At U., no shortage of opinions on Clinton

Few students said the president should be removed from office. They say he is a liar. Disgusting. Disgraceful. Embarrassing. Even horny. Although the Penn campus may not be the most politically active in the country, students sure have something to say about President Clinton. As the White House braces itself for imminent impeachment proceedings and a potential end to the sex and cover-up scandal that has riveted the nation for months, Penn students are voicing collective disappointment, dismay and anger at Clinton, according to 75 weekend interviews with undergraduates across campus. But they are still maintaining their support for the embattled president. Indeed, while many Penn students polled may have lost respect for the commander-in-chief, most feel that his private life should be free of public scrutiny and believe, more importantly, that he should be allowed to finish his second term in office. "I don't think what he did was right, but his personal screwups don't have a place in politics," said College sophomore Sarah Wolf, who doesn't believe Clinton should be impeached by the House of Representatives -- a move that would lead to a vote in the Senate on whether to remove him from office. "I don't have a lot of respect for him, but I think he should finish his term," Wolf added. Such mixed feelings were echoed by dozens of the other Penn students interviewed at the Class of 1920 Commons, the Moravian Cafes food court and Stouffer Dining Commons. Nationally, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found that 65 percent of Americans surveyed Thursday -- the day the House voted for an open-ended impeachment inquiry against Clinton-- oppose impeachment, but 53 percent think Congress should censure Clinton. That poll had a 3.5 percent margin of error. Clinton is facing impeachment over allegations that he committed perjury while denying an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky to a federal grand jury, that he encouraged others to lie and that he committed "abuse of power" by using White House resources to foil an investigation into the affair. College junior Margo Katz said that impeachment would "cause total chaos" and do severe damage to the country. She quickly pointed out, however, that Clinton "lacks all moral fiber. You can't really trust him at all. Is he a good president? Yes. Is he a good man? No." The Clinton scandal sparked conversations, often disagreements, between friends struggling to reconcile their conflicting views of the president's relationship with Lewinsky. "I don't think they should be focusing on the man's personal actions. His job as president is to protect the welfare of America," said Ashley Harvey, a College freshman. "But," countered friend and fellow freshman Shamika Lee, her finger raised, "I think he broke the law. It's a matter of whether he was obstructing justice." In fact, those who felt that Clinton should be immediately impeached were split over what was the most serious of the charges against him: his extramarital affairs or his misleading testimony. "I don't care that he slept with another woman. That he lied and committed perjury is the problem," said Stefanie Magner, a College freshman. Others, though, were visibly upset about the president's promiscuous sexual behavior. "Having a sexual relationship with a White House employee while she was at work is wrong," said Wharton senior Dan Newman. "I think he's disgusting," said Meredith Sheldon, a College junior. "The fact that he had an affair with a woman a couple of years older than his daughter says a lot about his moral fiber." And Engineering freshman Ben Raskob said, "Cheating on your wife, that's no good in my book." Despite their negative opinions of Clinton as a person, many students cited several practical reasons for opposing his possible impeachment. Some worried that politicians would be even more encouraged to investigate each other's personal lives, a phenomenon labeled "sexual McCarthyism;" others worried that Clinton's scandal-induced political paralysis is harming America's standing abroad. According to Nursing freshman Maggie Beerley, impeaching Clinton would "set a precedent that the public can be so involved in these kind of personal issues. There are other things we should be getting involved in." Stephanie Sy, a College senior, said impeaching Clinton would "throw our country into turmoil and confusion," while Rachel Bergstein, a College freshman, said the commotion surrounding the president's personal life is "ridiculous" and has made the United States into the "laughingstock of the world." Penn students aren't the only ones at the University who believe Clinton should remain in office; several faculty members in the Political Science Department feel the same way. "I flat out disagree with the idea that Clinton should either resign or be impeached," Department Chairperson Ian Lustick wrote in a letter to the editor he submitted to The Philadelphia Inquirer. "If Clinton resigns, he will do an immense disservice to the country, helping to encourage both Republicans and Democrats? to troll through the personal lives of every successful opposition figure," Lustick added, blaming the Republicans' perennial "gut-churning hatred" for Clinton. Jack Nagel, a Political Science professor who also heads the Penn-in-Washington program, also feels Clinton should not be removed from office. "The most important thing for him is to be seen as doing a good job as president.? He can't seem preoccupied with the scandal or the impeachment process if he is also to be seen as an effective president," Nagel said. Then there were those who had a humorous take on the whole situation. "I knew he slept around. You've got to cover up. He's got women all over him," said Sadashiv Santosh, a College freshman. And Wharton freshman Robbie Smith said, "I would have had more sex. I would have gone all the way. I would have hired more interns."