Mixed emotions run high after verdict

Students across campus tune in for trial's finale and Julayne Austin All across campus, students and faculty alike gathered around television sets, awaiting the final verdict in the O.J. Simpson double murder trial. Some were even placing bets on the outcome, according to College junior Jamie Davis. In the Bowl Room in Houston Hall, more than 150 students were crowding the doorways, standing on tables and sitting on the floor to get a view of the television. An at the other end of Locust Walk, approximately 50 students huddled around the television in the W.E.B. DuBois College House's Uchorajii Gallery. The atmosphere was tense as onlookers waited to hear whether Simpson would spend years in prison or walk out of the courtroom a free man. Hushed silence was followed by eruptions of emotion when Dierdre Robertson, Judge Lance Ito's court clerk, read the jury's verdict. Simpson was found not guilty of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Some students in DuBois contemplated the decision quietly while the majority cheered and clapped loudly. Others hugged and smiled as they stayed to talk or left to attend classes. In the Bowl Room, Penn employees and Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania workers gasped in disbelief alongside students. A few cheered, but most stood silent watching the television as the jurors confirmed the verdicts. Meanwhile news of the outcome spread down Locust Walk by word of mouth, as students began discussing issues raised by the jurors' decisions. "You really cannot put two-bit, government-paid assistant district attorneys against three or four top-notch criminal defense lawyers and expect some miracle to happen," College sophomore Ernesto Sanchez said. College junior Rob Redei agreed that money played an important role in the case. "It proves that if you have enough money, you can kill anyone you want," Redei said. Other students had mixed feelings about the effectiveness of the federal judicial system. "The trial was about more than just O.J.'s guilt," College sophomore Zahra Winston said. "It was about the judicial system. "America was on trial and the jury had to acquit him based on that," she added. Architecture graduate student Michele Dempsey said she was disappointed and disgusted with the outcome. "I [have] lost all faith in the legal system," Dempsey said. Many students said they believe Simpson was acquitted because he is a famous, wealthy, former football player. "It just seems there was so much evidence to convict him but he was acquitted because of who he is," College junior Rachael Fried said. "I think it's a disgrace." But Medical student Pernell Williams said he did not think the verdict was indicative of Simpson's guilt. "The only people who truly know who did it are O.J. and the real murderer," Williams said. The verdict did not come as a surprise to some students who had remained informed about the trial throughout the nearly year-long proceedings. "I was disappointed in the verdict but not surprised because of the amount of information that was given to the jury and the big factor race played in that information," said Law student Chuck Penn. "There was no way a jury of 10 minorities could convict him based on the information they were given." The jury was composed of nine blacks, one Hispanic and two whites. With Simpson's acquittal, one thing is for certain -- the so-called "Trial of the Century" has finally come to a close. "I'm just relieved that it's over," said Wharton freshman Renee Arthurs.