Theater chain submits plans for 40th Street
(05/18/01 9:00am)
After nearly three years of waiting, Penn finally may get the independent film-oriented theater it has been craving.
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Committee appointed that may choose to privatize Health System
(01/14/01 10:00am)
Amidst speculation that Penn may privatize the financially beleaguered Health System, a committee of trustees and faculty has been formed to consider the system's best options. The University Trustees Executive Committee authorized the appointment of four Trustees and eight faculty members to the committee at its meeting last Friday. The committee was charged with examining how to make the University of Pennsylvania Health System's four wholly-owned hospitals and 12 affiliates more profitable and competitive. But in an e-mail sent to Health faculty and staff, University President Judith Rodin tried to dispel rumors that the committee was already looking to sell parts of the Health System. Instead, she wrote in the e-mail, the committee will look at possible changes in structure to raise money, increase the market competitiveness of the Health System and retain the academic mission of the Medical School. Rodin denied that the decision to look at alternative options for the Health System was solely due to its financial problems. Over the past three years, the Health System has lost over $330 million. "It's not driven by our prior financial problems alone, it's driven by the change in environment in academic medicine and health care," Rodin said in an interview yesterday. University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman said it was too soon to predict the course of action the committee might take, adding that there are no definite plans for privatization. "The University has made no decision to sell the Health System, and no decision is imminent," she said, cautioning that the committee should be allowed a deliberative process before speculations begin. "The committee has just been formed," Holtzman added. "We need to let them get started and do their work." However, several possibilities remain open for the Health System. The University could choose to sell the entire system -- or even just some of its hospitals -- to the for-profit private sector. Speculation that the University was going to follow this course of action had penetrated the Health System faculty and staff this week. Besides selling the system, the University could instead create a not-for-profit spin-off. Penn could also choose to pursue a partnership between the Health System and another University or an investment group in the private sector. For example, the medical centers of Stanford University and the University of California San Francisco merged several years ago, although the merger recently collapsed after financial losses. Holtzman said that the University had already been approached by potential partners, but she would not identify the partners or specify how many had contacted Penn. "The Health System's financial improvement has prompted other institutions and organizations to express some interest," she said, noting the almost $170 million deficit reduction the Health System posted in Fiscal Year 2000. Both Rodin and Holtzman noted that the committee's discussion was typical of debates in all academic medical centers today. "Every academic medical center in the United States is having strategic conversations," Rodin noted. Added Holtzman, "There are a lot of conversations taking place because of the volatile health care environment."
Nader poised to drain votes from Democrats
(11/03/00 10:00am)
Ralph Nader, the colorful Green Party candidate -- and veritable thorn in the side of Democratic candidate Al Gore -- is running an insurgent campaign largely based on the premise that no difference exists between the major-party candidates. While Nader freely voices criticisms of both Gore and Republican George W. Bush, most of the famed consumer advocate's votes are coming straight from Gore's column. Though Nader is polling very low nationally, even just a few percentage points in a few close states could swing the electoral advantage to the Texas governor. The nation's key liberal advocacy groups have all rallied behind Gore, but Nader has managed to forge together a rag-tag coalition of college students and disillusioned voters throughout the country. By upholding a platform dedicated to the establishment of a living wage, campaign finance reform and the environment, Nader has been able to appeal to voters who feel left out of the traditional politics of the two-party system. His message has been particularly effective with young voters. "The major parties don't seek young voters," Nader spokesman Tom Adkins said. "They don't spend any money trying to organize on college campuses." And to the dismay of Democrats nationwide, what's resonating in Nader's rhetoric is that there is essentially no difference between Gore and Bush. "If he can't see the difference between Gore and Bush, it's pretty pathetic," criticized Toby Moffet, a former Democratic member of Congress. But Nader's stance has appealed to many, including some Penn students. Emily Quesada, campus coordinator of the Penn Greens, is attracted to Nader's campaign because of what she describes as the abandonment of liberal principles by the Democratic Party. "I think [Nader] is offering a choice where there isn't one," the College sophomore said. "He's making Gore think about the core of his party, the progressive left." Appearances suggest that Nader is doing more harm than was once expected, forcing the Gore campaign to shore up its base voters with less than one week remaining until Election Day. By conservative estimates, Bush has secured roughly 214 electoral votes thus far. And while nothing is assured until the close of the polls on November 7, Gore is in very close races in traditionally liberal states such as Washington and Oregon, and has watched his lead evaporate in California. In Pennsylvania, where Gore has been vigorously campaigning through surrogate Ed Rendell for the state's 23 electoral votes, the Democrat is in a statistical dead heat with Bush. Any votes for Nader could potentially swing the state over to Bush. Quesada, if offered the choice between either Gore or Bush, said she would choose "none of the above." "You're supposed to vote your conscience," she said. And while Nader has virtually no hope of becoming the next president of the United States, he must receive 5 percent of the popular vote nationwide if his party is to receive federal funds in the next election. There are some who have envisioned the idea of brokering votes as a way to ensure that both Gore and Nader come out ahead, with the Democrat winning the election and Nader achieving the 5 percent threshold. Under so-called "Nader-trader" schemes, voters in swing states would vote for Gore, while voters in states where Bush or Gore have strong leads would vote for Nader. But the Green Party will have none of that. "We believe the most practical vote anyone can make is to vote your conscience," Adkins said.
