Letters to the Editor

An unprofessional exit

To the Editor:

Maj. Gen. Clifford Stanley's untimely departure leaves a lot of questions that were not mentioned in Friday's DP article ("Stanley departs U.; no time to leave mark," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 10/10/03). I believe Mr. Stanley owes an apology, an explanation for his actions and an accounting of the timeline of his decision-making process.

Stanley's 10 days notice is incredibly unprofessional given the awesome responsibility he has in coordinating the multiple and diverse offices beneath him. His having been here for such a short period means that upon his arrival, people -- officers, VPs, students and President Rodin herself -- began to invest time and energy into integrating their operations to mesh with his office and personal style. To cop out after less than 12 months means that he has left an operational hole in the way the University runs that will undoubtedly disrupt office governance and probably cost the University money in its scrambling to fill this hole.

If Penn has any ethics as an organization, it should seek and obtain a full explanation.

Eric Spencer GFA '05

Not 'confrontational'

To the Editor:

We offer this letter as a codicil to the article published on Oct. 11 in The Washington Post concerning the plight of the University of Virginia Scramble Band. The University of Pennsylvania Band had the distinct privilege and pleasure of performing with the University of Virginia Scramble Band at Franklin Field this past weekend. Contrary to the suggestion of the article, our joint performance was anything but "confrontational."

Scramble bands represent a unique collegiate phenomenon found not only across the Ivy League, but also at institutions such as Stanford, Rice and Villanova. The plight of the University of Virginia Scramble Band strikes a particularly puzzled chord not only within our own organization, but also with the members of the Scramble Band community at large.

How does one rationally assign a monetary value to a musical organization, with intangibles such as dedication, school spirit, wit and musical gift? We like to believe that such a calculation is impossible: organizations such as the University of Virginia Scramble Band are beyond price and are irreplaceable.

We wish to publicly thank our scrambling neighbors to the south for making the trip to Philadelphia (at the students' own expense) and thrilling our audience with their wit and musical talent. They represented the student body of the University of Virginia in the highest fashion and genuinely reflected the spirit and talents of the students that grace their campus in Charlottesville. One would be hard-pressed to find a more gifted, spirited and dedicated group of collegiate musicians anywhere in our country.

Bill Loth Wharton '04 The writer is president of the Penn Band.

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