COLUMN: "A Graduation from Bloodshed"

From Paul LaMonica's "A Room With A View," Fall '92 Did you watch the news last week? Monday, November 30. South Philadelphia High School. There was a fight at lunchtime. A 17-year-old student was shot in the leg with a sawed-off shotgun. He was treated at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Wednesday December 2. Thomas A. Edison High School. North Philadelphia. A 15-year-old sophomore girl was stabbed in the chest during a fight with another student over a coat. She stayed overnight in a hospital. Wednesday, December 2. Simon Gratz High School. North Philadelphia. A 16-year-old girl was stabbed in the chest with a steak knife during a fight with another student. She was treated for superficial chest wounds. There have been 67 instances in which a weapon has either been used or confiscated in Philadelphia's 40 high schools from September 1 to November 30. That is one ahead of the 66 incidents during the same period last year. 1990 was a good year. There were only 54 occasions during this period. At this pace, there will be more serious incidents involving some sort of violence in Philly's high schools this year than last year. There were 816 between September 1991 and June 1992. So far in the 1992-93 school year, there already have been 263. As a result of last week's violence, city school officials are implementing a plan which calls for metal detectors in all 40 high schools within the next month. The district also hopes to hire 15 more security guards. That would bring the total number of security guards to 263 -- exactly one for each episode of violence that has occurred in Philadelphia's high schools from September 1 to November 30. Throughout the high schools of Philadelphia, some of next year's Mayor's Scholarship recipients are now enduring their senior year -- the best of their glory days -- in conditions like this. These statistics are obviously very disturbing. Sadly, I find it even less comforting to think about the vast number of Penn students that don't know -- or even worse, don't care -- about the violence going on Philly's high schools. Unfortunately, it is also apparent that many students are unaware of the Mayor's Scholarship lawsuit. The University is presently involved in a lawsuit concerning the number of Mayor's Scholarships which Penn is obligated to distribute to Philly high school students from low-income families. The plaintiffs, a group of students, parents and activists, contend the University should provide 500 scholarships, or 125 per class, at any given time. However, the University believes it is only required to award 125 such scholarships to undergraduates at any time. Ultimately, Common Pleas Court Judge Nelson Diaz will decide the number of scholarships required by law. While reading Friday's DP, I got the impression that ignorance of this case is not the student body's only problem. There also seems to be a sense of apathy. It is one thing to have no opinion because you are unaware of the particulars of the case. However, it is quite disturbing to read about students who profess to not care because the suit does not affect them personally, or who feel the University has more important things to do than worry about scholarships for Philadelphia's high school students. Now more than ever is the time to care about this issue. The number of scholarships that should be distributed is subject to debate, but the fact these scholarships are necessary and important should not be. The University must provide the chance for qualified Philadelphia students to get a first-rate education in their hometown -- including those who cannot afford to attend. The bleak news coming out of Philly's high schools makes it increasingly important for students to realize this. Even if we choose not to give a damn about this city, hopefully those who grew up and went to school here might be able to utilize what they learn at Penn to help the Philadelphia community. Don't you think that Philly's high school students deserve a gleam of hope, a prospect of an Ivy League education? Don't they deserve something to strive towards if they perform exceptionally well in school, surrounded by more and more violence in the cafeterias and hallways? Doesn't it make sense to ensure that the city of Philadelphia thrives? A city that is perceived as attractive socially and culturally, as well as economically, can only help the University. We complain about how high Penn's acceptance rate is, but neglect to notice how low the application rate is as compared to other Ivies. Don't you think this might result from what prospective applicants hear about the negative aspects of Philadelphia? Many of us will leave Philadelphia once our college days are over. Don't you think it makes sense, however, to pay attention to what is going on in the city while we're here? We will benefit from the city's progress, as it does from ours. The University is completing a deal in which we would acquire the Philadelphia Civic Center sometime in the next few years. We would then use this property to expand the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, a facility which benefits both the city and campus alike. So, who do you think we must negotiate with in order to purchase it? Mayor Rendell and the government of the city of Philadelphia. Even Sheldon Hackney cannot wave a magic wand and voila, we own the Civic Center. We can't afford to neglect the concerns and problems of Philadelphia, because they do affect us. We should not become the Neros of our generation, dancing and playing the fiddle down Locust Walk while the city's youth are being shot and stabbed at places where education is supposed to occur. Most of us probably did enjoy high school. Let's not be blind to the fact that students here might remember high school not in the amount of fun they had, but in the amount of blood that was spilled. The "City of Brotherly Love" hasn't completely fallen apart, but maybe if the student body opened its eyes and looked past the confines of this campus, we can at least be aware of the problems undermining this city. Some of us might even try to do something about it, for the good of Philadelphia -- your current residence, like it or not. Paul LaMonica is a sophomore Psychology major from North Babylon, New York. "A Room With A View" appears alternate Tuesdays.