Gore daughter speaks on voting
(10/06/00 9:00am)
She may become the first daughter of the United States, but to do that her father will need the support of the youth of America. And she's doing her best to help him get it. Karenna Gore Schiff, daughter of Vice President Al Gore, spoke to a small crowd of students last night at Houston Hall. "To be honest, I already know who I'm going to vote for," the 27-year-old said, receiving laughter from the crowd of mainly Gore supporters. Schiff, the eldest of Gore's four children and one of his closest advisors, has been touring the country in an effort to get 18-to-25-year-olds into the voting booth. But amid the laughter, the event carried a somber warning. "This is an election that for young people we really do have to take seriously," Sharif Street, son of Philadelphia Mayor John Street, said in introducing Schiff. Street, along with Undergraduate Assembly Chairman Michael Bassik, is co-chair of GoreNet, the Democratic campaign's outreach to young voters. After warming up the crowd, Street, a Penn Law grad, turned the mic over to Schiff, a recent Columbia Law School graduate. "The pundits have written us off as a generation too self-involved to be bothered with public life," Schiff informed the 250-person crowd. "Those charges simply don't hold water." She pointed to areas of increased political involvement among youth to refute those charges. "We volunteer and join organizations more than the famously idealistic boomers did," Schiff said. "We are passionate about this country." Evidence of that passion, she inferred, can be seen in the number of Penn students who have registered to vote. Schiff's talk was the culmination of the UA's weeklong voter awareness week during which about 700 students were registered in four days. Schiff was campaigning for dad and, not unexpectedly, she concentrated on the issues of Medicare and Social Security when bringing up issues of concern to students. In a resurrection of Tuesday night's presidential debate with a new twist, Schiff pointed to unique harms that the generation in attendance should be aware of. "If Medicare runs out, it will be on us," she said. But Schiff also talked about campaign finance reform and abortion. "We need serious campaign finance reform to ensure that our democracy is pure and fair," Schiff said, followed by rounding applause. "If we wake up to find that abortion is a crime in this country once more, it will be younger women who pay the price," Schiff said in criticism of Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Gore's opponent. But for all of the issues Schiff addressed, from education to healthcare, there are some who feel that neither the Gore or Bush campaigns are doing much for the sake of young voters. "When watching the debates, you go away with this impression that the majority of Americans are 65 or older," Alison Byrne Fields, creative director and Chief strategist of Rock the Vote said from her office in California. "That wasn't my impression," Schiff said in an interview after her talk. "I felt that [my dad's] vision as he laid it out completely spoke to me as a young woman." After finishing in Houston Hall, Schiff went on to Mad 4 Mex to watch her father's running mate, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, in his debate with Republican Vice Presidential contender Dick Cheney. Wharton junior Aubrey Wise, one of the few students to have received an invitation to join Schiff at the popular restaurant, thought Schiff's talk went well. "She gave a great speech," he said. "Like her father, she's a great politician." College junior Evelyn Dean agreed. "She is such an asset to her father because she is so genuinely enthusiastic. You can just see the passion in her eyes." But not all students received what they had hoped to. "I want to see where Gore stands on arts funding," College junior Catherine Wise said. Of all that was talked about, arts funding was never addressed. But all was not lost on Wise. "I already voted for [Gore] by absentee ballot," the Virginia native said.
After 48 years, time for Swamis to hang up carpets
(10/06/00 9:00am)
After 48 years, the carpets are starting to show some wear. We Swamis have flown around the world, welcome wherever we have gone, be it Cambridge, California or Canada. We've talked to Elvis impersonators and zookeepers, great running backs and Keith Elias. Former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell was one of us. So was University President Judith Rodin. And William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd president of these United States, had recently agreed to wrap up a turban next season. For 48 years, the world has looked to us for all the right picks and a dash of humor. That much will never change. But it's time to step off our carpets, unwrap our turbans and ditch our magic lamps. It's a sign of the times and, with a nod to sensitivity, we will ride off into the sunset after Penn trounces Cornell to win the Ivy League title at the end of this season. But from our initial gathering in 1953, it's been nothing but good times. Goalposts in the Schuylkill, toast on the turf, you name it --ÿwe've seen it all, and we've seen it coming. We're not happy to go out, but we realize that we must, and that nothing lasts forever. So, we will be making some changes as we prepare to hang up the carpets -- our cartoon companion has already found his way to the retirement home. But for the remainder of the season, we will continue to pick the Ivy League games as the Swamis whom you've always known and loved. When we come back with "President Bubba" next season to tell you who's going to win each Ancient Eight contest, we'll have a new name, but the same humorous journeys that you've come to expect. We'll just have a different way to travel around the world on a weekly basis. And we promise not to offend or humiliate anyone -- except Princeton. In all of our reminiscing and in all of our planning for the future of pigskin prognostication at Penn, we did not seek out a guest Swami this week. But we didn't have any need to search for one anyway, since we all already knew that our beloved Quakers will beat the living daylights out of Holy Cross tomorrow afternoon in Worcester. We may not have our turbans next season, but we shall return in some way to tell you who will win each week. We will always and forever be the Swamis.
SAT scores no longer necessary at some universities
(10/02/00 9:00am)
For many high school students, the SAT is often seen as the arbiter of the future -- a test that may determine one's path through college and beyond. However, several colleges and universities are now rethinking the role of standardized testing in their admissions policies. A number of schools, ranging from small liberal arts colleges like Middlebury College in Vermont to large public institutions like Indiana State University, have stopped requiring applicants to submit results of SAT I examinations. Other schools, like Smith College, in Northampton, Mass., have decreased the emphasis of the test scores in their application process. Sally Rubenstone, an admission counselor at Smith, said she felt that "what Smith has done in the past year is devalue the SAT." However, many maintain the test is still useful in certain aspects of the selection process. Rubenstone, who has written several books on college admissions, pointed out that when schools are faced with a highly competitive pool of nearly identical students, the SAT "has become a tiebreaker, especially in [the] Ivy League." Lee Stetson, Penn's dean of admissions, foresees no changes in the consideration of test scores when selecting applicants for Penn. "I think that standardized testing continues to be a major element in the process," he said. "There's been no attempt to downgrade or change the way we use SATs." The SAT faces new challenges in another area as well -- public institutions in California, Texas and Florida plan to, or have already, begun to accept students falling within a certain percentile in their high school classes, reducing the need for standardized test scores. However, the College Board, the organization that administers the SATs asserts the continuing relevance of the test and discounts any trend away from its use. Janice Gams, associate director of public affairs for the College Board, said "mass media has been riding this as [a] major trend, and it's not a trend at all." She cited a statistic that found that well over 80 percent of the 1,800 four-year colleges in the United States utilize the SAT. Joseph Pedulla, chairman of the Department of Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation at Boston College, said the convenience of the test makes it attractive to post-secondary institutions, particularly some schools that receive several thousand applications yearly. "If it's a large public institution... they need something that's very quick," he said. "It's a common metric" that facilitates the comparison of applicants. And contrary to Gams, Pedulla said decreasing the significance of the SAT was a trend that "is taking off." Gams added that SAT results were "in some cases more valid than grades" due to "variations from teacher to teacher" and among high schools themselves, of which there are thousands in the United States alone. Colleges may also begin to look at test scores only as positive measures. Rubenstone said applicants with high test scores could be rewarded much as those with athletic or artistic ability -- and not penalized for the lack thereof. Scores might "no longer be the make-it or break-it proposition," she added. In contrast, Stetson did not foresee any significant decrease on reliance on the SAT: "The fact that two or three schools [have dropped requirements does] not make a trend."
