Minority leaders wary of suit deal

and GABRIELE MARCOTTI Minority leaders voiced disappointment yesterday with a proposed settlement of the Mayor's Scholarship dispute and said they were wary of a deal between University officials and the city. Black Student League President Martin Dias said yesterday he is skeptical about a proposed agreement that would increase the University's financial aid commitment to Philadelphians, but reaffirm its position on the number of scholarships it must provide local students. "I am extremely wary of this political and economic collusion. It worries me a great deal when politicians and heads of universities get together," Dias said. Dias added that because the University is the biggest private employer in Philadelphia and wields considerable clout, he thinks City Council President John Street might overly accomodate the University. "I question [Street's] role as a man of the people," Dias said. The BSL and the Asociacion Cultural de Estudiantes Latino Americanos are among the plaintiffs of a class-action lawsuit filed against the University last October over the Mayor's Scholarship dispute. In the suit, a group of labor unions, student groups and several individuals allege that a 1977 ordinance requires the University to provide 125 new scholarships each year for a total of 500 at a time. The University maintains it owes 125 awards total during each year. Under the proposed agreement -- outlined in a memorandum draft obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian -- the University would raise the value of Mayor's Scholarship awards, and would provide non-Mayor's Scholars from Philadelphia who are eligible for financial aid an additiional $500 each. The University also would agree to intensify efforts to recruit graduates of Philadelphia schools. ACELA President Charity Guerra refused to comment on the proposal until the negotiations are finalized and the University releases a statement. However, Guerra said she hopes the University adheres to the 1977 settlement. "It has always been our opinion that the University should keep the original agreement that was made in 1977, awarding 125 scholarships each year, meaning that there would be a total of 500 Mayor's Scholars at any given point," Guerra said. But Kaplan Mobray, BSL vice president, said he thinks the proposal is a step in the direction of pursuing the original Mayor's Scholarship agreement made by the University. "I think the University felt the heat and felt guilty that it didn't choose to recognize or follow through with its agreement, and I think that we're seeing an indication of that guilt and pressure," Mobray said. But College sophomore Kimani Toussaint, a native of Philadelphia who would be directly affected by the resolution of the scholarship conflict, said he thinks the proposed agreement would not do enough for Philadelphia students. "It's like giving a drop of water to a man in the desert," he said.