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go_berds t1_j5ok9i1 wrote

When I was a student at temple all the discourse was about how Temple students were hurting the community and destroying the neighborhood. There was even a “defund TU Police” Instagram account that had a big following. I’m seeing a lot less of that sentiment recently. And all I can say is it’s about fucking time

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BasileusLeoIII t1_j5ommb2 wrote

> When I was a student at temple all the discourse was about how Temple students were hurting the community and destroying the neighborhood.

hate this so much

Temple is by far the largest employer of "locals" in the region, is the only bastion of safety and cleanliness, and does an enormous amount to ""give back"" to the community that hates it despite "taking" nothing in the first place

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go_berds t1_j5on3qf wrote

The hospital alone is a godsend

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NonIdentifiableUser t1_j5pkszj wrote

Imagine what the murder rate would look like without the two university hospital trauma centers that treat the clowns that shoot each other.

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porkchameleon t1_j5vggsf wrote

The word was that for GSW and serious trauma they were the best place in the city (since they statistically saw more).

Silver lining.

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Immortalone9 t1_j5p35vm wrote

There’s a bunch of charity organizations that get funded by Temple as well. My senior year I worked on a team that provided funding to many of those.

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Effective_Golf_3311 t1_j5qz7dj wrote

As a former student… we were the problem, always. That was drilled into us from day 1 by the school and the community and the only reason the community was shitty because of us.

Granted none of that was true, but some powerful people were convinced it was so we bore the brunt of it.

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mustang__1 t1_j5yompb wrote

Safety and cleanliness are gentrification, which is bad for the community since.... I guess rental and home prices will go up.

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SteveJeltz t1_j5opxac wrote

>When I was a student at temple all the discourse was about how Temple students were hurting the community and destroying the neighborhood.

Don't worry, once the university announces its next capital project all of the "community activists" will come out of hiding to bitch and moan about how Temple is a bad neighbor.

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NoREEEEEEtilBrooklyn t1_j5ouomj wrote

And when that happens, this time Temple should build the project specifically as a giant middle finger to the community. Temple tippie toes around everything and as an alum it pisses me off. The stadium proposal was specifically designed to be as non-invasive as possible and they couldn’t even explain the proposal at a town hall before being shouted down by activists.

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go_berds t1_j5ovn6s wrote

That stadium site was almost entirely surrounded by student housing too

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NoREEEEEEtilBrooklyn t1_j5p4suh wrote

Yup. I think there were like two or three houses that were occupied by local residents directly bordered by the stadium, and only one of them initially disliked the proposal, but once they learned that there was not going to be non-residential parking allowed in the neighborhoods on gameday, they were fine with it. Now, I don’t know how realistic a lot of the promises were, but that proposal went above and beyond to try to placate the neighbors. They were planning to dig as deep as possible so that the stadium was no taller than the surrounding row homes and only use it for a limited amount of events per year (Football games and Commencement if I recall correctly). They also were going to build a state of the art childcare center adjacent to campus where local residents would be able to enroll their kids for free, and all stadium related jobs were to have preferred hiring for residents of the local area. It was an extraordinary effort from the university to try to meet the needs of Temple while also not fucking over the neighborhood, and they got spit on.

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DonHedger t1_j5phw8a wrote

Temple is a bad neighbor and a fairly shitty employer. It can simultaneously be the case that the area Temple is situated in is dangerous and needs policing/intervention and that Temple is going about it in a negative or unhelpful way.

EDIT: lmao, y'all are fucking nuts. Why on earth would you want to live amongst a community you feel so at war with? Chances are most of you are MBA alums or undergrads who don't actually live in North Philly or interact with Temple all that much. Here's Temple suggesting they'll deport international graduate workers (1/3 of their workforce, mind you) who strike: https://www.inquirer.com/news/temple-university-graduate-students-strike-20221111.html

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Mikemo05 t1_j5scswn wrote

Defunding the police made its way west. Students want DUPD and Penn PD gone. To those people I hope you come to the real word before college ends.

