Hours after mass rally, task force meets

Students protested vocally at a rally on College Green. Engaging in chants of "What do we want? Beer! When do we want it? Now!" between approximately 800 and 1,000 students gathered on College Green yesterday afternoon to protest the recent decisions made by the administration regarding the University's alcohol policy. The predominantly undergraduate protesters -- who chanted and held up signs comparing the administration to Soviet Russia and its new policies to Prohibition -- were enthusiastic in expressing their disapproval of the implementation last Thursday of new temporary restrictions that ban alcohol at registered undergraduate events. "Take away my alcohol, I'll take away my tuition," one student's sign read. Another student challenged University Police, saying, "Cite me, I'm sober," while another declared, "I'm drunk right now." The afternoon had the ironic atmosphere of an outdoor fraternity party, as music blasted from speakers and the students in attendance socialized with friends over cups of root beer that flowed from a centrally located keg. Fittingly, the theme song for the afternoon was the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right," which played before and after the rally and seemed to match the mood of the crowd. Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Bill Conway, a Wharton junior, headlined as the event's first speaker, proclaiming to the assembled students and members of the local news media, "We are here to defend our rights as students." Motioning toward leaders of several student organizations, Conway said, "The University has decided to turn a deaf ear to our collective voices. We are being completely ignored and silenced.? Perhaps they will listen to you, the student body." Conway's message was echoed by six other student leaders who spoke to the crowd within a 30-minute period, all of whom emphasized the administration's lack of consultation with students in formulating the alcohol policy. "We're all participants in Penn's social events," said College junior Miriam Joffe-Block, a member of the Progressive Activist Network. "We deserve input in how they are run." Tangible Change Committee Chairperson Samara Barend, a College senior, called the administration's responses "knee-jerk reactions" that "affront the progress students have already made" in preventing alcohol abuse on campus. "Our outrage stems from outright disregard for student input," Barend added. The rally was organized by "concerned students [who] felt the administration should have consulted us," said UA Vice Chairperson Michael Bassik, a College sophomore. "We're hoping that the administration realizes that students are extremely concerned with the policies the administration creates and enforces that affect all undergraduates here at Penn," Bassik said. "The message we're trying to send is that the University cannot turn a deaf ear to student interests while creating policies that affect us all." As much as the rally's organizers stressed that the focus of the protest was on the administration's lack of consultation with students, and not alcohol, protesters clearly had their own ideas. While some of the signs at the rally focused on alcohol, as expected, others were aimed personally at University President Judith Rodin. "Even Commies can drink freely. Judy, go back to Russia," one banner said. Another student sold shirts with a quote by Benjamin Franklin printed on the front and a picture of Rodin's face in a vodka bottle on the back. "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy," the front of the shirt read, with the back adding, "Absolute Judy Corrupts Absolutely." Beneath the rally's party-like atmosphere, however, lay an acrimonious tone of resentment directed by students against the administration. Repeatedly yelling expletives aimed at Rodin and University Provost Robert Barchi, the crowd erupted into boos at every mention of the names of the two top administrators. One student held up a picture of Rodin and set it on fire, leading to a cheer of approval from the crowd. Despite student actions, however, organizers of the protest were pleased with the event. Conway expressed his excitement at the level of student turn-out, saying, "We are all united on one principle." "This is an issue that's important to all students, Greek, non-Greek, Republican, Democrat, male or female," Conway said. Scott Goldstein, the former spokesperson for the University City Vendors Alliance, also spoke at the rally, comparing the alcohol situation to the University's lack of consultation with food vendors during the vending ordinance discussions of 1997 and 1998. After the rally ended, three male freshmen were stopped by University Police driving in an unmarked car for rolling the empty root beer keg up Walnut Street. The officers took down the students' names and addresses but did not say how they would use the information, according to one student.