LETTERS: Police acted 'appropriately'

To the Editor: Police officers did not "storm" the FIJI house on the night of the incident. An appropriate number of officers knocked and were admitted. No one "was beaten so badly they got a concussion." The law permits police officers to use force to make an arrest. The use of force is never pleasant, but sometimes it is necessary for police to carry out their lawful duties. The least amount of force was used to effect a legal arrest in the FIJI incident. The arrest was legal and appropriate; the District Attorney's Office reviewed and concurred in this. The trial judge handed down a not guilty verdict. This means the District Attorney did not prove all the elements of the particular charges beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of the judge. We were disappointed in the verdict, but as always, we respect the court. The verdict does not change the facts of what occurred during the incident, nor is it a repudiation of police conduct during the incident. Police officers are highly trained in the difficult decision process inherent in the appropriate lawful use of force and they are psychologically screened during their very vigorous selection process. In discussing police investigations and incidents, I always take the ethical and legal high road to protect the rights of everyone involved. I cannot deal in rumor, innuendo and speculation. Tom Seamon Managing Director, Public Safety u To the Editor: In response to Laurie Smith's column calling for immediate suspension of the officers involved in the FIJI incident, I have to question the constant criticism of the police on this campus. These are people who, for a very modest living, deal with everything that frightens us in West Philadelphia. In the process, they often put themselves in danger and, for that reason alone, are entitled to our respect. Instead, people on this campus, who tend to come from different worlds than most of these officers and apparently feel some sort of superiority complex because of it, characterize the police as stupid or unresponsive. Instead of respect, these officers receive demands for their suspension from a woman who graduated years ago, was not present at the incident and is acting on unproven allegations. I was not around to witness the Sofield incident, but I have seen several parties broken up by police officers who deal with incredible abuse from drunken Penn students. I would challenge anyone to put themselves in this same position week in and week out. To act perfectly every time is not an indication of psychological stability. Rather, it is almost inhuman. If you want to avoid trouble with the police on this campus, treat them with the respect they deserve. Jeff Kuras College '98 Staffing college houses To the Editor: An article on yesterday's front page rightly describes a new partnership between the graduate and professional schools and Penn's new college house system to work together to recruit 104 graduate associates, who will take leadership roles in the houses. Unfortunately, the headline, "Few apply to be college house grad associates," is both misleading and inaccurate -- and it obscures some important and newsworthy points. In fact just a few days into the process, we have a substantial number of new applications. When combined with prospects for our talented, returning graduate staff, we are already half-way toward appointing top-quality candidates to all the GA positions. That is good news for our college houses, and we are delighted at the early returns. The good news for graduate students is that there will be 55 new opportunities for staff positions as a result of the new 21st Century College House system. Put another way, there is a total of $239,000 in new dollars available to help students fund their graduate or professional education, through new room and board stipends. So, on the whole, graduate students' opportunities for additional university monies has just increased, not decreased. Since no current students stand to lose any fellowship dollars by virtue of their college house affiliation, the argument that this is "less attractive" to graduate students is weak. To summarize: not a single current graduate fellow will lose a penny; and graduate students new to the system will have more funding available, not less. As we already know from our successful tradition of college houses at Penn, graduate students' intellectual leadership and experience serve the undergraduate population especially well. In fact, we believe that these (more numerous) leadership positions will benefit both individual graduate associates, as many prepare for careers in teaching, research and professional service, and all members of the Penn community -- as more graduate and professional students participate in and help enrich the intellectual life of the campus, across disciplines and schools. Christopher Dennis Director, Academic Programs and Residence Life