EDITORIAL: "The Scholarship Questions"

A judge will answer theA judge will answer thelegal questions. ButA judge will answer thelegal questions. Butstudents must start to askA judge will answer thelegal questions. Butstudents must start to askthe important questions.A judge will answer thelegal questions. Butstudents must start to askthe important questions.___________________________ But while a judge will soon answer the question of how many scholarships the University is legally required to provide Philadelphia students, there are many other questions he can't answer -- questions about how the lawsuit's outcome will affect students. If the University wins the lawsuit, will things merely stay the same? If the University loses, how will things change? For example, if the University loses, how will it affect the geographical diversity of the student body? In an effort to attract 125 Philadelphia students per class, would minority students from Philadelphia take the place of minority students from other areas of the country? Will Philadelphia students take the place of students from other areas of Pennsylvania, who currently comprise roughly a fifth of each class? Will the new Philadelphia students come from the city, or the suburbs? Will the additional students actually increase minority representation? If the University loses, how will it affect financial aid funding? To fill the required Mayor's Scholarship slots, will the University give many $500 minimum awards to local students who don't even demonstrate financial need?Will other students who aren't Mayor's Scholars then lose out on financial aid funding? Will it put increased pressure on need-blind admissions? If the University loses, will it affect undergraduate academic quality? Are there enough academically-qualified Philadelphia students -- who want to come to Penn -- to fill 125 slots in each class? Will the admissions office need to change its standards to attract the required number? If the University loses, will its relationship with city residents improve? Will the increased number of city scholarships ease tensions and improve public relations? Or will city residents resent the University for taking the issue to trial? Would a loss help cement the University's recent promises to become more involved in the local community? We don't have the answers, but we think these are important questions for students to ask.