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UndercoverPhilly t1_j5sp9sd wrote

I think many young people in Philly were caught up in the protests and the police brutality cases that should not have happened. They had been under lockdown for a few months and going to protest was a way to get out of the house for a good cause. Although I do not approve of police brutality I was never behind defund the police in Philly or any big city for that matter. PPD has some serious problems that need to be dealt with, but there was already a ridiculous amount of crime. To think that it wouldn’t increase if police presence were reduced in Philly was naive.

I was in a local establishment a couple of days ago, and I live in CC, a supposedly “safe” area. This was about 9:00 pm. When I walked in no one was there and I placed an order. 5 minutes later the employees are upset because several young men came in and declared they needed to charge their phones. They were not buying anything. Charging their phones meant moving furniture in the place to use an outlet! WTH? The two customers behind me quickly left. The employee told the young men to leave and that could not come in there every night. They refused. Most likely they were armed and with only 3 employees what could they do? The employees were talking about the lack of a security guard in the place. I know they were scared.I consider myself lucky to get my stuff and get out of there. I walked home pretty fast. This is not something I have ever seen in the 15 years living in the area, and the first time I felt unsafe in a business.

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enn_sixty_four t1_j5tapzw wrote

I mean Philly cops haven't done shit since 2020 since they're upset we wanted the cops nationally to stop killing black people and locally wanted them to not brutalize protestors for bogus reasons

The hardest they worked since then was when they tracked down that girl who torched their car via her profile pic from an Etsy comment.

So yeah I'm still in favor of defunding them. I'd rather my taxes goto anything else than the pockets and pensions of a bunch of cowards who pull shit like this.

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UndercoverPhilly t1_j5twzwe wrote

I remember the incident. For sure it was wrong. However, the all or nothing is not going to be positive for the city. There needs to be an attempt at a truce, getting rid of the bad cops and building up the decent ones.

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enn_sixty_four t1_j5u03qe wrote

The cops currently soft striking for the last three yrs isn't positive for the city. The cops "why bother?" attitude since 2020 isn't positive for the city. The loads of cops who have been racist misogynistic douchebag creeps towards my loved ones, for decades before 2020, weren't positive for the city.

Defund isn't the same as abolish.

"Getting rid of bad cops" wait, a minute ago you didn't want less police but now you want to get rid of the majority??

"A truce" between who? Us, and the cops who beat and harass the taxpayers they're paid to protect? A truce between us and the police commissioner who lied until the new York times and Inquirer called her out? Us, and the cops who told the violent dudes with weapons "can you guys leave so we can arrest the protesters for curfew"?

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UndercoverPhilly t1_j5u1x1k wrote

This is a thread about Temple. The majority of students and parents seem to want more police as do many residents in the city. It's a complicated issue so I apologize if my response is contradictory in certain points. I don't think it is a either/or and that type of thinking is not going to help. The crime situation DEFINITELY can get worse, not just at Temple but around the city.

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growtilltall757 t1_j5oq66e wrote

I thought it was about the late night drunken carousing and developers of cheap student housing pushing locals out. Maybe that was yet another era. I missed the defund era was out of school for 10 years before that became a protest phrase.

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31November t1_j5orudp wrote

It’s all relative. Better to deal with drunk students than lose a massive university in the neughborhood providing jobs and an entire extra police force.

I don’t know what the alternative would be other than just leaving the area that is now Temple as just another poor neighborhood in Northern Philly.

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throws_rocks_at_cars t1_j5p18kf wrote

The university has been there for literally since the 1880s. Every single person that lives near the school had decided affirmatively to choose Temple as a neighbor.

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BasileusLeoIII t1_j5p3i1l wrote

What's more, it was an industrial white working class neighborhood. There isn't even an argument that the locals' ancestors were there before Temple.

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Mcjibblies t1_j5qct2m wrote

I swear…. So you’re saying the schools ability to employ low wage jobs is more important than them paying the proper amount of taxes and having a strong public school district or direct investment in the neighboring communities?

…. Over 40+ years….?

Please have the ability to understand more of the full picture.

