevalent, most violent big-city crime in the U.S., and it’s not something to ignore.

The next time you’re even tempted to think, “It won’t happen to me,” remember: You just can’t trust people you don’t know. Put simply, you can’t afford it. Your life is too precious to your family, your friends and most importantly, yourself.

The victim of last week’s abduction at TUCC was perhaps not being skeptical enough of others to protect herself, a habit we all need to begin practicing on a regular basis. Our lives may depend on it.

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