LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Rodin justifies U.'s high costs

To the Editor: The climbing cost of higher education is a serious but complicated issue. Unfortunately, the Inquirer reporters glossed over complexities, ignored critical points and laid blame too easily on purported administrative bloat and University greed. At Penn, we are deeply aware of the economic strain tuition places on many families, and we are taking important steps to reduce that strain. In yesterday's Inquirer, I responded to the series with the following points: 1. Penn's tuition this year is the lowest in the Ivy League, and it will be among the lowest this coming fall. Moreover, for the second academic year in a row, the University's room and board fees for students will not increase one nickel in September. 2. An aggressive program of administrative streamlining and cost-cutting was begun last year at Penn. The program will save tens of millions of dollars over the next five years -- savings that will be applied to core academic programs. 3. Penn is aggressively pursuing technological innovation that may cost money in the short term but, in the long term, will help stem escalating costs. Renovating classroom facilities may also be expensive in the short term, but is similarly crucial to our future. Neither of these types of expenses is reflected in the standard consumer price index inflation rates, which is partly why the higher education price index has exceeded the CPI recently. 4. The Inquirer inaccurately tried to portray a burgeoning administration in the 1980s and early 1990s while student enrollment purportedly stayed flat. In fact, nearly 700 more full-time students are registered today than in 1981. During the same time period, the number of part-time students substantially dropped by design, resulting in the total increase of 29 students cited by the Inquirer. And a large portion of the "administrative" growth deemed excessive and unnecessary has been growth in hospital workers, research specialists and lab technicians, medical residents and interns, building custodians and similar individuals who are plainly not "administrative." The most confounding aspect of the Inquirer's series was its disparaging treatment of Penn's research mission. We are proud of Penn's standing as a world-class research university. Many talented students come here precisely because Penn's faculty can offer them a grounding in research. Many of the services we provide students are financially maintained only by virtue of the synergies inherent in our joint teaching/research enterprise. In fact, tuition is higher at a number of small elite liberal arts colleges that do not have available some of the synergies our combined teaching and research activities provide. Students have a right to understand and comment on their tuition costs, and I commend the Inquirer for asking the public to take a greater interest as well. But all must be prepared to face a complex set of variables as we work to contain costs and provide the highest quality education. Judith Rodin University President Food trucks debated To the Editor: I am compelled to respond to the article "Restaurants can't stomach food trucks, but students relish them" (DP, 4/5/96). May I assure you that I am neither an opponent nor a proponent of truck vending and, in fact, enjoy my personal favorites -- Kim's on Walnut Street and Frieda's on 33rd Street -- when Dining Services is closed. As my job title indicates, I am obviously a proponent of University Dining Services. On the issue of truck sanitation versus restaurants, a person can develop her or his own conclusions by asking some questions and making some observations: Who washes the fresh fruit that is taken right from the box and sliced into fruit bowls? Fruit often comes from foreign ports that permit pesticides not allowed in the United States. Most of the hot dog vendors as well as most of the Asian cuisine vendors dispose of liquid waste by pouring it down sewer drains. Anyone who arrives on campus early in the morning, as I do, can easily see rodents enjoying this feast. Are we to presume these rodents do not as well visit the trucks parked all night? Philadelphia health codes requires rest room and hand washing facilities in establishments that sell and prepare food. Where are the rest rooms for the trucks? The health code also prohibits handling of both money and food and requires the use of hand guards. No questions are needed here. Many comments are made about the trash in the streets on campus. Dining services, as well as resident retail operations, all have trash disposal facilities. The truck vendors simply use street facilities -- or none at all. If you believe that health department licenses are prudent and the right thing to have, look for a current license at your next truck stop. Yes indeed, some have them -- including Kim's and Frieda's -- but not many keep them up-to-date. My purpose is not to defend our Dining Services, Faculty Club and the other food facilities in the academic buildings for which I am responsible, but I am proud to point out a few of the differences. All of our facilities have up-to-date health department licenses and all of our managers and chefs are Serv-Safe-certified by the National Restaurant Association. Our waste is disposed of properly, recycled when possible and sanitarily ground when not. Menus are written by a team that includes a registered dietitian and are balanced so that nutrition-conscious students, faculty and staff can enjoy meals with the nutrients and composition dictated by the Recommended Dietary Allowances of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. During the blizzard of '96 and other poor weather situations, University Dining facilities were open, staffed by our regular loyal employees and our student employees. Diners could get out of the weather and still enjoy good, hot, nutritional meals. I didn't observe any trucks on the street. Did you? The great advantage of dining at the trucks is that they are less expensive -- as well they should be, since trucks do not pay rent, do not pay to dispose of waste and trash, do not pay utility costs of heat, light and gas, do not pay upkeep for rest room facilities and do not pay to clean tables, floors and walls. Don Jacobs Executive Director, Hospitality Services n To the Editor: Food trucks are an integral part of the University community. Case in point: dinner at a University dining hall costs nearly seven bucks. For half of that it is possible to have a food truck feast. The options are limitless -- Chinese, Thai, Indian, pizza, etc. -- and usually safer than Dining Services food. In the article "Restaurants can't stomach food trucks, but students relish them" (DP, 4/5/96), it is suggested that food trucks do not pay taxes or rent. This is simply not the case. Trucks park in metered parking spaces and must pay upwards of 10 dollars per day for this privilege, in quarters nonetheless. That's over $3,000 per year in taxes for the City of Philadelphia. And that's not counting tickets if Le Anh forgets to feed the meter. As a last point, the suggestion that trucks do not meet the same safety standards as local eateries is absurd. I have seen more roaches in one trip to Beijing than in two years of daily visits to campus trucks. Jason Busch College '97 Food Truck Editor, The Practical Penn