LETTERS: Students and professors dine out

To the Editor, In my opinion, the improvement of student-faculty relationships due to the Student Committee for Undergraduate Education Room cannot be measured by numbers alone. I know of a student who asked his professor to the SCUE Room and received the reply, "I dislike the Faculty Club, lets eat somewhere else." This was a lunch date that was initiated because of the existence of the SCUE Room, even though they did not actually eat there. The SCUE Room is supposed to create an environment where students can feel comfortable saying, "Hey Dr. (insert favorite professor here), lets check out that new student-faculty lunchroom in the Faculty Club." Yet, the goal is not to get student-faculty groups into the Faculty Club, but to get them out together for lunch. Nevertheless, as far as actual statistics for the SCUE Room, it boasts 192 participants (faculty and students) in the first five weeks it was open. Furthermore, the average daily attendance over the last three weeks from Monday to Friday has been 10 participants per day! Although I am quite confident that the SCUE Room is beginning to catch momentum at the University, there are still many students who have not made reservations. For this I have no response except that if you are reading this sentence and have not eaten in the SCUE Room, then put down this DP right now and call 898-4618. It seems with all the advertising and DP articles there are still students who are unaware or choose not to take advantage of academic options at the University. I can only hope that Goldstein's column has caused students to rethink their complaints and to begin using some of the outlets for student-faculty interaction at the University. Having eaten almost every item on the menu, I can honestly encourage you to take advantage of a great opportunity at the University that your fellow students have worked hard to provide for you. Ari Silverman College '98 SCUE Chairperson More than a petty thief To the Editor: In a recent article on robbery in The Daily Pennsylvanian, I was struck by College sophomore Maya Falmagne's statement that "some stupid bastard will take four bucks from you and not even touch your $1,500 watch," ("Students robbed at gunpoint outside of Hamilton Court," DP, 10/9/97). Was she sorry that as a victim of a robbery, she did not lose more than a few dollars? Such a statement typifies the arrogance and shallow understanding with which all too many "educated" people view criminals and the underlying factors leading too crimes such as this robbery. To be sure, I am not saying one should "love thy criminal," nor am I lacking empathy for the frustration and anger that victims of crime feel. The fact is though, we need more than condescension and a superficial comprehension of social circumstances if we are ever to address the problem of crime in our community effectively. Criminals that rob people on the street of pocket money do not typically want to live such a life. More often they do so because their circumstances have led them to believe they have no other viable option, resultant of any number of social or economic problems that an increasing number of alienated Americans are facing today. That a robber only wanted cash, rather than all that he could have possibly taken, illustrates the desperation that so many people feel today to make ends meet in as basic and simple a way as possible. This is not a businessman calculating maximum profitability, but rather a person struggling to get by. With unreflective attitudes such as Ms. Falmagne's, and statements such as hers -- that she was "not at all" scared because she didn't believe the robber actually had a gun -- we can only expect that criminals will strive to be more efficient and exploitative in the future. Mori Insinger SAS graduate student