The University of Pennsylvania student newspaper:
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times on Jan. 18, Bernstein's mother, Jeanne Pepper Bernstein, said she had long been worried about the threats to her son's safety because of his identity.
"I'm concerned about the fact that he is Jewish. I'm concerned with the fact that he is gay or the fact that he is small," she said. "I was concerned for his safety always. I was concerned sending him out into the big world. But at some point you have to let go and they leave the nest and fly. I couldn't protect him from everything."
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Blaze Bernstein
At Penn, Bernstein was involved in a range of literary clubs on campus, including the Penn Review and the magazine Penn Appetit. As the investigation into his killing has unfolded, students, faculty, and staff who knew the College sophomore have found ways to honor his memory on campus.
Jamie-Lee Josselyn, Bernstein's academic adviser, flew out to California to attend his memorial service and gave a speech that was later printed in full as a guest column in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Woodward's arraignment is set for Feb. 2 and if he is convicted of the charges laid out on Jan. 17, he could face 26 years to life in state prison.
Comment: I completely understand his mother's comments. Her son was safer in Philadelphia in a racially mixed neighborhood than in his hometown.