Group wants women's center in Theta Xi site

Women on the Walk, a new coalition, has started a petition drive to ask the administration to build a women's center in what used to be the Theta Xi fraternity house. But the Panhellenic Council presidents -- who represent the largest group of women on campus -- said in a statement issued last night that they "only conditionally support the proposal to establish a Penn Women's Community Center at 3643 Locust Walk" and would specifically prefer a women's residence or a sorority house. Women on the Walk is distributing petitions and collecting signatures in front of the currently vacant 3643 Locust Walk building through Wednesday in an effort to establish a Penn Women's Community Center. This petition, which is the latest call for diversity on the fraternity-lined Walk, calls on the administration "to remedy the disproportionate ratio of men to women on Locust Walk." "I think it's important that an all-inclusive women's presence be included on Locust Walk," College senior and Women on the Walk member Dana Jessup said. "It would be a presence in the center of campus that says the women's community is important." The petition calls for a women's community center that would include "an expanded Penn Women's Center, conference rooms, a lounge and other facilities accessible to all Penn women" -- which would include undergraduates, graduates, employees, administrators and alumnae of the University. But the Panhel presidents said they would prefer to establish a round-the clock presence on the Walk with "a residency, rather than a center." "A residency could take any form, but we believe an organized and established group such as the women's living and learning program or a sorority would be the most successful," the statement reads. The statement also says that the sororities' main concern with the proposal is to form a center that would be "Panhel-Friendly," adding that members of the Panhel system "feel isolated from the other women's organizations on this campus." Panhel President Allison Marinoff said last night that the organization, in spite of its stance on the issue, will not bar sorority members from participating in the Women on the Walk petition drive. "This is our response to what's happening and it cites our concerns," Marinoff said. "In no way is that a mandate for what Panhel members should do." Members of Women on the Walk, who got together and formed their proposal after an on-campus speech by Ms. Magazine founder Robin Morgan, are a diverse group of people that includes former Panhel President Debbie Frank among its ranks. Frank would not comment on the Panhel presidents' position without having read their statement. "I think that all the women on campus have the equal desire to have a place on campus that they feel comfortable on that is on Locust Walk," Frank said. "I don't think that what is in the building is as important as who it is available to." "I understand the concerns of the presidents of the Panhellenic Council," Frank said, adding that the women's community center would be available to all groups of women. "That's something that is available to all women regardless of race and background, and that's an important consideration," she added. College senior and Women on the Walk member Allyson Wagner said that both groups share concerns about the issue of a residential building, and that a compromise between the groups will likely be reached.

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