CAMPUS BRIEFS: Friday, April 3, 1998

Police issue warrant for Palestra shootings In a hearing last week, Kyle McLemore, 21, of South Philadelphia, was held on charges of murder and several counts of aggravated assault for his part in the shooting. But during the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Jude Conroy said McLemore was not the only gunman who allegedly fired a weapon. After the hearing, Conroy said ballistics experts found bullets of different sizes inside his body, leading them to conclude that two gunmen shot Anthony "Tupac" Davis, 22, the sole fatality in the incident. Detectives are still not sure which gunman allegedly carried each weapon, according to Sgt. Irma Labrice, an investigator for the Philadelphia Police Department's Homicide Unit. The second suspect is said to be a friend of McLemore's and one of the five armed men witnesses said they saw running toward Davis' car on 33rd Street following the Philadelphia Public League basketball championships, which were held at the Palestra earlier that day. -- Maureen Tkacik Man arrested in alleged assault near campus University Police arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly assaulting a female friend near 42nd and Walnut streets early yesterday morning. Both are unaffiliated with the University. The victim, who reported the incident to police at 7:25 a.m. yesterday, was immediately sent to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for injuries to her ribs, arms, legs and serious damage to her head and eyes, according to University Police Det. John Peterson. It was unclear what condition the woman was in when she entered HUP. A nursing administrator said the hospital had no record of such a patient. According to police, the suspect, Pasquale Cifelli, used no weapon, instead inflicting the extensive injuries through repeated kicks to the victim. As of yesterday afternoon, police said Cifelli remained in custody. Detectives at the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives bureau are currently investigating the incident. -- M.T. UPPD hires six officers, promotes employees The Division of Public Safety has hired six University Police officers to replace several who have left or plan to leave the division soon, officials said yesterday. The new officers will begin work this month. Nicki Taylor, one of the hired officers, was a Spectaguard walking patrol who supervisors recommended for the police academy as part of a new initiative to encourage Spectaguards to aspire to become University Police officers. The division began interviewing applicants about four weeks ago. Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush said they are still advertising for applicants. Rush said the division is simply hiring to "maintain levels of employment" and will not be expanding significantly. There are currently about 100 University Police officers. In addition, three University Police employees have also been promoted to sergeant status: Det. Peggy O'Malley; Officer Al Sulpezio, a member of the Special Response Team; and Officer John Wiley, who works for the Special Services Unit. All three will be formally promoted later this month, according to Rush. -- M.T. SEPTA doesn't meet with labor union Officials from SEPTA and the Transport Workers Union Local 234 did not meet yesterday, as SEPTA leaders were reportedly exhausted from negotiating a contract with the suburban United Transportation Union. SEPTA and the union representing suburban Philadelphia workers reached a tentative contract settlement early yesterday morning, but TWU spokesperson Bruce Bodner said the threat of a strike in the city still remains very real. Bodner said the agreement SEPTA reached with the UTU is "fraught with danger" for members of that bargaining group, but stressed that the settlement would have no impact on his union's negotiating stance. The continuing contract negotiations at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel in Center City are an effort to avoid a possible city transit strike which would shut down buses, trolleys and subways and leave the system's 450,000 weekday passengers searching for other ways to get around the city. Regional rail lines would not be affected by the potential strike, and would have full and uninterrupted service. The negotiations have been ongoing since March 14, when the contract expired. The union agreed to continue talking as long as progress was being made, but talks have remained at a standstill for several weeks. -- Lindsay Faber Two U. students win Microsoft scholarships Two Penn students are all smiles after winning $2,500 scholarships from Microsoft Corp. through an Internet contest. Engineering freshman Michael Giron and second-year English graduate student Brent Stinski are two of 10 college students nationwide to win the contest, which required entrants to download the Microsoft Money 98 personal-finance software, answer five questions related to the product and write a 500-word "financial fitness" essay. "I saw there was a chance to win $2,500, and I wrote a superficial paragraph and won," Stinski said. "To tell the truth, I don't know much about finance," he added. -- Sheri Miller