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(09/08/99 9:00am)
Whitten, along with junior Damon Hamilton, was cut by Quakers coach Rudy Fuller after five days of training camp on August 30. The cuts reduced the size of the team roster from 29 to 27. "He was one of the guys we decided that wasn't really at the level we needed to be at," Fuller said of Whitten. More cuts will be made before the season begins on Friday to further reduce the roster size. The maximum number of players allowed to compete on the traveling squad is generally 18, but Fuller can take 20 to the season-opening George Mason Tournament in Fairfax, Va., on Friday. Although Whitten's absence from the team comes as a surprise to many, the 5'11'' forward was not shocked. According to Whitten's father, David N. Whitten, the Penn sophomore had predicted that he would get cut prior to leaving for training camp. "David said, 'Fuller's going to cut me because he doesn't like me,'" the elder Whitten said. Whitten's father admits that his son was not in particularly good shape for training camp and Fuller did not deny that this was one of the reasons he cut the Fort Worth, Texas, native. But the elder Whitten suspects that Fuller might have had an ulterior motive. "I think [Fuller] used some players last year in a self-serving way and never planned to keep them," David N. Whitten said. The elder Whitten suggested that Fuller had intended from the beginning to cut his son after one season. "I believe, in fact, that [Fuller] failed to utilize my son appropriately last year, taking advantage of him as he faithfully played the role of reserve/practice player as he developed other (apparently less skilled) players who for some reason were more appealing to him," the elder Whitten said in a statement last week. However, Fuller believes that the Quakers are simply a deeper team this season, a difference that can be seen in the freshman classes of this year and last year. "Last year we had to throw a lot of freshmen into the fire that maybe weren't ready," Fuller said. "This year the freshmen thrown into the fire have earned their shot." The younger Whitten, who could not be reached for comment, made the team last year as a walk-on out of Branson (Calif.) High School. Whitten did not see game action until the Quakers' 10th contest last season but quickly made a name for himself after scoring the game-winning goal in the 75th minute against St. Mary's of California. Three days later, Whitten scored another goal in a 3-1 victory over St. Francis at Rhodes Field, but the walk-on only saw one more start in Penn's final four games. Whitten played in a total of five games in 1998, starting three. He finished tied with fellow freshman Evan Anderson for second on the team with four points, behind only then-junior midfielder Reggie Brown, who had five points in 1999 off a goal and three assists. Anderson and Brown each played in all 16 of the team's games. Whitten was named to the NCSAA All-Far West team as a senior in high school. He also played for the Marine United Club that finished third in the California State Cup. Hamilton played in 14 games last season under coach Fuller. The Sharon, Mass., native, who is also a hurdler on the Penn track team, earned three starts but did not register a goal or assist in 1998.
(05/27/99 9:00am)
Penn's varsity eight boat downed Cornell for the 16th time in the last 17 years to keep the trophy. The Madeira Cup -- given each year to the winner of the Penn-Cornell heavyweight varsity eight race -- seems to have a permanent place in the Quakers' trophy case. Penn has relinquished the Cup only once since 1983. And this year was no different. Penn (6-1, 5-1 Ivy League) steamed by Cornell (3-5, 0-3) in convincing fashion Saturday on the Schuylkill River, outrowing the Big Red from the start. The Quakers finished in 5:55.91, almost 10 seconds ahead of Cornell (6:05.19). "We've always had success against [Cornell]," Penn senior captain Greg Rauscher said. "But we've worked really hard this week so it's been rough on everybody. We were just really tired [on Saturday]." While the fatigued varsity eight crew still managed an easy win over the Big Red, the hard training was too much for the second varsity eight to handle. Penn lost its second varsity race by just 2.65 seconds to Cornell. "I take the blame for the loss," Penn coach Stan Bergman said. "We really trained hard this week and the guys were just tired." Cornell, meanwhile, used their fresh lightweight eight in the second varsity race. The Big Red lightweights responded by rowing more than four seconds faster than their heavyweight counterparts. In the freshman race, Penn was again saddled with a loss, as Cornell won by nearly 10 seconds. "Cornell has a really good freshman crew," Bergman said. "But our guys are just struggling." Penn's open four, a combination of varsity and freshmen rowers, had some success on Saturday, as the boat defeated Cornell, 6:57.00 to 7:00.55. The Quakers' crew was largely inexperienced -- none of the four rowers or the coxswain had raced prior to this season. The Big Red were victorious in the two other four-man boats -- one by a blowout and one by a very close margin. While Cornell's varsity four without coxswain destroyed Penn by more than twelve seconds, the Big Red varsity four won by just 1.1 seconds. "Cornell got out to open water early [in the varsity four race], but we came back," Bergman said. "We caught a little bit of a crab and that probably lost it for us in the end," referring to when a rower's oar extends too deep in the water, causing the boat to stop momentarily. The Quakers will finish their season this weekend at the IRA