Penn, Temple: ‘Most Dangerous Colleges’ list is bogus
A report released this week sent parents of college kids everywhere into a tizzy.
Elite Daily’s “Most Dangerous Colleges” list named Penn and Temple the nation’s most and second-most dangerous colleges, based on crime stats.
But spokespeople for both universities say those stats are wrong.
“The report from the website Elite.com on crime is completely bogus,” Penn’s Phyllis Holtzman told NewsWorks. “The figures do not match those that are on record here at Penn and we consider this completely invalid.”
Elite Daily cites four murders at Penn in the last three years. Penn’s crime stats show two. Temple shows no murders for the last three years. There was one by Elite Daily’s count. Stats for several other crimes at both campuses also vary depending on the source.
“We cannot find any numbers that correlate with what’s being reported here,” Temple’s Ray Betzner said. “Our numbers are significantly different and show that crime on campus is actually on the decline and the numbers do not relate to what’s being reported.”
The federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act requires colleges and universities to report and make accessible crime statistics around campus.
Elite Daily, which describes itself as “the premier online destination for aspiring men and women of Generation-Y,” did not provide details about the statistics’ source and did not return requests for comment.
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