Group president responds to charges of grandstanding

Guardian Civic League President William Blackman blasted John Gould, the executive director of the president's office, for making the comment Wednesday to explain the University's decision to hire a public relations firm to help publicize its position in the debate. "The allegations by Penn officials that the organization and individual plaintiffs chose to take this issue out of the courts and into politics is untrue and shows their typical disregard of the facts," Blackman said in the statement. Blackman blamed University officials for attempting to curry favor with several City Council members and state legislators after the plaintiffs filed suit last October. He also alleged that University officials asked Mayor Edward Rendell and Council President John Street to propose a new city ordinance that would restate the University's scholarship commitment in its favor. Gould said yesterday that he "completely disagreed" with Blackman's allegations, but declined to comment further. -- Scott Calvert