Editorial: Business as Usual

Why? Partially because one organization continues to deprive many students of unique opportunities, by means of discrimination as old as the University itself. And, despite recent changes in the organization's administration and signs of increased flexibility, the organization continues to prove that nothing has really changed. Yes, U.S. Defense Secretary Richard Cheney came to campus yesterday -- and 350 people were not permitted to attend his lecture, many simply because they were not Wharton students. Because of limited seating in the Medical Education Building's Dunlop Auditorium, only 500 lucky people were allowed to attend. Since the speech was organized by Wharton, those 500 seats naturally went to Whartonites. Luckily, other groups on campus aren't so exclusionary when they bring speakers, even though they could be. Such behavior is a mockery of the "One University" concept. We've been hoping for better. Last year's change in Wharton's administration showed promise for better Wharton-to-everyone-else interaction. In a student forum held by Wharton Dean Thomas Gerrity and Vice Dean Janice Bellace shortly after they took their new posts last year, Bellace gave "everyone else" reason for hope. "The dichotomy between Wharton and the College is exaggerated," she asserted. Perhaps. But it's no exaggeration that College students and Nursing students and Engineering students and students from eleven graduate schools were not allowed to see Wharton's exclusive presentation of Cheney yesterday. The best Wharton could do was promise videotapes of the speech afterwards. Wharton can keep the videotapes. The true appeal of Cheney's campus visit was to see him in person. Officials passed up opportunities to hold the forum in a larger arena, citing "security reasons." Actually, it is a wonder that either President Bush or President Reagan (with one assassination attempt under his belt) would consider visiting West Philadelphia in the last two years. Irvine Auditorium, for example, could probably have held the additional crowd without adding any significant security risk (unless falling plaster counts). Why not the Palestra? Hasn't the Secretary of Defense visited worse places before?