national championships at Cooper River in Camden, N.J., today through Sunday. The three-day meet features some of the best crew teams in the country. Penn is currently ranked fifth in the United States Rowing National Collegiate Coaches poll and finished fourth at IRAs last year, but Penn coach Stan Bergman is not just concerned about a high place for his varsity eight squad. "We want to have our best race of the season [at IRAs]," Bergman said. "If that gives us the gold, fine. If that gives us seventh place, fine." Still, Penn is looking to pull off an upset victory. California and EARC Sprints champion Princeton will be tough for the Quakers to catch, but Penn should be in a competitive race with Brown, Washington and Wisconsin -- numbers three, four and six, respectively -- for the next four places. The Cooper River course is no stranger to the Penn crew, as the IRAs have been in New Jersey for the last six years. "It's a great course," Rauscher said. "It's straight -- no turns, no currents and the water's almost always flat." Penn's lightweight crew will also compete at IRAs. The Quakers are ranked ninth after their ninth-place finish at Sprints three weeks ago.
(03/25/99 10:00am)
Members of the Class of 2002 may recall the fuchsia-colored novel The Woman Warrior which appeared in their mailboxes last August as part of the Penn Reading Project. The book's author, Maxine Hong Kingston, a creative writing professor at the University of California at Berkeley, spoke at the School of Arts and Sciences' 16th annual Dean's Forum yesterday after taking part in several other events around campus earlier in the day. At the forum, SAS Dean Samuel Preston honored undergraduate and graduate students as Dean's Scholars, after which Kingston spoke to the audience about how her novels relate to war and peace. "It provided for a more interesting afternoon with Kingston speaking, rather than only presenting us with awards," Dean's Scholar and College senior Deepak Sampathu said. University Trustee Natalie Koether, who has been chairperson of the SAS Board of Overseers for the past nine years, was also honored with the first-ever Dean's Medal in recognition of her extraordinary service to SAS and her leadership. Immediately following the award presentation, Kingston lectured on "The Woman Warrior and Beyond." She addressed the audience by doing what she does best -- telling stories. Kingston mentioned that she recently found out that The Woman Warrior was being taught in one of the most unusual places she had ever heard of, the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. When she visited the institution to find out why the students were reading her book, she learned they were doing so because the novel was an inspiring myth that gave support to the female soldiers at the Academy. This first "talk story" was Kingston's way of introducing a discussion on war and peace. She explained that she meant to make Warrior a nonviolent piece of writing. "Unbelievably enough, I never tied war and peace into the actual novel so strongly," said College freshman Amy Timmerman, a Daily Pennsylvanian staff member. "To hear [Kingston] talking about the novel and identifying it in the context of war makes me think that I should go back and read it again." Kingston mentioned how she decided several years ago to write an addition to the three sacred Chinese books of peace which suggested tactics on how to end war and make peace. She was going to invent a fourth book of peace that would fit herself and modern times. But the fires that struck Berkeley, Calif., several years ago burned down Kingston's house and with it, her work. It was then that Kingston realized she was going about writing the book the wrong way. She said she knew that to write about peace and harmony she should be around those elements, not alone in her attic. "I had to create a community first before I could write about one," Kingston told the crowd of a several hundred people. And that is exactly what she did. She gathered together a group of homeless war veterans eight years ago and since then the group has continued to meet regularly to write, eat and relax together. They even share their writing pieces with one another. "It's not fair if I do all the work and all you do is read it," Kingston said. "A perfect community happens when you talk back to me." Prior to Kingston's speech, Preston named 20 students Dean's Scholars for their exceptional academic performance, rigorous course loads and extracurricular pursuits. The honored College students included sophomores Sofya Malamud and Kai Ouye; juniors David Boncarosky, Kristina Herbert and Andrew March; and seniors Christopher Cutie, Beth Ann Griffin, Sampathu and Anastasia Schulze. In the graduate division, Dean's Scholar recipients were History and Sociology of Science student Joshua Buhs; Sara Davis, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies; John Harding, Religious Studies; Matthew Hart, English; Stephen Hock; Heidi Kuehne, Biology; Carlos Norena, Ancient History; Julia Shear, Art and Archaeology; Andrey Schevchenko, Economics; Patricia Stern, Sociology; and Isabel Taube, Art History. Additionally, College of General Studies graduate student Patricia Scott was named a Dean's Scholar. Earlier in the day, Kingston lectured to English Professor Mark Chiang's class, where students had the opportunity to ask her about her follow-up novel to The Woman Warrior, China Men, which they had previously read in class. In addition to giving advice to aspiring writers in that class, Kingston also held a writing workshop with 15 selected Penn students at Kelly Writers House later yesterday the afternoon.
