CAMPUS BRIEFS: Wednesday, November 25, 1998

Bumpy ride for student in Hamilton elevator Wharton senior Eugene Park was taking the elevator up when it became stuck at the 16th floor at about 6:15 p.m., according to Faith Dzurovcik, the resident adviser on duty. Facilities Services employees arrived at about 6:45 p.m., said Dzurovcik, a College junior, but they were unable to open the elevator door. While the elevators in the other two high rises can be opened via an exterior key, Hamilton House's elevators are older and are not equipped with such a mechanism. "If we had the new elevators like in the other high rises, it wouldn't have been such a big problem," Dzurovcik said. Ultimately, the Philadelphia Fire Department came to Park's rescue, removing a wall from the adjacent elevator and allowing him to crawl through to the open elevator at about 7:05 p.m. As a result of the incident, only two of the four elevators in Hamilton were operational last night. Park was not immediately available for comment. -- Jeremy Reiss Trial in 1997 shooting set to begin Monday The trial of a West Philadelphia man accused of shooting a College senior during an attempted carjacking on the 4200 block of Pine Street last November is scheduled to begin Monday. Keith Schofield, 34, of the 4500 block of Pine Street, is charged with attempted murder, carjacking, robbery and aggravated assault in connection with the incident. Schofield allegedly shot James McCormack in the abdomen after demanding the keys to his silver Ford Taurus. Since there was a gun involved in the attack, Schofield, if convicted, would face at least a mandatory five-year prison sentence, according to Philadelphia District Attorney's Office spokesperson Bill Davol. Shortly after the incident, University President Judith Rodin told The Daily Pennsylvanian that what happened to McCormack should serve as a lesson for students that they should give in to assailants' demands. McCormack, however, said that the police report claim that he did not hand over his keys was false. The prosecutor and the public defender representing Schofield were not available for comment this week. The trial is expected to last three days will take place in room 1008 of the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert streets. -- Andrew Ribner Construction to link two parking lots finished Workers yesterday finished repaving and connecting two parking lots near 36th and Walnut streets, one located in front of the Franklin Building and the other in front of the Franklin Building Annex, officials said. The lot in front of the annex, which holds the Physical Plant shops and Penn's Mail Service, was formerly accessed by utility vehicles through an entrance on 36th and Sansom streets, according to Omar Blaik, vice president for facilities services and contract management. But safety concerns prompted officials to close that entrance. In its place, they decided to tear down a brick wall that separated the two lots and connect them with a small ramp, according to Blaik. Vehicles will now use an entrance on Walnut Street to reach either of the two lots. As a result of the construction, six of the 25 spaces in the Walnut Street lot were lost. The chain-link fence that now surrounds the annex lot will be replaced by a tall, more aesthetically pleasing lattice with a fence on the street side to allow for outdoor seating, according to Blaik. This part of the project should be finished within the next month, he said. The cost of the project was not immediately available. "With the opening of Sansom Common, we were trying to see if there was a way to provide a better visual from Xando and from the shopping area," Blaik said. -- Seth Grossman Nursing student group wins statewide honors A group of Nursing School undergraduates recently won a newly created award recognizing an outstanding group of student nurses at a Pennsylvania college or university. Student Nurses at Penn won the first annual Chapter of Excellence Award -- in addition to two individual awards -- at the Student Nurses Association of Pennsylvania convention in the Poconos this past weekend. "We have set a precedent for the coming years for Penn students to have a strong presence on the state and, hopefully, the national level," said Nursing senior Michelle Land, the group's president. SNAP is an organization for Penn's undergraduate nursing students. It serves as an advisory board to undergraduates, organizes activities and acts as a liaison to faculty members and administrators. It is part of both the Student Nurses Association of Pennsylvania and the National Student Nurses Association. Nursing seniors Margy Barbieri and Lisa Horak and freshman Lance Feldman were SNAP's three other representatives at the convention. -- Naomi Blivaiss