Getting out the vote
(09/19/00 9:00am)
Seven weeks from today, voters will go to the polls and elect the 43rd president of the United States, deciding much of the country's fate in the process. And whether you support Bush or Gore, Buchanan or Nader, the good news is that it's not too late to sign up -- and that it's never been easier to register to vote. The sad fact is that young people today vote in lower numbers than any other age group. And until members of the so-called Generations X and Y begin to participate more heavily in the democratic process, they can expect that their concerns will not be adequately addressed by the powers that be. But this presidential election -- the first for most current Penn undergraduates -- is an opportunity to buck the trends of the last few election cycles and demonstrate that a new generation of politically active and aware citizens has emerged. Voter registration deadlines in most states for the general election will not pass until the second or third week of October, leaving plenty of time to sign up. The deadline in Pennsylvania, California, Florida and New Jersey is October 10; in New York and Maryland, October 13; and in Massachusetts, October 18. Most state Web sites -- such as http://www.state.pa.us for Pennsylvania -- offer complete registration information through their individual election boards. Many offer downloadable registration forms, and California even allows residents to register online. Penn students are eligible to register either in their home states or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Those who choose the Keystone State won't have to go far -- to David Rittenhouse Laboratories at 33rd and Walnut streets -- to vote on Tuesday, November 7. Others should request absentee ballots from their local governments and make sure they are returned on time. The results of this election will help determine the course this country takes on issues like the national debt, entitlements, education and health care. The stakes are too high for you to stay home.
Youth to unite at Drexel for RNC
(07/27/00 9:00am)
When Republicans arrive in West Philadelphia for next week's convention, they can be expect to be greeted by a few political counterparts.
SAS successfully recruits 22 profs
(05/03/00 9:00am)
Fourteen professorships are still being negotiated. Those talks are expected to yield about seven profs. The School of Arts and Sciences recruited 22 new faculty members this year, with 14 more appointments currently in negotiations, school officials said yesterday. Of the 22 hirings, 19 are junior professorships, while three are senior appointments in Economics, Romance Languages and Physics, SAS Dean Samuel Preston said. Earlier this year, SAS authorized 40 recruitment searches in departments across the school. The 14 ongoing recruitments will likely yield about seven more hirings for next year, Preston said, while the remaining four will be deferred until next year. Eight of the 14 continuing searches are for senior appointments, but Preston said, "It's obviously increasingly unlikely" that they will result in hirings by the start of the fall semester. He noted that SAS will see only four senior faculty departures this year -- compared with 13 last year -- and nine senior faculty retirements, allowing the school to grow in size. "I'm very pleased with where we are right now," he said. Among the junior recruitments are 11 positions in the six departments targeted by the SAS Strategic Plan for additional faculty positions and increased funding. The Economics Department, which had planned to hire as many as five new faculty members, currently has two junior and one senior appointment confirmed. The department hired Antonio Merlo, a political economist at New York University, for a senior professorship next year. Preston said Merlo is one of the leading experts in the United States on political economy, "a field that we've been trying to build up" at Penn. Acting Economics Department Chairman Kenneth Wolpin said he was very excited about Merlo's decision to come to Penn. The two junior professors -- one of whom will start at Penn this fall and one in fall 2001 -- are both recent doctoral graduates. Wolpin added that the department still has two offers out to fill the remaining senior positions, but noted that all of the candidates also have offers from other universities, making it "a pretty complicated situation." Another of the three senior appointments next year will be in the Spanish division of the Romance Languages Department, which will also get one new junior professor in Spanish and one in French. After the departures of four Spanish professors last year, the department recently struggled to meet student demand for Spanish courses. "We are very fortunate this year," Romance Languages Department Chairman Ignacio Lopez said, adding that the new appointments in Spanish will "help correct the situation that we unfortunately had in the past year." The Political Science Department, which this year lost one junior and one senior faculty member, will get one new junior professor and one temporary fellow. The department, which had hoped to hire as many as four senior professors, still has searches underway, Preston noted, including "someone who says he is leaning toward coming to Penn" but is currently on leave from his own university. "I'm disappointed that the Political Science searches were not more successful," Preston said. "I don't blame the department for that." Political Science will likely receive additional authorizations for junior professorships next year, he said, a decision that outgoing Political Science Department Chairman Ian Lustick said would help the department grow. The department will also have a visiting professor from the University of California at Berkeley next year who specializes in Far Eastern politics, Lustick noted. Among the other departments targeted in the SAS Strategic Plan, the English Department hired two junior professors, Psychology hired three junior professors, History hired two junior professors and Biology hired one junior professor.
Students named as Fulbright scholars
(04/26/00 9:00am)
Eleven Penn students will receive the prestigious grant for international study. Six Penn undergraduates and five graduate students with a passion for international living and a dream to conduct their own program of study have recently been awarded the prestigious Fulbright grant. As Fulbright scholars, these students have been offered the opportunity to travel to the country of their choosing and carry out a program of research and study that they have selected -- all paid for by the United States government. Additional students may still win the award. "I wanted to go to a new country and learn a new language," said College senior Katrin Fraser, a recipient of the grant. "And I will be able to learn the language at the beginning of this program." Fraser, an Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and International Relations double major, plans to travel to Korea as part of the program to teach English as a foreign language. The most current list of this year's undergraduate Fulbright recipients also include College senior Kristina Herbert -- who will head to Germany to study force measurements of nucleosome DNA using atomic force microscopy -- and College senior Miriam Joffe-Block, who will be researching migrant labor and civil society in Bangkok and northeastern Thailand. Also on the list are College senior Laura Robbins, who plans to go to Spain to study Spanish views on race in colonial Alta California; Wharton junior Adam Kaufman, who is traveling to Mexico to study information systems; and College and Wharton senior Christopher Murray, who has a bi-national business grant to Mexico. The grants provide students with travel expenses, tuition, language orientation courses and overall living expenses for one academic year. As part of the intensive application process, recipients conceptualize and plan their own intended course of study, which may include independent research, field work and/or traditional university course work. Fraser -- who has already traveled extensively to the Far East to countries such as Japan and Singapore -- said she is pleased that her year-long Fulbright will allow her to explore before committing to a "serious job." Her plans eventually include graduate school and extended study in China. And Murray, who is fluent in Spanish, said the program gives him an interesting post-graduation option. "I did not know what my plans would be after graduation," he said. "So I applied for the grant." The Fulbright program was created by the United States government after World War II. As a result of a piece of legislation sponsored by Senator J. William Fulbright, the grant allows American students to engage in a cross-cultural exchange with over 100 nations worldwide. With over 4,000 applicants nationwide, the program is very competitive. Of the thousands of applications received, only 800 students are offered the grant. Each year, Penn has approximately 55 applicants. Of those an average of 10 to 12 undergraduate and graduate students receive the grant, according to Clare Cowen, the on-campus Fulbright advisor. "Basically, Penn has a good way of working with the students," Cowen said, noting the high percentage of Penn student recipients. So far, graduate students in the College who have received the grant include Jeanne Nugent, who will travel to Germany to study history and identity in Gerhard Richter's photo paintings; David Heaney, who will also go to Germany to research Leberecht Migge and modern landscape in Weimar Germany; and Bruce Baird, who will travel to Japan to work on Butah philosophy and the burden of history. Also, Solimar Otero will go to Nigeria to study the Brazilian and Cuban Yoruba community in Lago, and Nick Sawicki will spend his time in the Czech Republic studying Czech art. "It is a prestigious award with an international reputation," Cowen added.