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go_berds t1_j5qe6hz wrote

Lol Temple is pretty much the only form of investment in the neighborhood, it brings an extra police force, better security measures, restaurants and jobs. Not to mention a large hospital network and other benefits such as a dental school that routinely provide free and affordable checkups to community residents

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Mcjibblies t1_j5ti3ll wrote

Look up Temple University 990.

Understand what’s in this document.

When you do, then we can discuss how over and extended period of time, having the largest employer in a few neighborhoods only contribute to the region with lower wage jobs rather than their fair amount of taxes would erode the systems that prop it up.

This is the crux of the matter. Not whatever you’re saying.

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go_berds t1_j5ti8qz wrote

But are low wage jobs somehow worse than no jobs? Because that’s the alternative

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Mcjibblies t1_j5v7lyg wrote

So, the largest employer along broad street, by far, has not paid taxes since at least 1954.

You gotta come correct. Trickle down has been proven time and time again to not work.

UChicago business school has literally screwed the entire country into believing taxes are bad, then raise them high enough in the surrounding areas so that poorer people can’t move into them and enjoy the benefits that higher taxes offer.

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Mikemo05 t1_j5sd1ey wrote

The people who work there pay taxes. They are the only thing propping up that area. Not to mention the countless businesses they keep going. To say temple is bad for that area shows you don’t understand the full picture.

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Mcjibblies t1_j5tibbe wrote

Temple is a nonprofit. You think the people in the region paying 10 to 12% taxes is more than that entity paying whatever the corporate tax rate is now?

…..over 40+ years, no less….?

This isn’t even a difficult math problem.

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Mikemo05 t1_j5tleqt wrote

Bold of you to assume ppl in that area pay taxes.

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Mcjibblies t1_j5v7y0o wrote

Wage taxes, sure. They don’t own the property. They pay rent to someone who refuses to have the property reassessed or upgraded for fear of owning more.

And there’s this gleaming structure, damn near $1Bil endowment, zero contributed to the public schools literally adjacent to its campus.

It’s laughable, really.

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Mikemo05 t1_j5vl98q wrote

They have zero responsibility to help the community. They do more than what’s fair. College is a business.

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Raecino t1_j5pitjp wrote

Temple destroying the community and temple students suffering the effects of crime are two different, separate things. The fact that you correlate the two things shows your own disgusting frame of mind on the issue ie. You assume the community and crime are one and the same.

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Hashslingingslashar t1_j5pvmha wrote

How is Temple destroying the community exactly? By adding extra police? Providing jobs? Keeping the area clean? Educating young people? Please do tell me how Temple is “ruining” the neighborhood.

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synthetikxangel t1_j5q5nuk wrote

Most people who work at Temple don’t live near Temple. They commute.

Landlords are money hungry. They would rather rent a bedroom in a 4bd/2ba to a student for 1200 a month then rent the whole house to a family for a fair amount.

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Spoons_N t1_j5qi9ra wrote

Actually no, most people who work at Temple live near Temple. Maybe not professors, but security, food service, and the janitorial team positions are all open to Temple’s neighbors before they open up the position to other people. (Temple accidentally sent an email out to all @temple.edu email holders explaining this and also stating criminal background didn’t matter and they’d provide SEPTA fair if needed).

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224flat t1_j5oiq19 wrote

If this happens off campus, they need to pressure the PDP for more of a police presence. Temple University is a high-profile area, so you definitely dont want to be on the news every week with this garbage. If it's unsafe, do something. I always felt safe on campus but a block or two away and night, no thank you.

Not to get off on a rant here, but the entire area is unsafe, especially at night. This only makes the news because it was a student assaulted.

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givemebackmybrain t1_j5p5365 wrote

Never understood why student housing development kept going west. East along Berks is the area that's improving.

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TheBSQ t1_j5p9ml5 wrote

Agreed. As gentrification spreads up the El, and expands out from Fishtown and Old Kensington, it seems like building eastward from Temple along Berks would be a no-brainer.

