Campus Briefs: Friday, March 19, 1999

Burger King shuts doors to make way for cinema The restaurant will not reopen elsewhere on campus due to a lack of available retail space, said Tom Lussenhop, Penn's top real estate official. Another Burger King franchise, in Houston Hall, shut down last year when the student center closed for renovations. John Greenwood, a top official for the company that manages Penn's real estate holdings, said he wouldn't be surprised if Burger King opened a new location in the area without the help of the University. "With or without us, I don't believe Burger King will be out of the market for long," Greenwood said. The Burger King is the last of three shops in the Hamilton Village shopping center -- which is located along 40th Street between Locust and Walnut streets -- that closed to make way for Sundance construction, which is set to begin within the next 60 days, Lussenhop said. The Bucks County Coffee Co. and University City Nautilus closed last October. While Bucks is set to relocate to the new Dental School building on 40th Street, University City Nautilus will not reopen. The eight-screen theater will occupy 40,000 square feet of the shopping complex. Detailed plans for the site have not yet been released. -- Karlene Hanko Grad student attacked with knife off campus A female University graduate student was attacked by a knife-wielding man as she entered her apartment building on the 4200 block of Locust Street at 8 p.m. Wednesday night, police said. Physical injuries were minor. The student was treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for abrasions on her hands. University Police charged Dennis Holland, who lived in the same building as the victim, with aggravated assault. He remained in Philadelphia Police custody last night after being unable to post bail, police said. The student was in the vestibule at the entrance of her apartment building when Holland allegedly grabbed her, putting her in a headlock and holding a knife to her throat, University Police Deputy Chief of Investigations Tom King said. He then allegedly tried to force the student further inside the building towards his apartment. The student screamed during the struggle, alerting other residents who came out and intervened. Holland, who cut his own hand during the struggle, fled the scene but a witness led University Police to find him shortly after the attack. King said police were unsure of the motive for the attack. -- Laura McClure Drunk driver crashes into U. Police vehicle A drunk driver crashed into a University Police car early yesterday morning at the intersection of 54th and Spruce streets when he attempted to run a red light. A Philadelphia Police car was also hit during the accident. University Police Officer Dawn Kennedy received minor injuries as a result of the accident and was treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia Police arrested the driver at the scene and charged him with driving under the influence of alcohol. His name was not immediately available. The University Police officers were driving an unmarked vehicle back from the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives Bureau at 55th and Pine streets at 1 a.m. after bringing in a man suspected of an aggravated assault earlier that evening. The impact of the accident caused the University Police car to strike a Philadelphia Police car also travelling in the intersection. -- L.M.