EDITORIAL: Psych deserves space of its won

The Book Store siteThe Book Store siteshouldn't beThe Book Store siteshouldn't beauctioned off to theThe Book Store siteshouldn't beauctioned off to thehighest bidder; likelyThe Book Store siteshouldn't beauctioned off to thehighest bidder; likelyto be Wharton. But almost as soon as the ink dried on the Barnes & Noble deal, the Psychology Department and the Wharton School began fighting overwho has first dibs on The Book Store's current site. It's surprising that the Political Science Department and the graduate schools of Education and Social Work -- all housed in those hulking cinderblock monstrosities behind The Book Store -- didn't jump into the fray, too. Earlier this week, the DP reported that both Psych and Wharton have formally petitioned the University for new campus buildings. Here's where the situation gets sticky. Both Wharton and Psych are well-respected academically, recognized as leaders in their fields. Both contribute to Penn's international prestige. Both could use more space for their burgeoning student populations and innovative programs. But as Wharton Deputy Dean Janice Bellace said, who gets the site will probably depend on who can pay for it. Wharton, with its wealthy, well-connected alumni, can raise the $100 million a new facility is expected to cost in a heartbeat -- and that might be the only justification administrators need to leave Psych out in the cold. That would be wrong. With enough time, the School of Arts and Sciences and the Psychology Department -- one of the most popular among undergraduates -- can surely raise the funds necessary to build a structure with room for professors' and departmental offices and laboratory space. Wharton already occupies the entire center of campus, from Vance Hall to Lauder-Fischer Hall, from Steinberg-Dietrich Hall to the Colonial Penn Center and the Aresty Institute for Executive Education. If Penn's high priorities truly include under- graduate education in basic liberal arts, administrators should make every effort to ensure that the Psych Department's new home is as prominent on campus as the sprawling Wharton complex is now.