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Raecino t1_j5pjfot wrote

Not really, crime and violence plagues the neighborhoods east of there as well. It’s just that Temple is smack in the middle of North Central which led the city in homicides for a long time. Not sure why people keep expecting gentrification to get rid of crime when that’s not what happens on the ground.

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givemebackmybrain t1_j5pn6z3 wrote

For the longest time, all along Berks and surrounding were empty lots. It wasn't as dense with people as it is west.

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Effective_Golf_3311 t1_j5qzvhw wrote

Lol my buddy got shot over there… near Berks and 6th or 7th

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evolighten t1_j5sfzav wrote

Thats so sad. I hope hes ok. I lived on 7th & berks for 2 years and it was very peaceful. Scary to hear that

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Effective_Golf_3311 t1_j5t7ms3 wrote

Oh yeah he’s fine. Right in the ass cheek. Lucky as shit but fortunately we can look back now and laugh about it

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Tzames t1_j5ouhlp wrote

The entire area being the entirety of north Philly?

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Raecino t1_j5pj4hl wrote

North Philly is much bigger than just that neighborhood

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Tzames t1_j5pjmgg wrote

I know but they said “the entire area is unsafe” so I just wanted them to be clear on whether they only meant Temple or the entirety of North Philly

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Capkirk0923 t1_j5qwym2 wrote

North Philly is dangerous on a block by block basis. There are parts where the community on the block keep it clean and safe.

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[deleted] t1_j5p1eco wrote

[deleted]

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Glass_Fensters t1_j5p68ds wrote

The rail park doesn’t get anywhere near temple and is minuscule compared to the Atlanta belt line.

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kilometr t1_j5p8ose wrote

Also Philadelphia is not seeing the large population boom Atlanta is seeing. Development there is much easier to direct cause there’s such a high demand for new housing we don’t have here.

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NonIdentifiableUser t1_j5pl60y wrote

The belt line is pretty fucking cool, I must say. Minneapolis has a pretty sweet city trail system as well

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Raecino t1_j5pj84z wrote

That neighborhood has been unsafe for the longest time before these recent events.

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BroadStreetRandy t1_j5opf9i wrote

As someone who lived off campus at Temple for four years, and still works in North Philly, I get all the increased concern with crime considering the state of the city. At the same time, are we not reaching sort of an impasse when it comes to what the university can do?

More Temple Police and Philadelphia Police present? Last I heard with recruitment numbers and staffing levels neither department is in a position to station more officers in any one location.

More Allied Barton/Mall Cops? They were always very visible when I was there not sure if that's still the case. (I remember buying weed from a few of them at one point, actually lol) Given their recent track record on SEPTA in the last two years I'm not sure their presence actually serves many benefits as to crime reduction in this current climate.

If it's just unacclimated/rattled students and parents unspecifically asking for "something, anything" to happen, they are going to be disappointed because unless the situation in regards to crime improves city-wide I don't see how Temple University can do much of anything to stop this. They know it can hurt enrollment, if they had a cure they would use it.

I know in the past the community (and tbh a large portion of the student body) was always opposed to Temple increasing its presence in almost any way off campus as some sort of gentrification/encroachment scenario so I'm interested to see if that's hindered any proposals or changed in any way perception wise.

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starboardbaby t1_j5ow4wl wrote

As a current student, I think many students (and especially PARENTS, who are often the ones with the money) are usually pro-increasing police presence in the off-campus areas around Temple. Temple has parents and students begging them increase their police presence, like, every single day. But, as another commenter said, I feel like Temple tiptoes around the subject because actually admitting that the neighborhood surrounding it is dangerous is a no-no for PR. It’ll be all “town halls”, “our thoughts are with the victim,” “we promise we’ll do X, X and X” after each incident then nothing really happens.

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BroadStreetRandy t1_j5qkizv wrote

I think the big issue is that I don’t believe the resources exist to put more cops out there, at least for Temple PD. I don’t think they have more resources or officers to staff even if they wanted to. Money only goes so far you need recruits and nobody is going out for jobs with the Temple police.

City police is a whole different story, that gets you into quiet quitting and questionable medical leave… which is a whole other bag of words and not a Temple problem.

