Campus News Briefs

Discrimination case goes to trial Tai Van Le, a former Penn employee, took the stand yesterday in U.S. District Court as his discrimination lawsuit against the University began. As the first witness called by attorney Robert O'Brien, Le testified that he was made the victim of discrimination by chemistry professors Stanley Opella and George Palladino, the vice chairman of the department. Palladino "said that discrimination is [a] very serious issue and he told me that if Dr. Opella was found guilty of discrimination he would lose his tenure," Le told a jury of four men and four women picked last week. "So he told me not to tell anybody." Le was an electronics technician and engineer in Opella's lab from 1986 until his termination in 1998. The plaintiff's case centers around events that allegedly occurred during the summer and fall of 1997, when Le claims he was the target of insults because of his ethnicity. Le was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States in the early '80s. When he informed Opella of the occurrences, Opella allegedly "didn't say anything." Le then went to Palladino to complain, after which he was directed to report to the individual who had allegedly insulted Le. In the later part of 1998, Le was placed on probation and summarily fired. In the his opening argument, Neil Hamburg, the University's attorney, painted Le as an unreliable worker who, "for whatever reason" was unable to complete his duties in 1998. Opella's "laboratory is like the United Nations," Hamburg told the jury. "There are all kinds of Asian nationals and until Le there were no complaints." The trial is expected to last one week. -- Joshua Runyan Penn settles lawsuit A settlement was reached last week in the case of Amy Meehan, the former student in the Graduate School of Fine Arts who alleged that Penn was responsible for injuries she received while using University welding equipment. Due to a confidentiality agreement, neither party could comment on the of the specifics of the deal, which was made on Thursday. "Both parties have reached a mutually agreed upon resolution and, as is typical in these situations, no further details will be released," University spokeswoman Wendy White said. Meehan had claimed that Penn did not provide proper safety equipment -- primarily protective clothing -- thus causing her injuries. Meehan received second- and third-degree burns on the left side of her body, as well as "functional impairment of the left side of her body" and "substantial scars" when her clothes ignited while she was using oxygen-acetylene torches and other welding equipment. Additionally, Meehan's suit alleged that Penn knew of other incidents where students' clothes were set afire and that Penn had refused requests for safety clothing and equipment. "I think the evidence shows a total lack of safety equipment at the University of Pennsylvania to protect students who are welding," Meehan's attorney Keith Erbstein said last week before the case was resolved. Gary Hack, dean of the Graduate School of Fine Arts, could not be reached for comment. -- Alex Lapinski