Whitman cruises the Schuylkill

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman arrived at work in style yesterday afternoon, thanks to the Penn women's crew team. In Celebration of Earth Week, Whitman, the former governor of New Jersey, decided to stress the importance of clean water on her way to the groundbreaking of a new educational center at the Fairmount Water Works. The water that she had in mind? The Schuylkill River. Her vehicle of choice? An eight-person rowing shell. "I got a call saying that Gov. Whitman would like to do something for Earth Week -- is there any way that she can get in a boat with us?" said Barb Kirch, head women's crew coach. Kirch picked Whitman up in a launch boat at the Philadelphia Canoe Club -- at the intersection of the Schuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek -- and took her to just past the Strawberry Mansion bridge. The team had docked there because rocks made it difficult to row much further upstream. Although Whitman is an avid kayaker, there were concerns that she would not even venture into the shell for the return to Boathouse Row, citing a herniated disk. But as Whitman's aide Khary Cauthen said, the former governor had "game." She got in the boat. And did she row. "She was just sitting there to begin with, and then she was like, 'When am I going to try it?'" said College junior and novice rower Kate Peretti. "At about one mile into it, she turned around and started asking questions like how to feather the blades," said College junior and varsity rower Catherine Magee, who sat behind Whitman. "I said we could stop rowing and just the two of us could row." The two rowed past the cherry blossoms lining the river, as the rest of the nine-person team balanced the boat as they worked their way back into the sequence. "She had cleaner rowing that a lot of people have in a week," Peretti said. But Whitman was less sure of her newfound rowing skills. "I'll go back to my kayak," Whitman said. "I feel much more secure in my kayak." For the crew -- most of which would have three practice sessions that day -- giving the former governor a ride was not a sacrifice at all. "Of all the boathouses on Boathouse Row and of all the college teams in the area, that she wanted to come and be with us was a huge honor," College senior and varsity rower Catherine Eikel said. "The more I think about it, the cooler it becomes." College senior Dara Friedman had the chance to meet the subject of a recent research paper for her law and economics class -- Whitman v. the American Trucking Association. "I was going to ask her questions about the paper, but I actually got a little bit nervous," said Friedman, a varsity rower. "We talked about rowing instead -- that was about the extent of it." Upon reaching Penn's boathouse, Whitman continued on to the ceremonial start of an expansion to Fairmount Water Works Interpretative Center, located just behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art. When it opens to the public on Earth Day 2002, the center will have more capacity to teach the public about urban watersheds, Philadelphia's water supply and water treatment systems. "The [center] will focus the attention of the region on its most precious natural resource -- clean water -- without which we will not have a healthy environment, without which we will not have economic growth," said Ed Grusheski, Philadelphia Water Department general manager of public affairs. The water department operates the center. Whitman also commented on the progress of the Bush administration to date, and said that she and the president were working together on environmental matters. "It's been a very active first 100 days, but a first 100 days that should show the country a real commitment on the part of this administration on improving the environment," Whitman said. But back on the river, the crew team had the feeling that they might have started a trend. "When we were standing on the dock, [President] Rodin asked why she had never gotten to row with us," Eikel said. "Maybe she's next."

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