I think things will need to change City-Wide before the situation improves.

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zooberwask t1_j5qw2ya wrote

Glassdoor says Temple University Police pay 57k-85k with an average salary of 69k.

>Money only goes so far you need recruits and nobody is going out for jobs with the Temple police.

You think that's money going far, at 69k?

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Aromat_Junkie t1_j5otjtr wrote

they could buy up more property around the school and put up a giant fence like girard college

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[deleted] t1_j5ov3y6 wrote

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DoctorSteve t1_j5riu0f wrote

If they offered a large fence, I'm sure they would jump at joining in and fencing it off. Make it a walled city.

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Aromat_Junkie t1_j5ovkgc wrote

ah yes, because they immediately enter another jurisdiction it's not like they left town and are in the wild west.

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[deleted] t1_j5ow9zg wrote

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Aromat_Junkie t1_j5owy4k wrote

I have issues with both of them. Temple police thought it was better to spend time arresting me for drinking underage rather than preventing (happened the same week) that professor getting the shit beat out of them in their office by some rando off the street.

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[deleted] t1_j5oxlj9 wrote

[deleted]

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Aromat_Junkie t1_j5oz6l4 wrote

like you said most of their job is busting kids for underage drinking, while we have serious crimes happening on campus.

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[deleted] t1_j5ozevx wrote

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Aromat_Junkie t1_j5ozofq wrote

You say that, but Penn for example has a much larger patrol zone than just the campus. Same thing, their own Police department. Their patrol zone goes from the river to like 43rd.

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[deleted] t1_j5ozzpb wrote

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Aromat_Junkie t1_j5p0h4v wrote

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/2018-09/screen_shot_2018-09-24_at_12.48.24_pm_0.png

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[deleted] t1_j5p14sx wrote

[deleted]

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Aromat_Junkie t1_j5p1um7 wrote

that is to say, they both have some off campus patrolling right? There's clearly no way they could extend it with their copious funding right?

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[deleted] t1_j5p28z5 wrote

[deleted]

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Aromat_Junkie t1_j5p2nw7 wrote

coming up with solutions = moving the goalpost.

Look, here's how penn did it, they used thier massive endowment to build an entirely new sub city around Penn called "university city' and removed all the poor black people. It's not a secret.

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GoldenMonkeyRedux t1_j5pc5uj wrote

You need a history lesson. First of all, the area to the west of Penn is filled with gigantic Victorians built by the richest in the city from the mid 1800's to the 1950's. White flight led to some African American people in the area, but the majority was still white. Then Penn did three important things after the death of a graduate student on the 4300 block of Pine: they drastically increased their police presence bolstered by security, they offered to co-sign employee mortgages at great rates, and they built the Penn Alexander School. For the record, the mortgage program hasn't been offered for almost 15 years.

University City was coined by a bunch of real estate agents/developers in the 1950's, not Penn. University City is technically only up to 40th St, but it's commonly used for the entire area from the river to 50th, Woodland/Baltimore/Kingseessing to Market. No actual resident uses that term. We live in Spruce Hill, Walnut Hill, Squirrel Hill, etc.

Penn didn't kick anyone out. They revitalized the area and made it a desirable place to live. I personally have been here 25 years, own my house, and don't want to live anywhere else in this city. My kid goes to Penn Alexander with children of all races and creeds. White is a plurality, but not a majority. And a very large percentage of the students live near poverty levels.

So no, Penn did not kick out black people.

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zerofox2189 t1_j5qy7g5 wrote

Hey man, even though the other guy didn't like your comment, I thought it was really interesting and informative lol

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GoldenMonkeyRedux t1_j5r0q8n wrote

Actually, there is a big caveat: Penn and Drexel did literally eminent domain the “black bottom” which was a formerly wealthy neighborhood between 32nd and 40th or so. The wealthy moved further west into places like Spruce Hill and the area became a neighborhood for low-income African Americans who were discriminated against elsewhere. The city declared the area blighted and the universities grabbed it.

The 3400 block of Sansom is basically all that exists of the original architecture. Urban renewal was a bitch.

