COLUMN: "A Dangerous Lawsuit"

From Brian Newberry's "A Thousand Words," Fall '92 The plaintiffs in the suit, including several minority student groups on this campus, allege that the University has reneged on its agreement to provide a certain number of "Mayor's Scholarships" to Philadelphia residents, as guaranteed in a 1977 city ordinance. The plantiffs say the University owes more, while the University disagrees. The plaintiffs insist that, by law, the University must provide 125 scholarships per class, for a total of 500 in any given year. Meanwhile, the University says it needs to support only 125 students at any given time, period. The ordinance itself is a bit ambiguous, but it seems to me that any rational and objective person would agree with the University. The scholarship agreement had a long and complicated history before its last revision in 1977, and the University's interpretation of the number of scholarships required under the 1977 agreement is consistent with the past agreements. In contrast, the plaintiffs' interpretation means the University would have agreed to quadruple the number of free rides it gives to students. Now let's use some common sense here. Does anyone actually believe the University would agree to completely pay for one in every eighteen students it enrolled? Or that it would agree to greatly reduce the admissions spots for non-Philadelphians, at a time when Penn was trying to boost its national reputation? And, assuming it did, doesn't it seem strange that four successive mayoral administrations -- including the current one -- neither made a big deal out of this alleged triumph for the city, nor did they lift a finger of protest when the University did not live up to it? If this were the only issue raised in this lawsuit, I would just dismiss it out of hand as an unjustified, but perfectly understandable attempt by a group of people to use the legal system to get a better deal for themselves even when no laws have been broken. Hey, that's the American way. When you can't get what you want through democracy, then sue the bastards -- even if you don't have a leg to stand on. Such is not the case, however. No, according to a number of witnesses, the violations alleged by this lawsuit prove that the University is both racist, and does not care for the city. These allegations are patently absurd. To begin with, the University, if for nothing but its own self-interest, would be crazy not to help out the city all it could. I seem to remember a scant two years ago when Penn payed its taxes early in order to help keep the city from going belly-up. Is this an example of the University not caring about the city? What about the many Penn students who give their time and energy to help tutor in the local public schools, act as big brothers and big sisters for local kids, or help throw holiday parties for poor families -- perhaps they don't care about the city either? Back home, I have seen the exact same debate concerning Yale University and the City of New Haven. New Haven is already one of the poorest municipalities in America. There is no doubt that without Yale -- and the economic and cultural contributions it makes to its city -- that New Haven would be little more than a wasteland. Yet, every year, local residents bash Yale for being uncaring and aloof. Yale gives more to New Haven in the form of jobs, businesses and prestige than the city could ever give back. Penn has the same relationship with Philadelphia. What would West Philly be like without Penn? Without its job base and its 20,000 students with money to spend? Penn contributes enormously, both directly and indirectly, to this city. It does not deserve this lawsuit. Even more disturbing however, is the charge of racism. To support this allegation, Black Student League President Martin Dias testified -- what makes him an expert witness anyway? -- that most Penn students "try to distance themselves as much as possible from West Philadelphia, and pretty much shun interactions with the community." Unfortunately, this is all too true. Too many students here fail to take advantage of the amazing opportunities surrounding them in the city. Still, this tendency does not make anyone a racist. It occurs everywhere. Students at every college and boarding school are, in general, the same way. Students everywhere tend to get locked into their own little worlds, whether they are in Malibu or New Haven. Considering the amount of time students are supposed to be in class and -- in theory -- studying, it is not altogether surprising that the outside world often seems to be little more than a distraction. The fact that Penn students live in a predominantly black neighborhood and follow this pattern means absolutely nothing. In addition, this lawsuit concerns all residents of Philadelphia, not just the minority black population. Contrary to a common misconception on this campus, Philadelphia -- like most large American cities -- is not a predominantly black-populated city. So where is the racism? Even if the University is violating the terms of the agreement and is somehow shortchanging the city of Philadelphia -- which it is not -- how would that be racist? I am not so naive as to not realize that much of the testimony in this case is less about the specifics of a city ordinance as it is an attempt to force Penn to help out students in some of Philadelphia's worst schools. Should Penn do more to help Philadelphia students? Possibly. Will this lawsuit benefit those students who need that help the most rather than simply force Penn to admit more second tier students from the city's better schools? I doubt it. If anything, a defeat in this case may force Penn to drop need-blind admissions, an action which will do far more to hurt minority students than the awarding of more scholarships to Philadelphia residents will balance out. Some will argue that the threat of dropping this policy is a smoke screen but a check of the numbers will prove that it is not. Unfortunately, racism clearly does exist at Penn and everywhere else in America. In case there was any doubt, the recent incident in the Quad where members of the African-American senior honor society, Onyx, had water dumped on them proves that fact. However, the presence of racist individuals does not make a student body or an institution racist. Racist -- like sexist, homophobe, and anti-Semite -- is an ugly word and it should not be used lightly by anyone, whether that person is a leftist faculty member bent on unfairly attacking a collegue who doesn't share their warped views, or a well-meaning student activist who perceives an injustice where none exists. The word "communist" was at one time used in similar fashion, in an attempt by ideologues to purge those who didn't agree with them. Over time it lost much of its power to scare. The BSL and other similar groups at Penn provide many good services, not the least of which is always being on the front lines against true racial and ethnic injustice. These groups risk losing the ears of their intended audience, however, when they expand their definition of injustice to where it does not belong. Those who cry wolf too often may find themselves alone when they can least afford it. Brian Newberry is a senior Urban Studies and American History major from Wallingford, Connecticut. "A Thousand Words" appeared alternate Tuesdays.