LETTERS: Close Hill House community looks out for each other

To the Editor: When a student turns up excessively drunk and in trouble, we will get him/her to HUP. Indeed, here's a possible banner headline for tomorrow: "Hill policy unchanged: Will continue to aid endangered students, will continue to save lives." As I detailed to no avail to the DP, Hill staff (and, indeed, Penn staff) have put forth a huge expenditure of effort to engage students in broad-ranging programming and discussion on the dangers of alcohol abuse. But in addition, and perhaps more effectively, Hill has fostered a community where people talk to one another about things. Hill students trust Hill staff enough to come to them when individuals have made bad choices, and things have gotten scary. This life-saving dynamic is evidenced by the excellent care students have received (unfortunately including trips to HUP), and by the candid and frequent discussions which are occurring in Hill on the issue of alcohol saftey. Sadly, we will lose some of that valuable candor because the DP invaded our privacy and misused information contained in those important conversations, some of which occured on a house listserv. Excessive drinking by students is a serious and dangerous issue. I will speculate that the DP is trying to help. But in the area of trust and communication in Hill, at least, the DP has today done a good bit of harm. If the DP wants to help, it should look into why some students, armed with all the facts and tools we can give them, continue to choose to risk their futures and lives by drinking irresponsibly. If the DP wants to help, it should stop undermining the vital trust communities have fostered. It should cease seeking the names of students involved in these unfortunate incidents, and never again invade or misuse in-house discussions, thereby jeopardizing what good communication is happening among students and staff on this subject. In the meantime, I am confident and proud that when a Hill student makes bad choices out there, he/she does not face the consequences alone. The traditional closeness of this community means that we do not end up with dangerously drunk students passed out after a night out "on the town," unnoticed in their rooms and with their lives quietly at risk. In Hill, as in many other residences, people notice when their neighbors are facing difficulty, and they tend to do something about it -- every single time. This is a thing to celebrate and cherish. Tracy Feld Assistant Dean Hill College House Defining who is an Asian American To the Editor: I agree that there is a relatively larger percentage of "Asian Americans" on campus compared to other minorities and that they are not numerically underrepresented as a group. The loophole in Andrea Ahles' argument in her column "A minority in the majority," (DP, 9/29/97) is that "Asian American" is in reality a ridiculously heterogeneous term. This is what the government, the administration, and the people do not realize or care about when they lump everyone in the same category for their convenience. Perhaps there are certain Asian ethnicities that are well-represented on campus, but I don't think Cambodians, many of whom live in poverty in Philly, are. African Americans and Latinos do not have to deal to the same extent as Asians do with being arbitrarily categorized with other peoples who differ so drastically in language, culture, geographic origin, history and collective experience. What is ridiculous is treating a Hindi-speaking person from India the same way as a Khmer-speaking person from Cambodia. There are underrepresented Asians out there, and they are getting their rights trampled on and neglected by people who automatically assume that all "Asian Americans" are doing just fine. I believe in programs that benefit the economically disadvantaged, regardless of race or ethnicity. Instead of making broad generalizations about Asians, we need to tease apart this sweeping category to identify the groups who are truly in need and underrepresented. Wendy Hsu Medical '00 u To the Editor: In response to the recent column, "A minority in the majority," (DP, 9/29/97) I would like to comment that Andrea Ahles' argument is very convincing. Something needed to be said after recent quotes appeared in the DP outlining some dubious stances of particular leaders of an Asian-American group ("Asian Americans shift focus," DP, 9/26/97). Among these stances are the following: 1. The representation of Asians is a "quantitative vs. qualitative" issue, and the quantitative aspect should be de-emphasized. 2. The racial demographics of this institution may be skewed because there may be no differentiation between Asian American and Asian. The first argument is completely ridiculous. Asians are unequivocally the most represented group at Penn, and to merely dismiss that notion and play it off as a need for "qualitative" improvements reaches almost a height of arrogance, in light of the ridiculous underrepresentation of other minority groups. The second argument also is flawed in that it attempts to create demographic subclasses from which to exploit a political agenda. The bottom line is that yes, there are improvements to be made in making Penn a more Asian-friendly institution, but what certain individuals need to realize that relativity is everything. To make demands while other underrepresented groups have bigger fish to fry is to make your voice that much weaker. Eventually, it won't be heard at all. Harold Lee College and Wharton '99 Improve blue-light phones around campus To the Editor: I have been under the mistaken impression, as many of us have, that when you pick up a blue light phone the University police know exactly your location and immediately come to your assistance. On Sunday night, after finding my car missing outside the library, I went to look for a blue-light phone. After about a minute of looking, I picked up one outside of Bennett Hall, almost a block and a half from where my car was, and to my great surprise the operator at the other end of the phone had to ask me where I was located! What is more, is that when I said "Bennett Hall," he seemed confused and asked me again where I was, at which point I told him "34th and Walnut!" This outrages me. I have never been one to complain about campus security; I have always thought that the University was "doing their best" considering the circumstance of the neighborhood that we live in. But obviously, this is not the case. How can the blue-light phones be so hard to find when you need them, and be so outdated that they can't track your whereabouts immediately?!!! Campus blue-light phones should be updated so that when we pick one up, University police instantaneously run, walk, bike or drive to our aid. Additionally, blue-light phones have nearly no long-term cost since once they are installed, they are in place forever. We should put 10s more systematically throughout the campus. By the way, after all this, my car was missing because it was towed by the University! Aaron Abrahms College '98