Mixed results against top competition for W. Tennis
(03/22/00 10:00am)
The Quakers beat two ranked teams, but fell to three more on their trip to the West. The five nationally ranked teams that the Penn women's tennis team played over spring break in California and Las Vegas might have all thought they would have no trouble sweeping the unranked Quakers. They were wrong. Penn overcame No. 68 UNLV and No. 44 Illinois State on March 12 and 13, respectively. And even though the Quakers lost handily to Oklahoma State, Fresno State and Stanford, Penn sophomore Carla Dorsey believed these matches were all closer than the scores may make them seem. "Their players aren't better athletes than us," Dorsey said of the killer trio. "But they play their big points a lot better. [On points] where we might get timid, they play it out. They have a lot more experience with big points, and it's the big points that count -- they're what make the scores look lopsided." Penn started out their West Coast matches by beating UNLV, 5-4. Penn captain Elana Gold said the Quakers were especially happy about beating the Rebels since they regularly vie with the best the Western conferences have to offer. The next day, the Quakers took Illinois State, 6-3. Gold's match was especially impressive. After losing the first set, 6-1, and being down 5-1 in the second set, she took the match to the third set and pulled off a win. No. 52 Oklahoma State gave Penn a little more trouble. At No. 6 singles, Penn sophomore Jolene Sloat didn't let the Cowboys' Cameron Stout win a single game, while Penn's Rochelle Raiss took Ashleigh Dolman, 6-1, 6-4. Raiss then teamed up with Penn junior Lenka Beranova to play doubles, and the duo overcame Dolman and Maria Galoustova, 8-4. The Quakers team of sophomore Louani Bascara and Anastasia Pozdniakova was tied at 8-8 before losing the match in a close tiebreaker. The next two schools the Quakers faced -- Fresno State and Stanford -- were probably the toughest teams they will see all season. Penn was unable to take a single match from either school. At No. 1 singles, Pozdniakova took Fresno State's Kandiss Creighton to three sets after falling 6-1 in the first set. Beranova lost her match by a close 7-5, 7-5 margin at No. 2 singles, while Justyna Wojas lost to the Bulldogs' Kelly Ramirez after a 7-5, 6-3 battle. Before heading home, the Quakers faced No. 1 Stanford at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium to challenge some of the top tennis players in the nation. "The whole atmosphere of playing the No. 1 team in the country in their stadium with a huge scoreboard was a little intimidating," Penn coach Michael Dowd said. "But we stepped up and played very well. We played some of the best tennis we played all year." At No. 3 singles, Penn junior Shubha Srinivasan faced Gabriela Lastra -- who is currently ranked No. 68 in the country -- in an intense three-hour battle. Srinivasan took the first set, 7-6, before Lastra came back and finished the match, 6-3, 6-4. "Shubha played an amazing match," Gold said. "[Playing Stanford] was fun, because we had nothing to lose." Doubles was the Quakers' strength in the Stanford match. Raiss and Beranova lost their close match at No. 1 doubles, 8-7, and Bascara and Pozdniakova fell, 8-5. Gold believes that the upcoming Ivy season -- which begins April 1 against Princeton -- almost looks easy after playing at such a high level of competition. "We all got a lot closer [over spring break]," she said. "When it comes down to four-all in an Ivy match and you feel united with your team, you're going to want it that much more for yourself and everyone else." But Dowd emphasized that the team can never get too satisfied with its performance. "We saw the highest level of competition we'll see all year. From here on out, we won't see teams as good as these," he said. "But the Ivy season is in the horizon, and we have to keep pushing."
Frontrunners come out on top
(03/08/00 10:00am)
In yesterday's Super Tuesday primaries, Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Goe soundly defeated their opponents. Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush all but ended the battles for their respective parties' nominations last night with decisive victories in a series of primaries across the country. Challengers Bill Bradley and John McCain needed major wins in yesterday's Super Tuesday primaries to sustain their beleaguered campaigns. But both failed to achieve the victories considered necessary for them to stay competitive, propelling their opponents into positions of even greater dominance and leaving the future of their respective bids in serious doubt. On the Republican side, Bush soundly defeated McCain in seven of the day's 11 major GOP contests, most notably sweeping the crucial delegate battlegrounds of California, New York and Ohio. He supplemented those gains with wins in Georgia, Maine, Maryland and Missouri. McCain, whose insurgent bid had challenged Bush's dominance with wins in New Hampshire and Michigan, managed to eek out small victories in four New England states -- Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. Bush now holds a substantial edge in delegates to this summer's Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. Last night, he picked up an additional 347 delegates, bringing his total to 517 of the 1,034 needed to win the nomination. McCain garnered 117, bringing his total count to 222. The results were even more punishing for Bradley. The one-time Princeton and New York Knicks basketball star and three-term Democratic senator from New Jersey failed to win even one state delegation from the heavily favored vice president. Though he has picked up delegates in non-winner-take-all states, Bradley has yet to win a single state contest from Vice President Al Gore. His total now stands at 284 of the 2,170 votes needed to win the Democratic nomination. Gore has 975 delegates. In Democratic exit polling, African Americans preferred Gore over Bradley by a margin of six-to-one, and Latinos by eight-to-one. The margin among union members was smaller, but still a healthy three-to-one. Gore also won the vote of independents, a key element of Bradley's electoral strategy, and a group that the Democratic nominee will need in the general election race. The exit polling was conducted by Voter News Service, a consortium of The Associated Press and television networks. Exit surveys across the states showed women preferring Bush by a two-to-one margin over McCain. Among age groups, McCain carried only younger voters; those over 30 voted for Bush. Among Catholics, the vote was split evenly between the two candidates. And by a big margin, the voters said McCain was more likely than Bush to say what he believes. Now, as the primary season moves in the coming weeks on to the southern states -- areas where Bush and Gore are expected to dominate -- speculation continues to swirl as to when the two underdog candidates might concede their races. "We're very pleased with the victories we won and disappointed with the ones we lost," McCain said shortly after calling Bush to offer his congratulations. He later told supporters that he and the Texas governor "may meet again," leaving the door open for a possible departure from the race. One senior adviser said that he expects the Arizona senator to announce his withdrawal from the race tomorrow, but added that no firm plans had yet been made. McCain said he would take stock of his campaign today when he travels to his retreat in Arizona. Some aides planned to recommend that the senator depart the race, while others looked for him to forge on to the nine primaries coming up in the next week. McCain's strength so far has been his ability to attract Democratic and Independent voters who don't usually vote Republican. But in recent days McCain has pledged to support Bush if he were to become the nominee, putting a damper on speculation that he might consider a third-party bid. Bradley addressed a crowd of supporters in New York, taking credit for launching "the beginning of a new politics," and recognizing his followers for pushing such issues as gun violence, poverty and campaign finance reform into the national spotlight. "He won, I lost," Bradley said last night, all but conceding the end of the race. He said he would consult with aides over the next few days regarding the future of his campaign and make an announcement sometime in the next week. For the victors of yesterday's primary battles, though, the campaign focus now shifts from the primaries to the general election showdown in November. As Bush and Gore addressed their respective crowds last night, the target of their comments noticeably shifted away from their party opponents and instead, toward each other. "Our campaign is your cause," Gore told a crowd of supporters in his home state of Tennessee. "We are the party of the mainstream. We appeal to hope, not anger, not to exclusion. He continued by saying his approach was the right one to continue the current economic expansion begun under Bill Clinton -- the only time he used the president's name. In an unnamed reference to Bush's policies, he cautioned against "wasting the surplus on a risky tax scheme." Looking ahead to a potential fight with Gore, Bush congratulated the vice president for his victories in the Democratic primaries, but said, "He is the candidate of the status quo in Washington, D.C., and he has a tough case to make in the general election." Bush continued by saying, "My frame of mind is to keep moving. Soon our party will unite and turn to the main task at hand -- ending the era of Clinton-Gore." The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Affirmative action rally draws 200
