EDITORIAL: Is the Price Right?

$24,000 for the possibility$24,000 for the possibilityof racial harmony$24,000 for the possibilityof racial harmony______________________________ They are trying to succeed where countless blue ribbon commissions and committees before them have failed and it is extremely difficult not to be skeptical about their chances. They correctly point out that, unlike a math problem, "race relations cannot be solved" – their objective is to take "practical steps to addressing race relations at Penn." We do not know what makes the coordinators think that those attending the Summit have special powers that will enable them to finally take the "practical steps" the University has failed to take. We do know however that getting three friends to agree on what video to rent, let alone getting 60 diverse students to devise a master plan to improve race relations, is near to impossible. From where we sit, the deck is invariably stacked against the Summit and the University's support of the plan smacks of "throwing-student-leaders-a-bone-so-they-get-off-our-back." Having said that, the students who took it upon themselves to organize this latest effort to combat one of the nastiest problems afflicting our campus need to be commended. Their "can-do" attitude and tireless efforts at obtaining corporate sponsorship and administrative support are definitely praiseworthy. Their philosophy that we, as students, need to get off our collective asses to address issues around us should likewise serve as an example to everyone. But, their decision to hold the Summit at Sugarloaf, the University's posh playpen in leafy Chestnut Hill, is likewise questionable. Unlike the Summit coordinators, we do not believe that it is necessary to shell out $12,000 bucks (half of what the Summit costs) to put up Ivy League kids in five-star surroundings, so that they can be removed "from the distractions of campus life". The Summit could've just as easily been held in one of the myriad of conference rooms here on campus. Or, if they really felt they had to get away, odds are they could've found some place that charged less than $176 a head. We hope we are wrong in our assessment of the Summit. We hope it succeeds in taking the much needed "first-step" towards addressing one of the most pressing issues facing us today. If they do attain their lofty goals, then we suppose $24,000 is a mere pittance to pay for racial harmony. But for now, we are just left to think what $24,000 can buy: a full scholarship for a needy student, more police officers on the streets, more blue light telephones...