Penn hosts six Ivies at student gov't meeting
The Ivy Council -- an assembly of student governments from all the Ivy League universities except Harvard -- held its spring conference at Penn this weekend.
About 40 student leaders attended the conference, 10 of whom were from Penn.
The Ivy Council called for Ivy League schools to participate in post-season football play. Actually making a decision to participate would rest with the schools' presidents, but student leaders said their call for re-evaluation will bring about some discussion.
Other items discussed at the conference included campus expansion, dining and student-led financial-aid movements.
According to College senior and UA member Chloe Jacobs, discussions with other universities about campus expansion were helpful.
"We have a lot of similarities with other schools like Columbia because we're in the city," she said.
Organizers of the conference said that it was successful and that Penn effectively hosted the other schools.
"Aside from the low turnout, the discussions were great," said UA member and College junior Erin Cho, who helped plan the conference.
- Beth Sussman
Bomb scare causes Center City confusion
A bomb scare at a SEPTA station shut down the area surrounding City Hall yesterday, causing confusion and delays for commuters.
Police said that a briefcase left on the platform of SEPTA's suburban station was the source of the false alarm.
Several dozen police officers and firefighters responded to the call and hundreds were forced to evacuate the scene.
After determining that there was no bomb, traffic resumed and SEPTA trains continued running within 30 minutes.
Bystanders were frustrated by the organization of police efforts.
"They are not coordinated as to situations like this. People are getting frustrated. They don't understand what to do, where to go," said Dawn Rivera, who was waiting for a bus after she had been turned away from the subway station.
"We're just standing here, if [a bomb went off] which way would we go?" she said.
Local resident Darren Scott was also in the area when the commotion began.
"I think the public is being kept out of the loop as to what's exactly taking place, and the public is becoming a little bit volatile and unruly because they are out of the loop," Scott said.
- Jessica Sidman
