COLUMN: "A Click and a Whir"

From Margo Shea's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," Fall '92 Sometimes, all you need is a photographer and a caption writer. Just a click, then the whir of the shutter and two words on the page. And there you have it, "That is them and this is us. Even though we share West Philadelphia, we are different, and although we may walk the same streets, we live in separate worlds." Penn is an urban campus, and our identity cannot be isolated from the city of which we are a part. Many students, and virtually all employees and faculty members, live their lives in a Philadelphia which flows beyond the borders of 33rd and 40th streets, between Spruce and Chestnut. They experience an environment where an eclectic array of people spend their days in as many different ways as there are excuses for why the paper that was due at 10:30 a.m. remains unfinished at 4:00 p.m. That is not the image that appeared on the front page of the university paper last Friday. The portrayal a black man drinking a quart of Thunderbird, underneath a bold caption which literally labels him as the West Philadelphia norm, is a divisive act. The most striking thing about the event, and the most disturbing, is the simple fact that students put the image and words together, manifesting their closemindedness so blatantly. It's as if there were no doubts. Erecting the wall from within, blocking off the community of which Penn is a part. What the director of the Urban Studies Department, Elaine Simon, called, "the sensationalism of the DP" reverberates within campus and beyond its borders. The DP, however, does not see its role in this situation as sensationalistic. Acocording to Executive Editor Matthew Klein, the photograph was an artistic portrayal of an actual event which occurred around Penn. "The paper printed the photo just as it would any other photo documenting life and events on campus." The DP has an important role to play in bringing us information with which most of us shape our days. I respect the paper for its attempts to measure up to consistent, accurate journalism on a daily basis. But as an organization, I think it's important to reflect on the implications and repercussions their subject matter can carry. The photograph was a good one. But the assumptions made in explaining its content are questionable. If Mary the Iguana gets her name in the paper, why did the man in the photo not receive the same treatment? According to Klein, it's the feature photographer's responsibility to get the information for the caption, and the audience must trust the photographer's diligence. Personally, I still question that diligence, and for me the questions remain unanswered. How do we know that he is homeless? For that matter, who can be sure that he lives in West Philadelphia? But, these days image is everything. How many people glanced at the front page of the paper, and allowed the stereotype of the homeless black West Philadelphian to register in the backs of their mind? The artistic photograph becomes as insiduously dangerous as poison, destroying the seeds of any unity between university and community. Although you and I do not know for certain that the man in Friday's photo was homeless or that he spends everyday drinking malt liquor, it is true that West Philadelphia has its share of homeless men, and alcoholics. Most cities are home to those who can't afford housing, and you'll find alcoholism everywhere. But West Philly also has ice skating rinks, great soul food restaraunts, food co-ops, community gardens, centers for the arts, hospitals, hardware stores and high school football teams. And just as Penn has West Philadelphia, West Philadelphia has Penn. We are connected. I think we owe each other some respect, and we can't expect to receive what we are not willing to give. It's unnecessary to portray West Philadelphians as scruffy daytime drinkers. It's also unfair. And untrue. Don't we get enough skewed images of black people from the media, and doesn't it color (no pun intended) our own perceptions even within the boundaries of the campus? When we're still dealing with the issue of who sits where in Commons, any action taken by fellow students to divide us even more, whether or not they do it intentionally, scares me. As an Urban Studies major, I made a choice to open my eyes, ears and mind to the dynamics of city life, and to the connections between academia and the "real world." I never wanted to feel differently at 48th Street than I do at 38th. I've come to realize that I am happiest at Penn, not when I am on the Green, but when I am wandering through bookstores all over the city, eating squid in Chinatown, and walking around the tree-lined streets to the west and southwest of campus. The city and the neighborhoods surrounding Penn have come to mean much more to me than an arena for academic inquiry. Not everyone has to feel that way. I am an individual. I have created my reality at Penn, and I recognize that it is unique, in the same way that every person's world is their own. And I certainly wouldn't expect a Philadelphia Inquirer photographer to spot me in Center City, shoot a photo, and title it "Penn Person." It would misrepresent the campus and its student body. I don't think anyone would like to be labeled that way. It's an election year, and many folks are advocating that we vote "for a change." The Daily Pennsylvanian frequently runs Bush-bashing political cartoons. But Clinton and Gore cannot change things for us; that's our responsibility. Why don't we begin where we are, by breaking down the walls which separate us from one another and from the neighborhoods which surround us, and by trying to make West Philadelphia a better place for everyone to live? Otherwise, you have two choices. Transfer to Columbia; the university administration built their wall for them. Or you can buy some mace, "just in case," and continue to believe everything you read in the paper. Margo Shea is a senior Urban Studies major from Meriden, Connecticut. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised appears alternate Thursdays.