(02/25/00 10:00am)
Vinay Harpalani assertively asked the crowd of nearly 200 students assembled on College Green yesterday afternoon, "Have things gotten better?" "No!" they shouted in response. The Graduate School of Education student was referring to affirmative action and the fact that although 170 African-American students were admitted to Penn in 1970, only 152 were admitted in 1999. Harpalani was one of the chief organizers of yesterday's rally, which was part of "Call To Action 2000," a nationwide day of activism in support of affirmative action. This was Penn's second year participating in the rally, co-sponsored by the United Minorities Council, UMOJA, the Asian-Pacific Student Coalition, the Greenfield Intercultural Center and the Undergraduate Assembly. Discussing issues of racism and affirmative action, 11 students addressed the crowd, eliciting shouts and applause from the audience. The organizers also collected signatures for a petition in support of affirmative action at Penn. "Penn is a plantation of higher learning, not an institution," said UMOJA Public Relations Chairman Dan Cherry, a College senior. "Don't be fooled by the rhetoric." He added that affirmative action encounters opposition because it scared the people in power. "It's a fundamental challenge to the balance of power -- the status quo -- in the United States of America." Organizers handed out "Call to Action" T-shirts to the crowd during the rally. More than 100 people received the black shirts with affirmative-action logos emblazoned on them. Students at other schools -- including the University of Michigan and Florida A&M; University -- held rallies today as part of an ongoing initiative by the Coalition To Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary, a national organization responsible for organizing rallies on campuses across the country. The rally comes as institutions across the nation are re-evaluating their affirmative action programs. Michigan, the University of California at Berkeley and Florida A&M;, among many others, have reduced or eliminated affirmative action in their admissions process either voluntarily or as a result of law suits. "It's only a matter of time before this movement hits the Ivy Leagues," Harpalani said. This year marked the first time that the UA co-sponsored the event. UA Chairman and College senior Michael Silver said the group would continue to do so in the future. Kwasi Asare, a College junior and admissions co-chair of the UMC, said the rally's two main goals were "to counteract the movement of the Center for Individual Rights, an organization in support of repealing affirmative action, and to send a message to the University that affirmative action is something students here support." UMC Chairman Jerome Byam, a College junior, also spoke of affirmative action "leveling the playing field" for all people, not just African Americans, but also Hispanics, Asians, homosexuals and women." APSC Political Chair Jenny Yan, a Wharton freshman, emphasized the relevance of affirmative action to Asian Americans, particularly under-represented groups from Southeast Asia. But by far, the most heated speeches came from Cherry and College sophomore Jamarah Leverette. Leverette spoke of reparations for African Americans and recited a poem entitled "Break The Bottle," which symbolized oppression as a Calvin Klein fragrance. She ended with the a shout of "black power!" Other groups in attendance included members of Penn Students Against Sweatshops, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance and the South Asian progressive activist group Sangam. Organizers accredited the impressive turn-out to good weather and a general increase in activism at Penn since the sweatshop sit-in. "I think the turnout was phenomenal," said Kimberly Noble, a College freshman and political chair of UMOJA. "As long as the numbers keep going up, we hope more people will hear our message."
Art and design fuse in museum exhibit
(02/08/00 10:00am)
In an exhibit exploring the boundaries between art, architecture and design, visitors to the Institute of Contemporary Art are now able to look at and walk through an oversized vehicle, relax on top of giant beanbags and stare at travel billboards they would normally see on a highway. "Against Design," the new exhibit at the ICA, draws on current trends in modern art, specifically the bringing together of art and design and the artists' use of the external physical environment for artistic purposes. Guest curator Steven Beyer, former assistant director of The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, brought the idea of the exhibit to the ICA. As Beyer chose to bring together artists whose work "rubs up against design," the title came to be called "Against Design" -- the word "against" implying being alongside rather than being in opposition. The exhibit brings together 10 contemporary artists from the United States and Europe whose work is perceived as crossing the boundary between design and art. The artists included Joep van Lieshout, a Dutch artist who creates mobile homes and vehicles, encouraging viewer participation. As visitors walk through Lieshout's "Tampa Skull," a mobile home vehicle, they are forced to consider humans' need for protection as well as efficient living space. The idea for Tampa Skull was based on a sensory-deprivation chamber and is built from the inside out. Cass Green, an employee of the museum, admitted that the Tampa Skull is "where we go to hide out when we want to get away." Other pieces included Angela Bulloch's "Blush and Bean Bag Set," in which she uses a group of oversized bean bags to create an interactive room that challenges the preconceived notions of art museums. Kevin Appel, another featured artist, draws from the innovative and low-cost case-study homes of California in the 1940s in his work. Judith Tannenbaum, the outgoing associate director of the museum, worked closely with Buyer to coordinate the exhibit. "This exhibit makes us conscious of our environment, how we live and the environments we choose to live in," Tannenbaum said. "We are not always so conscious of our surroundings." Claudia Gould, the new director of the museum, said she has long been aware of the movement toward combining design and art. Museums, she said, should embrace this trend. "While the art world has seen much of this type of work separately in the design sections of museums, this is the first time I have seen it combined with artwork in a gallery," Gould said. Gould hopes that Penn students will take advantage of the exhibit, and of the ICA in general. "I think students would be surprised that this artwork looks familiar to them. Just when people think they understand what they see, this understanding can change," Gould said. The exhibit opened on February 3 to an audience that, for the most part, seemed very receptive. "I don't view this art as any different than, let's say, the motorcycle exhibit at the Guggenheim [Museum of Art in New York City]. I think it is a big trend to look at utilitarian objects as pieces of art," said Ellen Rosenhalt, a writer for The Philadelphia Weekly who viewed the exhibit. "Quality is quality and you need to look at new things without preconceived labels," Rosenhalt added. "Against Design" will be on exhibit through April 16 in conjunction with a lecture series.
