U. frozen shut again

State of emergency prompts second straight closing With a Pennsylvania-wide state of emergency still in effect due to extreme weather conditions, the University will be closed today for the second day in a row. The continued record-setting cold and resulting threats of power shortages kept Gov. Robert Casey's day-old state of emergency in effect. He urged all businesses, public schools and municipal governments to remain closed. Assistant to the President Nicholas Constan said the decision to close the University was made in response to Casey's announcement – even though temperatures are expected to climb into the 20s today and into the 30s and beyond this weekend. The consecutive University closings were the first he has encountered in his "30-year history with Penn," Constan said. Executive Vice President Janet Hale announced the closing last night at 7 p.m. Five minutes later, a recorded message was on 898-MELT, the University's emergency information telephone line. Only "essential personnel" were asked to report to the University today, Hale said. Hospital and Dining Services employees are asked to report today and dining halls will be open for business. The Rosengarten Reserve Room and the Biomedical Library will also be open today. Most other campus activities, however, are at a standstill. Admissions Dean Lee Stetson said last night the Admissions Office would remain closed today. All tours have been cancelled. And even though the 5 p.m. end of the add period looms for many students, the registrar's office is closed. However, Registrar Ronald Sanders does not expect that this will cause students any difficulties. "Students will be able to use PARIS whether the University's open or not," he said last night. Students are not taking the closing of the University lightly. "I thought [the closing] was pointless considering that the temperatures and ice conditions were the same [as Wednesday]," said Wharton junior Craig Edelman. Edelman complained he couldn't get much work done yesterday because he slept "until 2:30." Wharton senior Sandor Hau said the closing of the University made his on-campus interviews go less than smoothly yesterday. "I would have liked to have looked up some information about the firms I was interviewed by today before my interviews," he said. "But the [Career Planning and Placement Service] library was closed." The closing of the University will benefit the city on the whole, according to Philadelphia Electric Company spokesperson David Hackney, who said it is important for Philadelphians to stay home from work and school in order to preserve energy. The chill from outside made people turn thermostats in their homes and offices up to temperatures one-third higher than was usual on a "regular winter's day," resulting in a power shortage. As a result, on Wednesday PECO conducted a series of "brownouts" – in which the voltage in residences and places of business city wide was reduced by five percent – and "rolling blackouts" – in which over 100,000 city residents experienced complete power lapses at 30 minute intervals. Although Hackney said there weren't any brownouts or rolling blackouts yesterday, he stressed that "people should continue to make conservation efforts." He does not anticipate any brownouts or rolling blackouts today.