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[deleted] t1_j5p2zap wrote

[deleted]

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Aromat_Junkie t1_j5p4z97 wrote

> Where will you be kicking all of the poor people to under your awesome plan? Acting like that isn't already happening at Temple is insanely naieve.

Obviously, to mayfair

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[deleted] t1_j5p5ikv wrote

[deleted]

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UndercoverPhilly t1_j5sqerd wrote

Also University City is not crimeless. There are plenty of incidents, especially a bit further north near Drexel, which also has their own police, but they don’t make the news. Penn has their own big shuttle buses, like Drexel, but also small vans that Penn students and employees can take. I’m sure this cuts down on a significant amount of incidents since they can get a ride home at night. Their campus also has more housing in it so they are within the Penn police domain. A lot of Temple students are living off campus and walking around to get to their homes or to take public transportation.

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martymoran t1_j5ovr2m wrote

its a wall. do you know when that wall was built?

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Aromat_Junkie t1_j5owoq5 wrote

yes, when the nationalist mayoral elect had the streets of girard shouting 'build that wall' and 'send them back to spring garden!'

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NoREEEEEEtilBrooklyn t1_j5v51pa wrote

They should build a wall and make Drexel pay for it with all the money they make from scamming kids into a 5th year of Undergrad.

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TheBSQ t1_j5pa5kb wrote

I get what you’re saying the doom-scrolling sense that there’s probably not much anyone can actually do that will change much, unless the city did some crazy shit that that’s just not financially and politically feasible.

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hannahmckayx t1_j5okuj9 wrote

Ugh. My kid got into temple and really wants to go… I’m unsure.

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starboardbaby t1_j5own66 wrote

Def consider sending him to Temple! I’m a current student and happy here. It’s a great school with such a wide array of strong programs, school pride, and strong alumni outcomes. Keep in mind, ALL of these crimes are occuring in the off-campus neighborhood. When your kid is a freshman, he’ll probably live in a dorm, which are all highly secure and on-campus, so he’ll be fine. After that, he’ll have plenty of options for safe housing both on-campus and in better areas than Templetown. If you’re local, he can commute, which many at Temple do and is an even safer option. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions!!

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Away_Swimming_5757 t1_j5pazzg wrote

I graduated from Temple. It's a good education, but comes with a very low quality of life if you are living in the immediate area.

It's not a place where you can walk around with headphones and feel safe. I was constantly on guard while living there and when I look back, I wish I would've went somewhere else that had a peaceful, safe quality of life where I could walk home safely at night time and not have PTSD from having my home invaded.

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SaltPepperKetchup215 t1_j5ooq49 wrote

There will always be fear mongering. I’ve lived here my whole life and it takes a lot to scare me, 100% I wouldn’t want my kid going to Temple

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pr10 t1_j5ornvw wrote

I went to Temple, lived off campus, and it's fine. Try to get dorm housing the first year or two if possible.

And when living off campus, live as close to the campus core as possible - it's safer and makes it easier to get to class. Also, look into the areas where Temple Police patrol - they are infinitely more responsive than PPD.

Alternatively, the BSL and Regional Rail run through campus so they could commute from another area as well. A lot of my classmates rented in South Philly, for instance.

EDIT: spelling

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Accomplished_Crab392 t1_j5optw8 wrote

Anywhere else with similar tuition? I hate to poo poo temple because I think it’s a great school, but the area is worth being worried about. FYIY I went to sju and probably wouldn’t encourage any kids looking at schools to go there either personally.

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hannahmckayx t1_j5osj6f wrote

He got into a few schools in NJ which is cheaper since we live in NJ, and a few schools in NY. The main problem for me is I grew up in Philly but my kids grew up in cape may lol. My kids are so soft and I feel like it would be a culture shock, they’d be such easy targets in a city 😂

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Lunamothknits t1_j5owrkq wrote

My oldest is what I call suburban soft. I’m from the area but he’s been raised literally everywhere else, and I’d have the same worry. I’m trying to get him acclimated now before college but he’s a gentle, squishy, trusting creature… 😂

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starboardbaby t1_j5ox02d wrote

SJU people love to shit on Temple but the area around SJU has seen its fair share of crimes against students recently. There have been a handful of kids carjacked, there was an SJU student shot outside his student apartment in Overbrook recently, kids get jumped, etc. SJU is having the same exact problem with city crime- parents complaining, “increasing police presence”, etc.