U. celebrates Kwanzaa early with food, song and festivities
(12/03/99 10:00am)
Joining together in the spirit of African-American pride and stressing solidarity in the community, family and culture, the Penn campus played host yesterday to an early celebration of Kwanzaa. More than 100 students and faculty members gathered in the Newman Center last night for the cultural celebration. The goal of the program -- sponsored by the Greenfield Intercultural Center in conjunction with the United Minorities Council, the African-American Resource Center and several other campus organizations -- was to introduce the entire University community to Kwanzaa's festivities. Kwanzaa is a relatively recent creation. Created by Maulana Karenga, an African-American scholar at California State University at Long Beach, the non-religious observance was conceptualized in 1966. Karlene Burell-McRae, associate director of the GIC, described Kwanzaa as "a celebration of family and community-building." Kwanzaa's roots lie in the traditional African celebration of the first fruits of the harvest, and its week-long observance incorporates seven principles, or Nguzo Saba in Swahili: Umoja, or unity; Kujichagulia, or self-determination; Ujima, or collective work and responsibility; Ujamaa, or cooperative economics; Nia, which means purpose; Kuumba, or creativity; and Imani, or faith. The night's program began on a solemn note as College senior Chaz Howard, outgoing chairperson of the UMC, sang traditional African-American spirituals. "Like a river, oppression and hatred flow on and on," he said before he began to sing. The audience was silent, enraptured by his deep voice and the message of his words. Kamau McRae led the audience in a libation, paying reverance to the spirits and memories of ancestors. "We honor our ancestors, those who laid down the foundation for us to be here," he announced. Audience members were encouraged to participate by calling out the names of those deceased who have made a significant contribution to the African-American community. An important part of the celebration of Kwanzaa is the incorporation of young children. "They are what allow us to go on," said Sharon Smith, associate director of Student Transitional Programs. And fittingly, children played an integral role in last night's program, setting the ceremonial table. Each child brought to the table a representative object. Entertainment was provided by Assata, Penn's African-American poetry group, and The New Spirit of Penn, the University's gospel choir. Before enjoying the Karamu -- the traditional Kwanzaa meal -- catered by three local ethnic eateries, participants and audience members joined hands in a unity circle and prayed. "The celebration is wonderful because it brings people together, regardless of their religious background," said program coordinator Richard Adzei, a College senior. Kwanzaa observance does not officially begin until December 26, but Penn will celebrate this weekend with a jazz concert featuring vocalist Monette Sudler and a workshop entitled "Keepers of the Culture."
Italian film fest debuts
(12/02/99 10:00am)
Film enthusiasts, students of Italian culture and those jaded by Cinemagic's lack of sophistication might find something of interest this weekend at International House. "Authors of the New Italian Cinema," a film festival presented by the University's Center for Italian Studies and the Film Studies Program, opened there yesterday, as speakers addressed about 70 members of the Penn community before presenting the festival's opening film, Ecco Fatto -- or "That's It" in English -- for viewing. Along with New York University, Emory University and the University of California at Los Angeles, Penn was chosen by Italia Cinema and Cinecitt^ Holding -- Italy's version of Hollywood -- to showcase five recent Italian films. The purpose of the festival, said Nicola Gentili, assistant director of the University's new Film Studies Program, is to introduce a new generation of Italian directors to American audiences. During the opening remarks yesterday, Stuart Curran, director of the Center for Italian Studies, emphasized "the centrality of film to Italian culture," saying, "no country so small carries such a powerful legacy in film." Besides Ecco Fatto, a colorful comedy about forgery and jealousy, the festival will include four other films: I Protagonisti, a murder story; Un Amore and Il Tempo Dell'Amore, two avant-garde love stories; and Radiofreccia, a loosely autobiographical story of director Luciano Ligabue, a former rock star turned filmmaker. I Protagonisti and Un Amore are being released for the first time in the United States. Millicent Marcus, director of the Film Studies Program at Penn and considered the foremost scholar of Italian film in America, said, "[Italian cinema] is alive and well." She hopes the festival will confirm this. Vijay Gambhir, an audience member and professor in the South Asia Regional Studies Department, said she was interested in cinema and enjoyed the Indian Film Festival held in International House last year. She is enthusiastic about the festival this year as well. "Authors of the New Italian Cinema" is free for all attendees and will feature one film tonight and tomorrow and two on Saturday. Additionally, a reception will be held in International House at 9:30 p.m. tomorrow, after the conclusion of Un Amore. It will be open to the public.
