U. waits for Mayor's Scholarship ruling

A month and a half after the University and the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia closed their arguments in the Mayor's Scholarship lawsuit, both sides are still playing the waiting game. A spokesperson for Common Pleas Court Judge Nelson Diaz said yesterday that Diaz has not yet ruled on the case, and that it is uncertain when a ruling will be issued. PILCOP attorney Thomas Gilhool said it always seems like a long time between a case's conclusion and the judge's ruling. "[Waiting] always is tantalizing," he said. "You're always eager, but the year is young yet and you always look back and think the time between the trial and opinion was shorter than it really was." University General Counsel Shelley Green said that waiting for judges' rulings just comes with the territory. "You put on the case, you file the documents, and you wait for the judge," she said. "I wouldn't characterize it as particularly frustrating or particularly delightful." "It's just a part of litigation," she said. The ruling -- when it is issued -- should resolve a suit filed in October 1991 against the University over the number of scholarships the University is required to distribute annually to Philadelphia students. The lawsuit, filed by labor unions, student groups and several individuals, claims that a 1977 city ordinance requires the University to award 125 scholarships to Philadelphia high school graduates in each University class, for a total of 500 at a time. The University, however, maintains that it is required by the disputed ordinance to provide a total of 125 scholarships at a time in return for rent-free city land