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Accomplished_Crab392 t1_j5oy7gs wrote

I literally said I would not recommend sju either lol. Sju public safety could arguably be worse than temples.

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starboardbaby t1_j5p0ams wrote

I gotchu yeah I hate to see it. Such a shame bc overbrook could be such a great area

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Accomplished_Crab392 t1_j5p4j7i wrote

I agree, my dad grew up there. Theres some gorgeous architecture, it’s still pretty if you know what you’re doing, just gotta keep your wits, which is hard to expect from sheltered college kids.

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scrimshandy t1_j5prcwo wrote

Temple alum here about to go to bat for the school. First, if your kid is from Philly/surrounding areas and knows how to keep an eye out, they’ll be okay. Temple (like Philly) has gotten more sketchy post-2020, I won’t deny that. However.

It’s an R1 university, which means amazing research opportunities for undergrads. They have a huge study abroad program which for me wad a huge bonus. If your kid is eligible, the honors program is great, too.

Tuition is relatively cheap, especially in state, and they’re generous with scholarships. Campus is close to the sub, regional rail, and bus stops. Lots of student employment opportunities as well (I worked on campus 6 out of my 8 semesters.)

Philly is a fun city with lots of local scenes, if you know where to look. And very abundant with post-graduation employment opportunities. (I graduated with employment offers in my field from Jefferson, CHOP, and Drexel.)

That being said, I absolutely recommend on-campus or off-campus apartment housing for safety until something major changes.

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Stompanee t1_j5px2tk wrote

I’m the mom of a freshman. I understand completely how you feel. Feel free to DM me to discuss our experience. While we worry, we have been happy at temple.

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DonQOnIce t1_j5ozdbw wrote

I would just encourage your kid to live in a different neighborhood if not on campus if they really want to go. Temple is easy accessible by public transit from many safer city neighborhoods.

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postgrad-dep18 t1_j5qni07 wrote

Agreeing with the others, it’s a good and affordable school! The work study program (if your kid is eligible) is awesome, I worked off campus at a big company that opened a lot of doors for me! I stayed there for 4 years and it was a great experience.

5

IcanCwhatUsay t1_j5rwwbb wrote

Temple is great. Don’t go where the light isn’t. And don’t go north of campus and stay on Main Streets and off the side ones.

5

TheBSQ t1_j5pd8j7 wrote

Personally, I don’t think the quality or the reputation of Temple justifies the price tag and safety issues, especially once you leave the Philly region.

I don’t know what NJ schools your kid also got into, but any of them are both less expensive and better, I think it’s a no brainer to go there instead.

Granted, when I was a college-bound kid, I really wanted to be in a city, and prioritized that over everything else, and all the sound advice in the world couldn’t have gotten me to change my mind.

And, actually, now that I think about it, I did end up getting robbed at gunpoint my first year living off campus! (Not Temple. Different city/school but similar urban campus situation.)

4

Angsty_Potatos t1_j5u2olj wrote

Make sure they are living on campus. The surrounding area is LIGHT-YEARS better than it was in the early and mid 00s. But on campus is way safer until they get their sea legs

4

ColdJay64 t1_j5oui83 wrote

From another article on this: “Students say while they feel safe on campus, they have serious concerns when they venture off campus.”

It’s safe to attend if you live on campus, but if you don’t - you may want to live in Fairmount, Center City, or South Philly.

3

babywithahugedick t1_j5qmfl0 wrote

Absolutely do not let your kid go to Temple. I graduated in 2018 and my experience at Temple was completely traumatizing. The same can be said for a lot of other students and alumni at this point. I wish I had gone literally anywhere else.

