EDITORIAL: "Where We Stand"

To go where no boardTo go where no boardhas gone before . . . To go where no boardhas gone before . . . ____________________ But there, glowing in the distance, is the concept of the "One University." It's an ideal many still desparately wish for, and that others have, in desperation, given up on. Why does the right hand of the University never seem to know what the left hand is doing? Beyond that, why do students increasingly seem to separate themselves, distinguishing each other along racial and religious, Greek or non-Greek, West Coast or East Coast, College-or-Wharton-or-Nursing-or-Engineering lines. Here we are, holing ourselves up in smaller ivory towers built of shared backgrounds, rather than shared hopes for the future. The Daily Pennsylvanian exists in its own ivory tower of shared experience. Staffers work through the night and sleep through classes, buzzing off Coca Cola and Powelton Pizza in a "pink palace" with no windows. But we don't do it just to build resumes or to stir up controversy. We're here because we think it is the best way to acheive our ideals on campus, or whatever small measure of them we can hope to accomplish over 130 issues. In the here and now, the DP is perhaps the one place on campus where opposing viewpoints are brought together, if only in print. But this newspaper is about you and for you. Beyond our role as a watchdog and as a so-called "force for positive change," we're also here to enlighten and entertain. We decide to print a story or column because we feel it will be interesting or important to someone on campus, and not simply because it is bad news or controversial. We are glad you read us, and also talk to us when we need you as a source. We also hope you will call us or write us whenever you have a suggestion or a complaint. And, should you get the urge, we hope you will join the team up here at 4015 Walnut anytime. We're all in this together.