EDITORIAL: A retail request beyond reason

University Jewelers should reject a clause in its proposed lease allowing Penn to relocate the store. In essence, University officials want the store to agree by tomorrow to be shuffled around in accordance with fluctuations in the area's overall retail scheme. University Jewelers is right to say "no" to this unreasonable request. There are many complications that go into a move. In addition to transporting merchandise, it requires changing directory listings and publicizing the relocation. For University Jewelers, one move -- from its current location in the Book Store building on the 3700 block of Walnut Street to a new location in the 3401 Walnut Street complex -- is more than enough. Furthermore, not all University City retail space is equivalent. Merchants who have been offered space in the 40th Street corridor are justifiably disappointed. Until University officials can convince someone -- whether it be a movie theater or supermarket -- to take the plunge and act as a magnet for new stores, the area will remain tangential. And at the rate negotiations have been going, a rejuvenation of 40th Street retail is unlikely to occur in the near future. The same is true for the Stouffer Triangle area. To our knowledge, the relocation clause in University Jewelers' proposed lease is an exception to, rather than the rule of, the University's myriad ongoing retail negotiations. But the outcome of this specific lease negotiation is particularly important. University Jewelers has been at Penn for 62 years. As the University forces the store out of the Book Store complex to make room for Wharton classrooms, the way it deals with this lease speaks directly to how it feels about longtime, loyal and successful merchants. Don't set a bad precedent.