Letters to the Editor | March 1, 2023

We, as a nation, and as Philadelphians, are at risk of becoming numb to the all-too-familiar cycle of gun violence. When will we decide that this is really the moment to finally, together, change the trajectory of this epidemic that is tearing us apart? Violence is devastating our city. The risk to Temple, and the risk to every other pillar, anchor, and constituent part of Philadelphia, is that if we fail to engage our collective strength to address this problem, we will not be able to get back to our core business — growing and thriving, as a great city should.

Philadelphia can, and will, turn the tide. But no institution, in any sector, industry, or neighborhood, will do it alone. Only through persistent, broad-based, and comprehensive efforts like the new Civic Coalition to Save Lives will we change the narrative and path forward for our city. Right now, at a time of unprecedented crisis, Temple needs immediate and urgent support to ensure off-campus safety. At the same time, we are also seizing this opportunity to provide leadership for the collective effort to combat gun violence.

Temple is Philadelphia’s university, and we have a responsibility. We will drive discourse and programming to advance our role in violence reduction work and research. We will convene and coordinate our community and government partners, building a new model for public-private partnership to confront this deep societal problem. We call on every Philadelphia organization and institution to join us. Lend your people, your support, and your voice. We all have a responsibility, and now is the time. We are a great city. Let’s prove it together.

Jason Wingard, president, Temple University

Columnist Jennifer Stefano once again completely misses the mark as she blames liberals and Black Lives Matter for Officer Christopher Fitzgerald’s death. Fitzgerald was killed by an 18-year-old from a wealthy suburban Buckingham household. If that man had not been able to easily access an automatic pistol, the officer would likely be alive today. Guns are easily available in Philadelphia to anyone. Consequently, we have kids masquerading as men equipped with high-capacity automatic weapons. Police arrive at shooting scenes and find 30 to 40 shell casings, bullets are sprayed everywhere, and innocent children die as well as the occasional police officer. We need reasonable gun laws to be enacted and enforced in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs. No regular citizen needs to own an assault rifle or a pistol with a large-capacity magazine. We need laws preventing criminals and straw buyers from purchasing guns. Furthermore, we need severe penalties for selling guns to minors and anyone else as an unregistered transaction. Today’s Republicans are solely focused on placating the NRA and moving to eliminate all gun laws in the name of Second Amendment rights. Blaming “woke liberals” and Black Lives Matter will do nothing but kick the ball down the street, which is exactly what Stefano seeks to do.

John Stevens, Cinnaminson

I would very much like the release of balloons to become illegal. What seems like a lovely way to commemorate someone has the very real possibility of killing farm animals, wildlife, and birds. It would be much better to take up a collection for the family, or contribute to a cause close to them. I wouldn’t want my loved ones remembered by killing creatures.

Helen Holland, Royersford

While I share the concerns voiced by parents who say that Masterman is being “systematically dismantled” by the new admissions process, I am far more troubled by both the parent association’s report and The Inquirer article’s characterization of the new students admitted under the lottery system: That they are undeserving of a Masterman education. That they have behavioral problems. That they take away from the school’s resources. That they tarnish the school’s sense of community or commitment to academic rigor. That they don’t even want to be there. The problematic lottery rollout clearly bears some blame for many of the problems our schools face in 2023. But students were also kept home from school for over a year. Test scores nationally are lagging. A mental health crisis is raging among adolescents, as is burnout among teachers. Transitions like this one take time to bear fruit. All this atop the compounding structural, historical, and socioeconomic factors that for decades, in unspoken and sometimes explicit ways, have told most of Philadelphia’s students that they do not deserve excellence and that their voices — conspicuously absent from the report and the article — do not deserve to be heard. Instead of spending the time, money, and energy to publish a 51-page report telling underprivileged kids that they don’t belong, the Masterman Home and School Association should be investing all of its resources into making sure that they do.

Sara Rhodin, parent, teacher, and MSW student in Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice, Philadelphia

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether President Joe Biden can forgive student loan debt. Congress did not pass any law allowing this. I will bet my MAGA hat that this Supreme Court will tell Biden that this idea is ridiculous. That doesn’t mean, by the way, that the usual left-leaning court justices won’t vote that it is fine and dandy to forgive only certain loans. So why did Biden even waste his time conjuring up this nonsense? Well, the answer is easy. The president made this promise before a really important election, and that meant that a lot of people who were promised they could walk away from all or some of their loans would vote for Joe, who would be their financial hero. “There would be no general media outcry that this was illegal, so how could this promise hurt?” Biden likely asked himself. The Democrats were all for it. This promise that to me was laughable is the typical low-down politics that may have worked. Look for more of the same.

David F. Lipton, Toms River

Last week, an off-duty FBI agent shot and killed a pit bull that reportedly attacked her dog. The next day, there was a small protest outside the Philadelphia FBI offices. But there was one person there in support of the agent’s action: my son, Mitch. On Nov. 12, 2019, our dog, Scooter, was killed by a pit bull near 11th and Spruce Streets. Mitch was walking our three small dogs that evening when a pit bull got loose from its owner and attacked Scooter. Our 36-year-old son beat on that pit bull with his fists for several minutes, while others were kicking it, but the pit bull would not release our dog. Finally, someone came by with a metal-tipped walking stick and wedged it behind the dog’s teeth to unlock its jaw. It was too late. Scooter died of his injuries that night. This is not an isolated incident. Every week across the country, adults, children, pets, and even livestock are attacked by pit bulls.

We believe that pit bulls should be banned in Philadelphia. They are already banned in 53 countries. In America, pit bulls are banned in over 1,100 cities, 40 counties, 297 military bases, and 23 Native American reservations. Many housing authorities ban pit bulls, including New York City.

At the very least, all pit bulls should be muzzled. And dog shelters should not adopt out pit bulls. The pit bull that was shot and the pit bull that killed our dog were both rescues. It’s time to end this deadly practice and end this deadly breed. If pit bulls are too dangerous for the police and military, then they’re too dangerous for our neighborhoods.

Lynn Landes, Philadelphia

Pennsylvania is constantly working to attract talent and widen job sector offerings by increasing opportunities in our communities. One of the most promising industries for our state is the tech sector. Recently, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia began campaigning to bring in more tech talent. If we want to encourage the best and brightest in the industry, we need to champion an environment that is friendly to innovation and seeks partnership, rather than opposition, with tech industry leaders. Anti-tech sentiment, in Congress and in the administration, serves no purpose if we want to remain at the forefront of the innovation economy. We’ve started an important trend with workforce development opportunities — but if leadership adopts a posture that is adversarial to the tech industry, Pennsylvania workers will lose out. We should want what’s best for our future, and working to attract smart tech talent is the right way to go.

Sam Patterson, board member, Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia

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