−1

alex-needs-friends t1_j5qsev5 wrote

interesting, I went there and don't know anyone who would say their experience was traumatizing

9

carlhames t1_j5rrrzy wrote

I actually loved temple. The general lawlessness of the hood is something special. In my 5 years of year round living there, I was robbed at gun point once and my house was burglarized once, also tons of fights, but overall unscathed. I'd never send my kids there though, way too sketchy.

6

starboardbaby t1_j5s8mr9 wrote

How was it traumatizing? I’ve met some very, very sheltered/skittish people at TU but idt any of them would describe it as traumatizing outside of personal reasons

4

babywithahugedick t1_j5vr8bf wrote

Absolutely was not a skittish or sheltered person prior to enrollment, graduated with PTSD thanks to getting robbed at gunpoint, being attacked by a group of teens and watching my friend get stabbed to death. Best part about the stabbing was how Temple buried the story and deleted it from their website after confirming that he wasn't a student.

0

Qumbo t1_j5ow62l wrote

Go to Penn State instead. Same big state school vibe while being about as far from this crap as you can possibly be.

−8

moderately_random t1_j5pep0b wrote

Parents and students need to realize Temple’s main concern is their bottom line, not their safety.

14

Raecino t1_j5pjryi wrote

Same for developers sadly. Good luck to anyone moving into apartments being built right alongside the projects.

9

Glystopher t1_j5qi5u0 wrote

Seems like there’s housing projects scattered all over philly… hard to be far from one at any given location…

3

Shawna_Love t1_j5q5sqd wrote

They've been doing this for decades ☠️

14

UndercoverPhilly t1_j5pk9o6 wrote

I worked at Temple for about a year in the mid-aughts before it was built up with the dorms. Every staff and faculty member vacated the campus as soon as their job was done! You did not hang around there a minute longer than necessary especially after dark.

I honestly am not surprised and feel for the Temple students. For the most part they are just trying to get an education at a school that is not that expensive. Penn is probably the safest campus in the city and that's due to their Penn police force which is quite visible.

13

Angsty_Potatos t1_j5u2gr5 wrote

Most depressing years of my life living off campus at temple. No socializing, because as soon as class was out I'd need to get home because walking in my neighborhood two blocks off campus and living there alone was the plot to a murder podcast waiting to happen

3

D_Ranz_0399 t1_j5rozb1 wrote

This situation could become existential for Temple University. Unless there was some absolutely incredible reason that this is the ONLY place that you could go for the desired degree, who would want to subject themselves to the dangers of the area? I don't know the answer but something has to change.

13

Farzy78 t1_j5tdoje wrote

That was a hate crime plain and simple but the news won't call it that of course

1

OfferCorrect278 t1_j5qn48n wrote

I always have a knife on me. I don’t know how much it would help but at least it’s there.

−4

Mikemo05 t1_j5sdfd7 wrote

The bad thing about a knife is you need to be in range to use it. You are required to be near the attacker. With a rangers weapon likes gun or taser you are better off.

4

OfferCorrect278 t1_j5qokr9 wrote

I went to temple and loved it. I lived off campus but was always aware of my surroundings. You gotta be heads up, and maybe keep a knife on you. I would have stuck one of those shits.

−5

StevenFromPhilly t1_j5ph8xt wrote

Temple students should never be NEAR campus.
Always ON campus.
Then there's less of a chance something bad could happen.

−6

BlackJoeGatto t1_j5p0143 wrote

I think the obvious answer and frankly the only morally correct answer is to defund the police around Temple and find these 3 men and give them a talking to, let them know that what they are doing is not nice and its not their fault. Maybe a curfew for students too and a review of the systematic effect of having a place of learning in this neighborhood

−7

Raecino t1_j5pjoor wrote

Or maybe, do something about poverty instead of placing higher income housing right in the middle of it?

−5

Mikemo05 t1_j5sdbn0 wrote

Can’t blame the people moving in for the ppl in poverty being poor. Blame the tax leaches.

2

Shrewlord t1_j5pdu0k wrote

Hope they discussed how to transfer to a safer school.

−10