Women's Center move engulfed in controversy

Harriton High '92 Philadelphia, Pa. Students and staff members affiliated with the Women's Center flooded the Editorial Page of the Daily Pennsylvanian with guest columns and letters to the editor, voicing their opinions for and against the Center's move. The tension between foes and fans of the Center's relocation mounted in April during a panel discussion about the proposed move which was sponsored by the Spruce Street House of the Quad. Red and Blue Editor-in-chief Christopher Robbins, a college junior, introduced his stance against the proposed move at the panel by suggesting that the Center "compromise" on the issue. For the benefit of students who do not want the Center on the Walk, Robbins said some space should be allocated in the house for either a cafe or a coffee house, which "every student wants." He said that unlike the Center, a cafe would be a place where "all students could meet." Panel member Debra Pickett, a College senior and member of the Penn Women's Alliance leadership team, spoke on behalf of the Center, saying that not all of the space in Theta Xi has been assigned to the Center. This was confirmed by plans for the Theta Xi house made public in March by McCoullum. Robbins disputed whether the Center should exist at all, because "it only represents a few radical women on campus." College sophomore Ann Tracey, who also spoke against the Center's move, said as a feminist, she believes the Center equates women with weakness. Former Daily Pennsylvanian columnist and Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Alliance co-Chairperson Stephen Houghton, a College junior, questioned Robbins about his beliefs. "Since you believe the Women's Center is an admission of weakness for women, do you believe having an African American Resource Center, the [Program for the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community at Penn] and the [Greenfield Intercultural Center] means that these groups are inferior?" "I am in favor of abolishing all of those programs," Robbins replied. Robbins also co-directed a phone survey, sponsored by the Red and Blue and three other campus organizations, which questioned approximately 380 students about their feelings concerning the relocation of the Center earlier that month. The purpose of the poll was to "ascertain the will and view of the [University] community" about the Center's move, he said. The poll consisted of five questions which explored both the caller's personal contact with the Women's Center, and his or her attitude about its relocation to Locust Walk. The last question in the survey, "Would you prefer having the Theta Xi fraternity become a coffee house or cafe or a Women's Center?" prompted several students to label the poll biased. Pickett said the question contained "glaring factual errors," because all of the space, according to McCoullum's plans, has not been designated for the sole use of the Center. College junior Peter Spiers, president of the Penn Political Union -- another group which co-sponsored the poll -- said he too did not like the fact that the poll made students choose between the Center and a cafe. He said his organization originally decided to sponsor the poll because, "it's always a beneficial thing to allow students to voice their opinions on issues." Robbins, however, said the poll was purely "scientific." Members of the Black Student League expressed their discontent with Robbins at the panel discussion for misinforming a DP reporter that the BSL co-sponsored the poll. In a letter to the editor printed in the DP, BSL President Robyn Kent, a College junior, and eight other BSL members wrote that they withdrew their participation in the poll after discovering that the questions were "orchestrated to achieve a predetermined conclusion." After withdrawing from the polling project, Robbins "threatened the BSL with negative publicity and political backlash," the letter continued.

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