Panhel aims for improved area security

topics as acquaintance rape, body image and eating disorders. "I see ourselves as a women's organization which does focus on women's issues," she said. "We've also grown closer with the Women's Center and . . . other women's groups, and we look forward to working with them in the future." Marinoff said the public rally was also a way to establish a "sense of empowerment" by bringing together members of the sorority system for a common cause. Women's Center Director Elena Dilapi said this week that she applauded the recent efforts of Panhel and encouraged it to continue to speak out. "What I've noticed is that . . . in the last number of years there has been a growth of women recognizing not only their own strength and belonging on this campus, but also a collective sense of that," Dilapi said. "Holding public rallies . . . is very critical to having their needs addressed, [and it is] a very appropriate forum for expressing their needs." Panhel's petition asked the University to take four specific safety measures: increased lighting in dangerous areas, more blue light phones past 40th Street, the pruning of overgrown foliage and a reorganization of Escort Service to make it more accessible for sorority women. University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said this week that he does not think the administration has been "unresponsive" to Panhel's requests, as Panhel has contended. "We're working to be supportive to resolve the specific concerns of any group or any individual that comes to us," he said. "The administration has been there listening and trying to take into account their specific requests in addition to all the other things going on in the University." Kuprevich added that he personally travelled through most of the areas in which sorority houses are located to check spots which are poorly lighted, and that he has assigned additional officers to patrol the areas during Panhel meetings and events. Regarding more blue light phones, Kuprevich said that his office cannot simply "throw up a stand and put up a light" because the phones represent both fiscal and legal issues. "We're looking at that but it won't be until the next fiscal year which starts July 1 that we can work on a new project like that," he said. Kuprevich also said the University is looking into the tree pruning and Escort demands. On the issue of housing, Marinoff said that, contrary to a recent report in The Daily Pennsylvanian, Panhel is "not asking for the Theta Xi [fraternity] house in any way." Marinoff added that she simply wants sororities to be considered for all campus openings. "We're asking for the administration to help us find safer, better-located housing whether it be on campus or off campus," she said. "Regarding openings on the Walk or any other place on campus, we believe that the sorority . . . should be considered on its own merits and as any other group would be." Marinoff said the petition will be sent to President Sheldon Hackney and Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson, and that "the ball is really in their court."