LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Segregation is students' fault

To the Editor: Every student here is of adult age -- all of their racial perceptions and understandings developed in the 18 to 19 years before they got to Penn. I strongly feel that it is not Penn's job to change these perceptions. If there are some among us who have chosen ignorance over understanding, it is up to the people around them to attempt to break down those walls. Ultimately (and sadly), however, it is extremely difficult to change people's perceptions. If these perceptions lead to people's choosing to live with their own, so be it. I came to Penn to learn -- both in and outside of the classroom. How I do in both these situations is up to me, and comes only from my personal desire to learn. If Penn does have a racial integration/segregation problem, the issue lies not with the school, but with the character of the students. Jasson Cohen College '99 Merits of food trucks To the Editor: In noting many obvious differences between food trucks and indoor dining, Hospitality Services Executive Director Don Jacobs takes things too far in citing the "faults" of the trucks ("Food trucks debated," Letter to the Editor, DP, 4/8/96). With the city shut down during the blizzard of '96, was it any surprise that the trucks were absent? Should a truck operated by a few people (usually a family enterprise) be expected to have registered dietitians or menus written by teams? Have the trucks caused any health problems in their years on the campus? Are students and employees so helpless that they cannot determine their own dietary needs, tastes and preferences? Comparing street vendors with a large institutional food service is as ludicrous as comparing an army combat medic with the Mayo Clinic. Louis Delpino Medical School Pathology Department Supporting Jacobowitz To the Editor: Since no one could be found to support Eden Jacobowitz's civil suit in your brief student opinion survey ("Word on the Walk," DP, 4/9/96), I would like to balance the scale somewhat here. The administration's total disregard for Jacobowitz's rights as a member of the University community, and its willingness to throw aside justice in capitulation to certain ideologues, should not be easily dismissed. Had it not been for the efforts of certain advisors, as well as the aid of national publicity (fortunately, Provost Chodorow's initial draft of the judicial charter was not in effect), it is probable that Jacobowitz's permanent record would be deeply scarred -- all because of the utterance of two innocuous words. If it will cause the administration to think twice before surrendering its reason and its respect for individual rights, I sincerely hope Jacobowitz's civil suit is successful. David Applebaum College '96 Unity displayed at show To the Editor: During a time when campus discussion often centers around issues of segregation, indifference and apathy, an event occurred last weekend that seemed to transcend all of that. The African American Arts Alliance production of Charles Fuller A Soldier's Play was a tour de force in many important ways. Aside from being an impressive theatrical display with a cast of talented actors, the show was an example of the possible "diversity" on campus. The play featured an all-male cast of both black and white actors and dealt with issues of race in an entertaining, dramatic and often humorous way. Just a quick glance into the audience revealed that the spectacle was enjoyed by all types of students -- black, white, Asian, Hispanic, young and old. All who were there seemed to realize that the show was something special and was an important example of what can be achieved when students work together to produce something. It was disappointing to see that on Monday the headline of the DP reflected the opposite of what everyone felt at those two memorable nights in Annenberg School Theatre ("Close to home: Students address residential segregation," DP, 4/8/96). Surely that was an important story that needed to be told -- but let us remember that there are many examples of diversity on campus. When it is achieved in such a memorable fashion, as it was on Friday and Saturday, University students should hear about it. Malik Wilson College '99 Eliminating resentment To the Editor: The article "African holocaust remembered" (DP, 4/4/96) prompted much thought. Seeds of "disaster" were planted earlier than the initial voyage of the first slave ships and involved diverse, greedy and dishonorable people of many religions, as well as white and black cotton growers in the southern United States, Europeans who needed cotton, shipping companies that transported slaves and cotton and African tribes willing to capture and sell their people to white enslavers. This all took place before any slave ships sailed from West Africa. Personally, I believe people of color are entitled to their justified resentments due to the inhumanity inflicted upon them by whites. But these resentments have festered and backfired as most resentments do -- justified or otherwise. Resentments don't do harm to the people whose actions have bred the resentment; the harm is done to the person(s) harboring the resentment. Could people of color some day forgive white people for our collective part in the African holocaust, just as you have forgiven the African tribes who took part in the capture and eventual enslavement? In the back pages of a 12-Step Big Book, I read of a paradoxical phenomena. The story was called "Freedom from Bondage," and I tried reading it to prove people wrong who told me it had helped them and maybe it could help me be rid of resentments. Much to my surprise, it worked for me. It has always worked for whomever is willing to pray for their resentments to have the good things they want for themselves. Pray for whites to have the good things you want for yourself in your life, pray for this even though a part of you doesn't want it and thinks they already have good things. Do it anyway for two to three weeks, and you will be free from the bondage of the most justified resentment in the universe. Betty Calter Secretary, Dining/Hospitality Services