LETTERS: Failed alternatives to Screamers

To the Editor: Since I have been elected, I have seen my board and other boards attempt to plan events for the student body at Penn, and I have also seen most of those events fail in drawing a significant number of people. The fact is the most successful events sponsored by the class boards include alcohol. While many events that are planned by the Senior Class Board do take place at bars, there is no reason why people who do not drink should feel like they can't take part in them. The point of a Screamer is for seniors to have the opportunity to see their friends and other seniors that they may not have seen since freshman year. Those who do drink at the Screamers are all 21 and should know how to drink responsibly. In response to his suggestion that we should have a Screamer at a Phillies baseball game, we have had class trips to baseball games and other events and we do have a day at a Phillies game during Senior Week, but that is a class trip and not a Screamer. The fact is I do agree with you. I believe ideally, we should be able to have successful class events that do not include alcohol. But realistically, the most successful and anticipated events organized at this school are, Screamers, Walnut Walk and Hey Day -- all which include alcohol. I would be very interested in hearing any suggestions that any student at Penn has for a non-alcoholic class trip or event, which is the reason why each Class Board has a webpage and a listserv. If any senior has a suggestion, please write our board an e-mail. Our e-mail address is class98@dolphin.upenn.edu and our homepage address is http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~class98. Andy Kline Wharton '98 Senior Class President No need for party patrol To the Editor: I am writing in support of Michael Pereira's column entitled "Penn police: a force majeure," (DP, 9/17/97). After witnessing our illustrious police arrive in full force at 1:15 am to "bust up" last weekend's Sigma Phi Epsilon party by purposely intimidating students, shoving and manhandling anyone who dared to question them, shining flashlights into the eyes of students, yelling rudely and demanding that everyone immediately leave the premises (even the Sig Ep brothers who were on their own property), I lost what little respect I had for the organization. The Penn police should focus their energy on thwarting muggings and armed robberies rather than continuing their self-proclaimed "party patrol." To the students who witness Penn police or any police acting in inappropriate manners: refuse to be intimidated, take badge numbers and names and file official complaints. To (what I hope is the majority of) the Penn police who are receiving a bad rap because of the behavior of some, let your fellow officers know that their behavior is NOT acceptable. And to those officers who seem bent on harassing and abusing students under the name of protecting us: thanks but no thanks. Julayne Austin College '98 Better College advising than students think To the Editor: We were dismayed to read The Daily Pennsylvanian's article "College slowly alters advising program," (DP, 9/15/97)because of several glaring omissions and its overall inaccuracy. Furthermore, we believe the advising system is considerably better than the one described in Amanda Karsten's guest column ("Closer advising of College students," DP, 9/15/97) due to the additional training and programs the DP neglected to write about in its news article. We have worked hard to implement several new programs including a new faculty lunch and a Web page. Recently, the College received a generous donation from a parent in the hopes of improving faculty-student relationships on campus. We have asked all peer advisors arrange for a lunch meeting with their freshmen and their faculty advisor. We are confident that the newly instituted faculty advisor luncheons will ensure the kind of contact that Karsten felt was absent from her freshmen year experience. In addition, we are unveiling a new Web page later on this year in the hopes of providing an additional mechanism for freshmen and their peer advisors to interact in ways the DP suggests in its article. While we believe these are important steps to take in order to improve the College advising system, we recognize the need to continuously re-evaluate and re-assess the system. However, in turn, Karsten should recognize she attends a large research university and as such it requires she and other like her take the initiative to seek out the College advisors who are readily available in the College Office. And for those freshmen who have not been contacted by their peer advisor, we urge them to alert the College Office. Rachael Goldfarb, College '99 Brendan McGeever, College '98 C.A. Przybyszewski, College' 98 Rena Sichel, College '98 Peer Managers for the SAS Peer Advising

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