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BureaucraticHotboi t1_jdgbufs wrote

Reply to comment by rileybgone in Temple limits public access to food court following violent incidents by Sunset_Bleu

It’s also worth noting that prior to the riots after MLK was killed that area of North Philly was a thriving black owned commercial district. I lived near temple and older folks in the neighborhood told me how the city basically locked down the area and let the corridor that is now Cecil B Moore burn. It’s never recovered and many other policies contributed to its disinvestment. Now temple and the developers feeding off of its growing footprint are filling much of that void without offering much to the community. This doesn’t mean kids fighting in the food court are freedom fighters, it just adds context to the alienation and disinvestment that has lead the area to be so bad and the community to feel so at odds with the institution

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Tall-Ad5755 t1_jdldje4 wrote

The community didn’t riot during the MLK death; you’re talking about the 1964 riots.

And what should Temple be offering to the community aside for what they already do? Genuine question.

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rileybgone t1_jdgc3t1 wrote

Yeah it's not a great thing but there's always a material explanation as to why thing are the way they are. And temple, while important, is currently functioning like a tumor. Devouring the neighborhood and providing little to nothing for the local working class. Maybe some okay paying jobs at best while not allowing any true upward mobility.

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UndercoverPhilly t1_jdiagu5 wrote

Is there reduced tuition for people in the community at Temple or is that only for CCP?

The current leadership there (and I get this just from reading the news) seems to be misguided. They finally reconciled with their graduate student union and the president was supposed to move into a house near Temple but they haven't moved in there yet. Why pretend to care?

FWIW I don't think a food court in a residence hall should be open to the public, especially not in a dangerous neighborhood. That makes no sense. Let the people who are not staff/students of Temple who want to eat in there show ID (and have it be scanned or collected) or pay some kind of subscription to eat in there. If they know that their name and face is documented then most won't go in there or they won't act up. You can't get into any other building on Temple's campus without presenting an ID and signing in.

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Tall-Ad5755 t1_jdldpqq wrote

Idk why do people pick on Temple so much. Literally all colleges are in some kind of neighborhood. But we don’t expect them to “pay off” the neighborhood residents the way ppl often say with Temple. LaSalles in a poor neighborhood

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UndercoverPhilly t1_jdm2fnq wrote

I think because Temple is not a private school, it's a public university that receives funding from the state, people feel like it should be accountable to the citizens since we pay taxes. That said Temple has some 37,000 students while LaSalle, a private university, doesn't even have 4,000. The impact of LaSalle on the neighborhood will be much less. Also LaSalle DECREASED its tuition by 29% in 2017, according to wikipedia so that it would be more accessible financially. They aren't a wealthy school either so they are probably seen as doing more for the surrounding community or having a neutral effect.

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Tall-Ad5755 t1_je2qop8 wrote

Maybe, Pitt is large and it doesn’t have problems in Oakland. Because people see the benefit of having a major research and health institution at your doorstep.

Temple is more important to the region as a whole and does more for the region than not (they are state related so they’re private in administration in exchange for discount tuition for local) (they provide healthcare for the neighborhood victims regardless of insurance) (they provide jobs; many of which are accessible to people of the neighborhood) (they offer services like free computer use and tutors and other stuff when I was there) (because of them amenities like movie, markets and shops/restaurants are there to the benefit of everyone that wouldn’t be there were it not for temple) (they enroll more African Americans than most schools in the state not an HBCU and have the legacy of one of the first afam programs in the USA)

Because all of this I am jaded about the delusional residents and if I’m selfish I want temple to be the best it can be, rise in the rankings and be this side of the state’s Pitt…the safety of the neighborhood gets in the way; the neighbors complain about temple but don’t complain enough about their children and their brothers and cousins shooting and being shot and other acts of crime….if it was up to me…TUs survival is essential…..ram through their program; stadium and all 😬😂….fu*k what anyone thinks.

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UndercoverPhilly t1_je31cv7 wrote

I've been to Carnegie Mellon and it is right next door to Pitt if I remember correctly. I didn't see any poor neighborhoods around those universities, but I was only there for a weekend and this was about 7 or 8 years ago. We stayed in a hotel near Pitt and it was not anything luxury but I didn't think the neighborhood was comparable to N.Philly.

There are always town-gown problems in cities, especially if they aren't paying taxes on their buildings, which many do not. I think some universities have a better time of it because of the perception of the community, and that sometimes has more to do with what kind of respect university administration and leadership show to the community rather than if they are actually doing anything to benefit or harm.

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