Penn Walk plagued by prejudice

Students afraid to walk with black escorts Racial prejudice against African American walking escorts is widespread, according to several Penn Walk employees. And such incidents have become even more frequent in the past semester, said Joe Brown, a Penn Walk employee for the past two years. Victim Support Director Maureen Rush said her department is currently looking for ways to improve the situation. She said she has been made aware of "one or two occasions" in which students "refused to go on the walk because of the racial composition of the student employees." One of these instances involved an Asian student who did not want to walk with a black escort, Rush added. Russell Arrington, another Penn Walk employee, said he recalls an incident in which an Asian student hid in the lobby of Chestnut Hall rather than walk with him and another black escort. But Arrington said the prejudice against black escorts was not confined to any one race. And Brown said he heard of a case in which a white female student told an African American walking escort that she did not want her friends to see her with a black man on Locust Walk. Sometimes the prejudice is less blatant, Brown said. Although some students are not openly reluctant to walk with African American escorts, "you can see it in their eyes," he said. "You have to show them that you are friendly" by engaging the students in conversation, he added. African American Penn Walk employees who have not personally encountered blatant prejudice said they were not particularly taken aback by these incidents. "It doesn't surprise me, it doesn't disappoint me," said Penn Walk employee Eric Brooks. "It's like someone telling me something that I already know." Arrington attributed racial incidents to a conglomeration of factors -- including a lack of exposure to diversity in students' backgrounds. "The students were scared anyway -- that's why they called [Penn Walk]," Arrington said. Racial problems arise from a "lack of knowledge" on the part of the individuals, Rush said. She said racial, ethnic and gender diversity is very important to the success of Penn Walk, and the program has strived to hire a varied group of employees, including people unaffiliated with the University. Such diversity would help the student body to become more aware of the various races and ethnicities which exist on Penn's campus. Penn Walk employees are given criminal background checks and are trained and closely supervised by the Department Public Safety, Rush added. Steve Lin, an Engineering and College senior and president of the Chinese Students Association said he was unaware of the problem. "It is very unfortunate that students have such misconceptions," Lin said. "It might stem from a complete lack of interaction with students of African decent. "I hope that being in Penn would allow [students] to expand their horizons and challenge these stereotypes," he added. Penn Walk, which can be reached at 898-WALK, is a service that provides walking escorts to students.