Benjamin Franklin, Penn's founder, dedicated his life to solving problems.
He engineered the lightning rod to protect buildings during electric storms. When his older brother John suffered from a case of kidney stones, he constructed a flexible urinary catheter -- the first in America -- to ease his pain. And the bifocals he invented improved daily life for countless individuals.
Clearly, Franklin believed that ingenuity should be put to good use, and he founded Penn with this in mind. More than being a mere place of education, the University would provide students with the knowledge necessary to solve the world's problems.
In many respects, Penn has lived up to Franklin's expectations. Graduates of Penn Nursing provide critical care to the sick and injured; Wharton alumnae contribute to the expansion of the global economy. But when it comes to perhaps the most pressing threat to humanity -- the threat of terrorism -- there is certainly room for improvement.
To its credit, the University recently created ISTAR, the Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis and Response, aimed at utilizing Penn's vast resources to preserve world peace. Few students, if any, have heard of ISTAR, and therein lies the problem. Although its aims are noble, the Institute has not reached out to the Penn community for contributions to its work. For instance, ISTAR's Web site has no information about available internships or volunteer opportunities. For a scholarly establishment at a world-renowned university, ISTAR should do more to involve students and pioneer newsworthy initiatives.
The University should also consider the creation of a security studies major or concentration. Currently, classes dealing primarily with terrorism and homeland security are few and far between. A student interested in a career in intelligence analysis or counterterrorism has to choose between the political science, PPE and international relations majors, although all three only barely scratch the surface of the international security field.
A Security Studies department would attract knowledgeable professors, leading to an expansion of security course offerings. A required research component, to be performed under the guidance of an ISTAR scholar, would be mutually beneficial to the student and the Institute. Furthermore, students could take advantage of area resources, such as the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute and the University's Jerry Lee Center of Criminology. Such a major would prepare undergraduates for public or private sector careers that could potentially save the lives of millions.
In addition to the academic and scholastic improvements that Penn can make, there is a more controversial step that should be taken to contribute to the global war on terrorism. The University, including the Penn Law School, should permanently open its doors to military recruiters.
Students and faculty are right to argue that Penn, as a private institution, should be able to prohibit such recruitment through its career services office. However, this argument is based not on a belief in the rights of private enterprise, but on the conviction that the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy somehow violates the Law School's non-discrimination guidelines.
Yet the Clinton-backed defense policy does not bar gays from serving in the armed forces. Rather, it restricts their conduct, preventing them from openly expressing their sexual orientation. This is done to maintain unit cohesion and prevent sexual relationships that could negatively affect soldiers' judgment. Just as men and women in uniform have different codes of conduct and are often prevented from engaging in sexual relations, so too are homosexuals.
Disagreement with such a policy is certainly legitimate, but the solution is not to bar the military from the Law School's career services department. Opponents of the "don't ask, don't tell" rule should use democratic means to push for reform. Denying recruiters unfettered access to interested students does a great disservice to the armed forces and undermines America's role in the war on terrorism.
At a time when threats are gathering around the world, Penn must adapt its academics, scholarly pursuits and non-academic policies to meet the global challenges that lie ahead. As a top-ranked hub for intellectual thought, the University attracts thousands of the greatest minds from virtually every academic field. With the right improvements in place, interested students and faculty members could work together to defeat the forces of tyranny that threaten much of the world. "Energy and persistence conquer all things," said Mr. Franklin, and terrorism is certainly no exception.
