Town-gown relations discussed

Penn may have taken great strides in its relations with the greater West Philadelphia community. But at yesterday's Martin Luther King Jr. Noontime Commemorative Program, select speakers at the event -- including University President Judith Rodin herself --acknowledged that there is still much work to be done. The program, entitled "Power Concedes Nothing Without Struggle," brought more than 200 West Philadelphia residents and Penn administrators to the Penn Tower Hotel as part of a two-week-long University celebration and symposium in honor of the civil rights leader. The African-American Association of Administrators, Faculty and Staff organized the event, which featured a speech by Reverend Damone Jones, the senior pastor at the local Bible Way Baptist Church. While Rodin, Jones, and other speakers praised King, his progress and the civil rights movement he led, they also acknowledged the need to continue his unfinished work. "We've made great strides at Penn," Rodin said of the University's overall involvement with the West Philadelphia community. Specifically, she cited steps that the University has taken to educate local elementary school students, through initiatives such as the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project and Penn's financial support of the soon-to-be-constructed pre-K-8 school. She also mentioned efforts made by the University community to alleviate poverty and homelessness. "Nonetheless," Rodin added, "there is so much more that we must do to? [ensure] Dr. King's vision of a beloved community." Tom Henry, the chairman for administrations of "Triple A" and a University staff member, evoked a different picture of University relations with West Philadelphia than did Rodin. He cited a lack of communication between residents and the University, and questioned Penn's ability to "save" the community. For Henry, more University jobs for West Philadelphians would be one improvement. This development, he said, would enable more West Philadelphians to provide their children with a Penn education at an affordable cost. And in his keynote address, Jones delved beyond the confines of the University and West Philadelphia to preach a general "call to action." Amid "Amens," clapping, and hums of agreement from the participatory audience, he called for an end to oppression. Jones mentioned racial discrimination like the recent controversy between white and African-American neighbors in Gray's Ferry and the beating of Rodney King several years ago as signs that racial discrimination still exists, and urged the audience to place Martin Luther King's dream on the "expressway of acceptance." Other MLK events across campus yesterday included a breakfast with Rodin and a public sign-up for community service.