Your Voice | Letters to the Editor

UA examining UPennAlert policies

To the Editor:

As the undergraduate student body’s representatives to Penn’s administration, we felt it necessary to inform students on what has transpired between the Undergraduate Assembly and the Division of Public Safety since the shooting that took place early Sunday, Nov. 21.

We would be remiss not to start by commending Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush and DPS on their valiant efforts. In a situation that required split-second decision making, the officers on site displayed selfless heroism. The coordination between DPS, the Philadelphia Police Department and Drexel’s DPS was professional and effective. Needless to say, if we had a less capable DPS, the outcome of this incident may have turned out quite differently.

Every single communication we have received from students has been relayed to Rush. The most prominent of these are the student body’s need for both safety and timely information and the view that text messaging is the preferred notification method for PennAlert system. Rush has made student concern a priority and is working with the us to address every issue raised. Moving forward, the UA is examining policies around usage of the UPennAlert System and will be pushing for changes we believe benefit the undergraduate student population. As always, we encourage you to contact us with any questions, concerns or suggestions.

The Undergraduate Assembly wrote this letter. Its representative to the DPS Advisory Board is College senior Mo Shahin. Bad experiences aren't systematic failures

To The Editor:

I was very sorry to hear about a classmate’s negative experience with on-campus housing (“Three strikes for on-campus housing, and I’m out,” 11/30/2010). Had I had similar experiences, I would probably move off campus as well. But I find it unfair to characterize Peter Kline’s personal story as a series of systemic failures — i.e. “strikes” for on-campus housing.

That’s not to say that Penn should ignore bad things if they happen to a small number of people. But most of the problems Kline describes are roommate issues, which can happen off campus as well as on. And when they do happen on campus, there are certainly resources to help.

Kline does mention some issues which could fairly be said to reflect on the system: for example, feeling isolated as an upperclass resident in the Quadrangle and an undergraduate in Sansom Place East. These are acknowledged difficulties at Penn. I would have loved to read a discussion of why his second year in the Quad was problematic, and what could have made it better. But narrating those experiences with little discussion and including them in The Daily Pennsylvanian’s Housing Guide makes them seem like a depiction of a housing system which is generally impersonal and alienating. For me, and for many others, it most assuredly is not.

John Gee

The author is a College junior and a member of the Residential Advisory Board.

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