EDITORIAL: In all fairness

As the University plans forAs the University plans forthe next century, the needs ofAs the University plans forthe next century, the needs ofundergraduates and graduateAs the University plans forthe next century, the needs ofundergraduates and graduatestudents should be weightedAs the University plans forthe next century, the needs ofundergraduates and graduatestudents should be weightedequally.As the University plans forthe next century, the needs ofundergraduates and graduatestudents should be weightedequally._______________________________ There's just one problem with this formula: It ignores half of the University's student body. While undergraduates may think they have a monopoly on the "they don't care about our input, our desires or our needs" mantra, graduate students told the DP clearly and firmly earlier this week that they, too, feel like their experience here does not top the administration's priority list. Important student services -- such as student health, financial services and recreational programs -- follow undergraduates' schedules, the grads say. And there's no centralized gathering place reserved for all graduate students, regardless of the program in which they are enrolled. We recognize that the experience of graduate schooling or professional training is inherently different from the undergraduate experience. Graduate students focus only on the narrowly defined programs they've elected, and often must incorporate work experience or off-campus field placements into their schedules each semester. They interact almost exclusively with students in the same program or discipline, since most of their classes (and divisional libraries) are in one campus building -- and because many live independently in Center City. But it doesn't have to be this way. For years, graduate students have been asking for a pub or space of their own, where they would be able to host events, meet new friends and just hang out in between or after classes. Plans for the Perelman Quadrangle are not yet cast in stone. Now is the perfect time to ensure that graduate students are given adequate room in the new student center. Undergraduates would also benefit from the creation of a pub or meeting area, which would allow them to get to know -- and maybe even learn from -- graduate students other than their TAs. In addition, undergraduates who have internships, jobs or jam-packed class schedules would no doubt appreciate student services offering evening hours. Administrators appropriate millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of hours for teaching and research each year, to keep the University's educational programs -- at all levels -- highly ranked in the all-important national surveys. However, the university experience is not confined to the classroom. Facilitating the connection of students across boundaries of school, discipline and stage of life should be the administration's top priority as the 21st century dawns.