President, provost speak at UA forum

Yesterday at an open forum, the Undergraduate Assembly offered students an opportunity to question University President Judith Rodin and Provost Stanley Chodorow about their priorities for the University. But only about 30 students showed up -- and nearly half of them were UA members. Their questions focused on all of the current campus issues, ranging from the future of need-blind admissions to the proposed Perelman Quadrangle student center. With the release of the federal budget yesterday, financial concerns were on the minds of UA members College junior Lance Rogers and Wharton sophomore Seth Gribetz. Rogers asked Chodorow about a University policy requiring students to pay summer tuition to receive academic credit for unpaid internships. Gribetz inquired about the costs of studying abroad in University-approved programs -- which he said can be higher than the host school's actual tuition and fees. Chodorow replied that he would look into both situations, adding that changes making the University's study-abroad policy less flexible with respect to financial aid were made before his arrival this summer. College senior Dan Schorr, also a UA member, then assailed the proposed student judicial charter as unfair to students because it does not provide for a presumption of innocence or allow a student's advisor to speak during judicial proceedings. Schorr's remarks provoked prolonged debate between students and administrators as to the intent of the proposed revisions -- which would make the judicial system less legalistic and more mediation-oriented. "It is not a legal system we're trying to create here, not an adversarial system, [but] a system that allows the institution to pursue its academic mission," Chodorow said. He later added that the suggested changes to the judicial process are "not about fairness, [but] about effectiveness." College junior Jennifer Manion, who is editor-in-chief the women's magazine Generation XX, asked Rodin how the experience of minority students would be affected by the implementation of the 21st Century Project on Undergraduate Education. Rodin said the Provost's Committee on Undergraduate Education -- which is working to draft recommendations for undergraduate education reform at the University -- recognizes that there is no "universal or unilateral undergraduate." Instead, according to Rodin, PCUE's aim is to create an "even more differentiated and detailed undergraduate experience." Rodin and Chodorow were also asked about the role of technology on campus in the next century, efforts to recruit and retain minority faculty members, the progress of renovations to the Hutchinson Gymnasium weight room and the planned move of the Penn Women's Center to Locust Walk. College junior Tamara Dubowitz, vice chairperson of the UA, inquired about relations between the University and the West Philadelphia community. Rodin spoke briefly about two new initiatives she will implement this semester -- Communiversity Days, in which neighborhood kids will be invited to spend a day on campus participating in student activities, and a President's Forum intended to recognize the community service and volunteer efforts of University students, faculty and staff. Despite the low turnout at the forum, UA Chairperson and Wharton junior Dan Debicella said he was pleased with the discussion and interaction that occurred. "I think the questions that were asked were excellent, I wish that more people would have showed up," he said. "With our Program for Student Advocacy we really tried to reach out to students this year, and it's a shame they don't take advantage of these opportunities."

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