Nigerian forward finally lands at Palestra
(11/17/99 10:00am)
Freshman ugonna Onyekwe should play an important role for the Quakers this season. You see Ugonna Onyekwe for the first time and don't know a whole lot about him. You meet him and it is not long before he makes a very good first impression. Onyekwe is good at first impressions. Take, for example, the first time many Penn fans caught a glimpse of Penn's freshman forward from Nigeria. It's the Red and Blue Scrimmage on October 23, and Onyekwe opens the scoring with an alley-oop layup from Michael Jordan and then comes back two plays later to dunk on Frank Brown's head. Fans have seen him for less than five minutes -- five minutes of a scrimmage that means almost nothing -- and he already has them cheering wildly for him. They are ready for four years of this kid. They heard the reports. They know what's going on. They know that Onyekwe was rated as one of the top 100 recruits in the nation by several services, that he is the supposed headliner of what is being called the best Penn recruiting class in 20 years. They know the 6'8" Onyekwe is needed. With both starting forwards from last year graduated, fans realize a few of the freshmen must contribute immediately. They expect Onyekwe to be one of them. They wanted a good first impression from this kid. They got one. Meet Onyekwe off the court and you'll get an equally good -- albeit quite different -- impression. The banger you see on the court, the big guy slamming the ball through the rim and slamming his body against his opponent in the low post, disappears. Instead, you meet a polite man, a quiet man, a man who wears a "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelet and quietly practices his shooting alone on a side basket after all of his teammates have left the court following a practice. It's obvious that Onyekwe is not the party animal of the Quakers. He is not likely to be the one cracking jokes or dominating a conversation in the locker room. "All the freshmen are pretty good friends and we all hang out together," said freshman forward Andrew Coates, who is also Onyekwe's roommate. "But when we go out to parties on the weekend, Ugonna usually stays in and does something else." Unlike many high-profile athletes, Onyekwe turns away from the party scene, preferring to hang out with friends in Van Pelt College House or to study during the weekends. "He's very quiet, very reserved, very mature," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "He knows who he is as a person and I think that's a real positive." Onyekwe does know who he is -- and that someone is certainly not your typical basketball recruit. For starters, he was born halfway across the world and will bring some geographic diversity to a team's whose starting five of a year ago were all natives of either Pennsylvania or New Jersey. And the route Onyekwe took to West Philadelphia certainly wasn't as easy as the simple trip across the Delaware River that Matt Langel and Geoff Owens had to make three years ago. Onyekwe's story begins a world away -- in a world that could not be farther from Philadelphia, in a place most Penn basketball players don't even think about. Onyekwe was born in Nigeria and lived there for most of his childhood. He would eventually end up at the Palestra, along with five other men, as part of a recruiting class that has Penn fans everywhere drooling over the possibilities. But when he was younger, basketball meant almost nothing to Onyekwe. Until he hit age 12, the game was foreign to him. Sure, he was a great athlete, but he did not know much about basketball and there was no reason at all to suggest that he would ever be recruited by a Division I program. "When I was in Nigeria, I used to play a little bit, but it was mostly recreation," Onyekwe said. That was because he never really had the opportunity to play on a team in an organized league in Nigeria. He was basically just experimenting with the sport. It was not until after his family moved to London when he was 14 years old that Onyekwe finally had the chance to play in an organized league. After living in Nigeria for all of his life and just playing basketball for fun, Onyekwe began to see his potential on the basketball court when he was in England. He played on club teams and saw that he could actually have a future in basketball, a game that was still somewhat new to him. And he also knew that any future he would have on the court would be in America, not in England. Club leagues in Great Britain just weren't doing it for Onyekwe. After all, the Brits are better known for scones and the Thames than for slam dunks and three pointers. "There are a lot of talented players over there, but it's just not organized very well," Onyekwe said. "The coaching wasn't great." Onyekwe needed good coaching. He needed someone to help him hone his raw talent and athleticism into a polished game. He found that person in Tony Tucker, then head coach at Mercersberg Academy in central Pennsylvania. "I really didn't know if I would have the chance to come over here, but when my family moved to London and I started playing for club teams and I saw that other people moved on from there to the States, I realized that I probably had the opportunity to do the same thing," Onyekwe said. "So I started looking into it, started making inquiries and my coaches happened to have connections over here, so it worked out." It worked out with Onyekwe landing at Mercersberg and having a chance to play Division I college basketball. Here he was, still a neophyte to this game, but one whose pure athleticism put him ahead of so many other basketball players his age. He worked hard at Mercersberg, averaging 15 points and 14 rebounds per game in his first season in the United States. He was learning at an accelerated speed, taking this game to which he was still becoming accustomed and improving everyday. He had the skill to play at most schools in the country, but most schools in the country didn't know much about him. Dunphy didn't even make an attempt to recruit him, never having even heard of him. Besides, it wouldn't have mattered. Onyekwe was already committed. Long Beach State was interested in him and the coaches there had helped him get into Mercersberg when he was in London. There was really no choice. The decision was made. Onyekwe signed his letter of intent and was set to go. There was no turning back. The lanky forward with arms like a seven-footer and an amazing leaping ability was headed to California. Or so the Long Beach State coaches would have liked to believe. Onyekwe made the commitment to play for the 49ers without knowing much about the school itself or the types of colleges in the United States. After discovering that Long Beach State was not exactly at the top of the academic world, Onyekwe wanted out. He wanted a better school, but he was locked in and the 49ers would not release him from his letter of intent. "I didn't think they had a good academic program there," Onyekwe said. "After a while, I didn't feel comfortable with that decision." To avoid sitting out another year -- he was already taking a post-graduate year at Mercersberg -- Onyekwe started looking at the non-scholarship programs in the Ivy and Patriot leagues. He visited Penn, Cornell and Princeton, finally deciding that he wanted to play for the Quakers. "We had seen him play a number of times and we knew Ugonna was a kid who obviously had some terrific athletic ability," Dunphy said. "It was almost [as if] he [was] saying he wanted to come to Penn as much as it was us recruiting him." So here he is. After barely four years of organized basketball, a move across the Atlantic, a letter of intent and a changed mind, Onyekwe has arrived at the Palestra. And now comes the time when making a good first impression will be most important. Recruiting USA called him the 55th best recruit in the nation. He was ranked as the nation's eighth best power forward at the Reebok Vegas Holiday Prep Classic. More importantly, he arrives at Penn as one part of the Sensational Six, the best thing to happen to the Penn recruiting scene since Dunphy landed Jordan, Langel and Owens three years ago. It may be the deepest class since the likes of Tony Price, Bobby Willis, Tim Smith and Matt White arrived at Penn in 1975, destined to lead the Quakers to the NCAA Final Four in 1979. "There's a bit of pressure and high expectations, I guess," Onyekwe said. "I try not to think about that stuff because one day you're up, one day you're down. I just have to go out and do the best I can do." Onyekwe will certainly have his chance. In his 10-plus years at Penn, Dunphy has not put much pressure on his freshman players, but with the loss of forwards Paul Romanczuk and Jed Ryan to graduation, Onyekwe will likely be needed to fill part of the void. But he will not be asked to carry this team. The '99-00 Quakers squad belongs to players like Jordan, Langel, Owens and Brown, not to the kids who just popped up on the scene a few months ago. These freshmen, however, are the future. Along with his five classmates, Onyekwe will be crucial to Penn's success in upcoming years. Yes, he is still raw. Onyekwe readily admits that he still has a lot to learn about the game of basketball. And his coach agrees. "I've made the statement that he might be the best athlete we've ever had come into the program at Penn, but being an athlete and playing basketball are two different things," Dunphy said. "He needs to learn some of the nuances of the game and his fundamentals need to improve. All that being said, the sky's the limit as far as his potential is concerned." Tonight, it all begins. Onyekwe will have four years to realize his potential as a Penn basketball player and it all starts with a 9 p.m. tip-off in Kentucky this evening. It is his first game at Penn. Expect him to play, and he will probably play well. Because if there is one thing that Onyekwe knows how to do well, it is how to make a good first impression.
