LETTERS: An appeal for human life

To the Editor: I found the content of Fiore's article disturbing, but even moreEupsetting to me was the idea that anyone concerned with justice is willing and happy to see a man executed when Nelson Mandela, Amnesty International andEhundreds of thousands of others worldwide are calling for a new trial. Anna Roberts College '03 Learning for seniors To the Editor: I wish to commend columnist Melissa Wong for her incisive piece, "Learning with your elders" (DP, 10/4/99). During the mid-1950s, my wife and I lived in an apartment at 3711 Walnut Street, precisely where the entrance to Gimbel Gymnasium now stands. As a graduate of the the Philadelphia School of Industrial Arts, I went on to a fulfilling career in marketing communications. However, I always wanted a broader academic schooling, especially in the humanities. Living near the University back then only sharpened the desire. Now retired, I've been making up for that deficiency through the grace of the University's Senior Associates program, giving me the privilege of auditing courses that I missed in my youth. I'm 74 now and you might well ask, what's the point of studying? You may realize decades from now that your better impulses, both genetic and developed, are very much in motion and need to be fueled. Moreover, continuing to learn is a necessary stimulus to being productive. One is not only enriched, one is better sensitized to respecting and enriching the lives of others. I am deeply grateful to the University of Pennsylvania for the opportunity. Charles DeMirjian Student Senior Associates Program Whose campus? To the Editor: I am writing in support of Jon Adler's "Planning for Penn" (34th Street, 10/7/99). I agree wholeheartedly that the University is continuing to focus their attention on creating a campus which is more yuppie-friendly than student-friendly. The fact that projects to bring unaffordable and useless clothing stores onto campus can take precedence over returning the Houston Hall to working order is absolutely appalling. I challenge President Rodin or any member of the administration to look a student in the eye and tell him or her that it is more important to complete Sansom Common than Houston Hall, or that opening overpriced eateries is more to the students' interests than actually serving quality food at dining halls. I encourage all students to let administration know what we really want is a student-friendly campus where our $31,000 in tuition is used to make the campus better for us, not some couple from downtown who's gotten tired of Circa. Vinay Singh SEAS/Wharton '01