The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

Nearly three weeks after an incident at Campus Copy Center galvanized the Penn community, business at the Walnut Street store appears to be returning to normal. Protesters have stopped marching up and down in front of Campus Copy, where a Graduate School of Education student alleges he was the victim of a racially motivated assault. Student leaders and administrators say the incident lies in the hands of the Penn Police, who are currently investigating. And on Wednesday, Penn student leaders issued a statement, which Campus Copy signed, following a joint meeting to discuss the implications of the April 3 incident -- satisfying the demands of many student groups that have been attacking the store for its customer service and handling of the incident. The store will provide sensitivity training for its staff, apologize directly to Seaton for unsatisfactory service and ensure that all customers receive equal treatment in the future. According to the statement, "Campus Copy said they were unprepared to deal with the situation that transpired at their store, as an incident such as this had never previously occurred." "There aren't going to be people picketing outside Campus Copy because they have agreed to sign the agreement," College of General Studies student Melissa Byrne said. "I am excited that so many groups are coming together from different backgrounds and it is an issue of safety for the entire community." At the University Council meeting last week, President Judith Rodin issued a statement regarding the incident. Rodin said she is concerned about the welfare of the students and regrets what happened to Gregory Seaton, the student alleging assault. "I want to make myself clear: We do not and will not tolerate violence at this University," Rodin said. "We do not and will not tolerate discrimination of any sort." Campus Copy store owner Stanley Shapiro declined to comment on the statement. "We have put out a document and I am going to let the University handle it from there," Shapiro said. The Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, which moderated last week's meeting, will provide guidance for the sensitivity training program, and will incorporate both conflict management and learning to deal with emergencies. Campus Copy will also issue an apology to Seaton. Vice President for Business Services Leroy Nunery, who was present at the meeting, said the agreement is beneficial to all parties involved. "My general opinion is that some of the issues that were presented will be constructive, but a lot more has to be done in order to ensure that something like this will not happen again," Nunery said. "What we need to do is to ensure that for people doing business with the University there is a way to have dialogue." And Penn has discussed the possibility of creating a complaint center under Business Services to deal with unfair treatment involving vendors in the University community. "What we should do is facilitate a climate that enables a dialogue to go on between the different groups involved," Nunnery said. He also noted the prospect of creating a code of conduct for businesses. "A code of conduct has to go both ways for the customers, as well as for those who operate businesses in the Penn community," Nunery said. "Sometimes it is actually the businesses who are treated badly by the customers. This is a matter of the quality of life." But Nunery says that it is vital to continually evaluate the quality of service offered in the Penn community and help facilitate a better relationship between customers and vendors. "It is important for us to make sure that on a day-to-day basis there is a standard of good service," Nunery noted. "Now in light of the incident there is a greater urgency to do so." Byrne said that although the immediate problem has been resolved, there is still more work to be done by student leaders and the administration. "The issue isn't being dropped, but we are going to be looking more internally in terms of the University and examining issues of race on campus," said "Hopefully we'll see the University progress over the semester." Members of the Undergraduate Assembly along with other student leaders and University officials will meet with Campus Copy after the official investigation is complete.

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.