Newsgroup 'flame war' continues

Wharton and Engineering senior Matt Kratter has deleted all of his electronic mail postings relating to last week's controversial debate on the upenn.talk newsgroup. University employee Paul Lukasiak alleges Kratter erased his side of the Eisenhower "flame war" -- a heated argument within a newsgroup that can sometimes degenerate into personal attacks -- in an attempt to destroy evidence after a complaint was filed against him. Kratter admitted last week to having deleted Lukasiak's posts and those of three University students. The posts were part of a flame war concerning the Eisenhower -- the first U.S. aircraft carrier to allow both men and women to be on board -- on which 15 women allegedly became pregnant. Kratter has since deleted a posted apology for his past actions and approximately ten other posts. But First Amendment Task Force Chairperson Eric Tienou, a College junior, announced last week that the student group will press charges against Kratter. And Lukasiak said this is why Kratter has deleted his posts. "My personal reaction at this point is that he should be expelled," Lukasiak said. "This is no longer a simple prank. This is way too much." A student involved in the flame war who requested anonymity said that while expulsion may be too harsh a punishment, some action must be taken against Kratter. "It's unreal that Kratter is getting away with this," the student said. "This is no doubt related to the First Amendment Task Force pressing charges. "If Kratter has gone back and deleted his posts to cover his tracks, he should be prosecuted and there should be a notation on his transcript," he added. "This is a matter of the honor code." The student is also extremely disturbed by the fact that the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences -- specifically Computing Director Ira Winston -- has not punished Kratter. "Something is very wrong," he said. "And Dr. Winston is giving signs that he is not willing to protect the students." But Winston said it is not the responsibility of the Engineering School to discipline Kratter. "I believe that it is the responsibility of the Student Dispute Resolution Center," he said. "People want us to delete his account, but that is not how the process works. "We shouldn't bypass the process," he added. Shortly after Kratter first deleted the posts, his Engineering e-mail account was disabled. Winston said at the time that the account was down for routine servicing unrelated to the deletions. Kratter's account has since been restored and Kratter was able to use it Thursday to delete all of his posts in the flame war, including his apology for the previous deletions. Kratter was unavailable for comment last night.