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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.

130

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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hannahmckayx t1_j5okuj9 wrote

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

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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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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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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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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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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.

−18

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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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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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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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

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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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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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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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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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.

−17

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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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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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

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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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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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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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.

0

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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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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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.)

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Shrewlord t1_j5pdu0k wrote

Hope they discussed how to transfer to a safer school.

−10

moderately_random t1_j5pep0b wrote

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

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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

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

−41

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.

−33

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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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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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.

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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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Shawna_Love t1_j5q5sqd wrote

They've been doing this for decades ☠️

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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.

−19

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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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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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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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

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

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.

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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

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?

−7

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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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.

2

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.

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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.

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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.

11

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.

1

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.

1

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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Farzy78 t1_j5tdoje wrote

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

1

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.

−3

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.

−2

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.

−3

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"?

2

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.

2

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

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.

0

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.

−1

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