Law forum tackles church-state separation
(10/26/99 9:00am)
by Adrain O'Connorby Adrain O'ConnorThe Daily Pennsylvanian But on Friday, several hundred lawyers, religious figures, academics and legislators gave it yet another shot. The Law School, along with the Anti-Defamation League, sponsored a national conference on "The First Amendment and Government Support for Religion and Religious Institutions." Recent national politics have brought this issue to the forefront, with presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore coming out in support of government funding for private service organizations, including those that are religiously affiliated. The piece of legislation debated Friday known as "Charitable Choice," passed in 1996, is a bill which has sparked controversy over where the separation of church and state actually lies. The conference wasted no time in getting to the crux of the debate, with a panel discussion on the nature of faith-based service organizations and on the social paradox they often represent. "It's often the liberal black churches you see out working in these programs, and yet it is the conservative politicians pushing the government towards them," commented Floyd Flake, a minister from Jamaica, N.Y. On the panel with Flake were Mark Scott of the Ella Baker House in Boston and David Saperstein, a rabbi from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. The three panelists came to an agreement of sorts that, in Saperstein's words, "there shouldn't be the impression that the government is supporting or funding proselytizing, and I don't see that here." After a short break, the format changed from panel discussion to heated debate. Arguing in favor of Critical Choice were Nathan Diament, a representative of the Orthodox Union, and Douglas Laycock, a professor at the University of Texas Law School. The were opposed by Barry Lynn, an ordained minister, lawyer and the chairperson of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and Erwin Chemerinsky, a professor from the University of Southern California Law School. Despite obvious ideological differences and arguments about the logistics of implementation, the debate seemed to focus mostly on the technical definition of the separation of church and state and the debaters' varying interpretations of the establishment clause of the First Amendment. After about 90 minutes, the four debaters were unable to reach quite the same level of accord as the early-morning panel. But as Laycock explained, it's a difficult issue to resolve, and even the highest court in the land remains split "four to four to Justice [Sandra Day] O'Connor -- and nobody knows what she thinks." Later in the day, a diverse group of panelists discussed the issue of school vouchers, which figures to play prominently in next week's mayoral election. Then, former Law School Dean Colin Diver moderated a panel called "Have Recent Court Holdings Enhanced or Eroded Religious Freedom for All Americans?"
Volleyball wins for the first time in California
(09/21/99 9:00am)
The Quakers defeated Cal State-Fullerton in a five-game battle Saturday. After being delayed by both Hurricane Floyd and United Airlines, the Penn volleyball team finally made it to San Francisco on separate U.S. Airways flights on Friday night. "When our luggage went and we didn't, that's when I lost it," Penn coach Kerry Major said. "One by one we got bumped down the list. Whoever had the highest-priced tickets got to go in front of us, so we switched airlines. It was tough but we did eventually all get out there and got a good night's rest." On Saturday, the Quakers even got to play, and on Sunday they came home with an impressive 4-4 record for the season after beating Cal State-Fullerton in their second match that day to emerge with Penn's first-ever volleyball victory in California. "Once we got there, it was a good trip," Penn senior K.C. Potter said. "It was so built up because of the delays but once we got there, everyone was really relieved." The Quakers were relieved, but very flat in their first match of the Golden Gate Invitational on Saturday, falling to Fresno State, 15-10, 15-6, 15-5. Penn's highest hitting percentage of the match was a meager .033 in the first game, and the Quakers fell below .000 in the second and third games. Penn then regrouped and took a five-game match from Fullerton that evening. While it was Penn's first-ever victory in California, it was the second time that the Quakers have beaten a California team -- Penn beat St. Mary's in four games at the William and Mary High IQ Classic in 1995. "[After the Fresno State match], we regrouped, and thought 'Did we come all this way to play like this?'" Penn coach Kerry Major said. "Then we went out and played awesome defense, and we stuck with it until the job was done [against Fullerton]." After winning a close first game against the Titans, Penn dropped the second game, 15-4. Although the Quakers lost 15-10 in the third game, their resiliency was impressive. "When we lost game two to Cal State-Fullerton, it would have been really easy to fold," Major said. "One of our goals was if we lost a game like that to come back, and I didn't want to have that spiral effect like against Rutgers. They played the way I know they can play." Penn faced match points in the fourth and fifth games against the Titans but still pulled through, winning 16-14 in each game. "We probably played the best level of ball we've played this season against Fullerton," said Penn freshman Kai Gonsorowski, who had 14 digs and four service aces in the match. "I think we started to realize that we're better than we think we are." The victory was Penn's third straight triumph in a five-game match. The cardiac Quakers are comfortable with that, however, because of the makeup of their team. "We have a lot of depth and a lot of heart," said Potter, who had 15 kills and six digs against the Titans. "We played confidently the whole match, and we knew that we were capable of beating them, and we pulled it out. Five-game matches are always really tight and intense and we played really hard and won the match." Because of the victory against Fullerton, Penn had a chance on Sunday against San Francisco to take second place in the tournament behind the Bulldogs. The Dons proved to be too big and tough, however, and beat the Quakers in three games. For her performance, Potter was named to her first-ever All-Tournament team. "It's an incredible honor to be noticed by the other coaches," Potter said. Still, she said the best part of the weekend was "beating Fullerton." Penn will need to keep that team focus up tonight when the team travels north to face Lehigh (3-6). The Engineers, who like Penn have played a tough pre-conference schedule, are the two-time defending Patriot League champions and are very tough to beat on their home floor. After all of their traveling, the Quakers had a day off from practicing yesterday but they do not believe that the lack of work in the gym will have any effect on their play. "We played so much this weekend that I think we're ready [for the Engineers]," said Penn senior Kristel Weaver, who hit .367 against Fullerton. "After going through the whole struggle this weekend, I think that we will be really strong when we face Lehigh." The Quakers will be happy that once they do return from their contest with the Engineers, they do not have to travel any further than Villanova until October.
Stanford president resigns to teach, effective next summer
(09/16/99 9:00am)
The Associated Press STANFORD, Calif. -- The president of Stanford University has announced he will step down next year as head of the prestigious university, but he said he won't go too far. Gerhard Casper, a 61-year-old constitutional law scholar, said Tuesday that he will resign next summer, take a sabbatical and then return to teach at Stanford. ''I always carry the Constitution with me, as is well known. And the 22nd Amendment says eight years is the maximum for the president of the United States. If eight years is good enough for the president of the United States, it's good enough for me,'' he said. Casper has recently faced criticism over the financially troubled merger of Stanford's teaching hospital with the University of California at San Francisco's hospitals. Together, they lost $60 million in the second year after the merger. While president of Stanford, a job that paid him $375,622 last year, Casper has focused on improving undergraduate curriculum and launching a new program for freshmen and sophomores that encourage mentoring relationships between students and faculty. Stanford Provost John Hennessy said Casper has shown that a university president can provide dedicated leadership while maintaining intellectual vitality. ''I particularly admire his active engagement with the academic programs of the university as well as his significant interaction with individual faculty and students,'' Hennessy said. Casper said he had no regrets for his time at the top. ''Let me invoke my favorite adjective in student's use these days for anything they like: awesome," he said. "This is an awesome university and I have had no disappointment.''
