Econ midterm vexes men's hoops faithful

Students in Economics 2 face an exam during the Penn-Princeton game. Better late than never. That's exactly the case for around 600 Penn students -- mostly Wharton freshmen -- whose Economics 2 "Introductory Macroeconomics" midterm exam begins tonight at 7:15 p.m. -- 15 minutes before the tipoff at the men's Penn-Princeton basketball game. The exam will end at 8:15 p.m., allowing those students with tickets to arrive at the Palestra just in time for the second half. The Penn-Princeton basketball game is traditionally the most highly publicized and eagerly anticipated Quakers sporting event of the year. With Penn (14-3, 6-0 Ivy League) hoping to dethrone the Tigers as Ivy champions this season, the game has taken on extra significance -- so much so that some students are wondering whether an exam should be scheduled on the night of the game. "I hate it. I don't think I'm going to be able to think during the test," said Wharton freshman David Lebel of Tuesday's time conflicts, adding that he and two friends -- both of whom are taking the exam -- will rush to the game as soon as the exam is finished. Wharton freshman Frank Jones said he "would have liked an opportunity to have gone." "Perhaps there could have been some adjustments made by the department," he said. "I don't see why [the exam] couldn't have been on a Wednesday or Thursday." But according to Economics Professor Yongsung Chang, one of the course's four professors, the "class size of Econ 2 is too big to change the exam date in a short period of time." He did say, however, that the professors had considered moving the midterm when they learned about the game. Students in the Joseph Wharton Scholars program -- the school's selective honors section -- also had an exam scheduled for today, but it was moved to Thursday after Economics Professor William Whitney deemed today a "national holiday." Mark Rosenzweig, chairperson of the Economics Department, defended the decision not to change the exam date. "The University of Pennsylvania is an academic institution in which academics are the priority," said Rosenzweig, who explained that most important athletic events are scheduled on weekends "so as not to interfere with students' ability to carry out academic activities in an academically efficient manner." Not all students, however, are crushed by the scheduling conflict. While some are disappointed that they will miss some of the game, they do not blame the Econ department. Wharton freshman Carine Ildebrando, who is hoping to find a ticket before tipoff, said the game is "not anything that I think [the professors] would know about." And Stefan Krasowski, also a Wharton freshman, said he "can't condemn [the Economics Department] too hard for not checking every schedule." "You have to deem what games are more important," Krasowski added. "If you do it for basketball, then the fencers will feel left out." Rosenzweig also said the Athletic Department should share some blame as well for scheduling "one of the most important sports events of the year, and the only Ivy League contest across all sports, on a normal academic weekday." According to Bill Richter, the Athletic Department's coordinator of marketing and promotions, scheduling is done during the summer by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which does not consider it a priority to place the more important games on the weekends. Penn's last game against Princeton was March 3, 1998 -- also a Tuesday night. The Quakers lost to the then-No.8 ranked Tigers in overtime, 78-72.

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