(02/25/99 10:00am)
Several student groups noted the second annual Students and Youth Day of Action. Over 100 members of the University community braved the cold to rally together on College Green yesterday in support of affirmative action. The "Call to Action Rally" was the main event in a series of programs marking the second annual Students and Youth Day of Action in Defense of Affirmative Action. Several organizations -- including the United Minorities Council, White Women Against Racism and the Black Graduate and Professional Students Assembly -- joined together to sponsor events across campus. College junior and UMC Political Chairperson Daniel Cherry called the rally a "proactive rally in defense of affirmative action." He stated that the purpose of the rally was so that the "University knows students will do everything in our power to make sure affirmative action stays at [Penn]." "This is not a black-white issue, it's one that affects us all," Cherry added. Vinay Harpalani, a second-year Education graduate student, said that throughout history the "gains made by African Americans were followed by reactionary movements" of white people. "It's time for us, as students at Penn, to mobilize? [and] build a vast, diverse commission to fight this war," Harpalani added. At the rally, Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum read a statement from University President Judith Rodin, in which Rodin said she gave "full support" to affirmative action policies at Penn, emphasizing that "we must recognize and accept the diversity of the society we expect our graduates to lead." In her own speech, McCoullum referred to her grandson in stressing that people need to "reaffirm our commitment" to upholding equal admissions policies at universities across the country for future generations. Throughout the day, BGAPSA and other organizations sponsored a petition drive on Locust Walk in support of affirmative action, both at Penn and nationally. The list of signatures on the petition will be presented to Rodin in the hopes that the University will continue to "ensure equal access to [Penn's] campus in admissions," said BGAPSA President Nsenga Burton, a second-year graduate student in the Annenberg School for Communication. The day concluded with a speech in Stiteler Hall by Islamic minister David Muhammed, who spoke about the importance of getting black people involved in their communities. "Black people have always been mobilizing toward some form of action, toward some form of power," Muhammed said. "[White supremacy] is a mindset that has to be altered and changed." February 24 was designated last year as a national day of defense by students at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Michigan in response to recent initiatives to end affirmative action, such as Proposition 209 in California. This year 25 universities across the country recognized the day.
(02/16/99 10:00am)
Showing that even an expert on lie detection is sick of the impeachment trials, Ken Adler refused to talk about the Clinton situation yesterday, steering away from a discussion on whether or not the president lied to the grand jury. Instead, Adler, a professor at Northwestern University, spoke about the polygraph and its place in American history to around 35 professors and graduate students from the History and Sociology of Science Department yesterday afternoon. The speech, entitled The Technology of Truth: The American Polygraph, the Republic of Expertise, focused on the emergence and nature of the polygraph and its role in evidence collection and the judicial process. "Many of the same forensic sciences used today [in our legal system] can be seen throughout history," Adler said. The modern lie detector was developed by John Larson and Leonarde Keeler at the University of California at Berkely in the 1920s. The machine eventually came to be used by both industry and government as a means of determining the loyalty of individuals and maintained a great deal of popularity until the 1960s, according to Adler. "Jurists banned the lie detector in court precisely because of the way it thrived in the marketplace," Adler said. In the United States, judges have the discretion to choose whether or not to allow the results of lie detector tests to be admitted as evidence. Few polygraph test results are admitted in court because they infringe upon the right to free and private thought, as well as the Fifth Amendment right to avoid self incrimination, Adler said. The lie detector is currently under a great deal of scientific scrutiny. Researcher David Lykken claims that the polygraph correctly identifies people telling the truth only 53 percent of the time -- which is little better than random guessing, according to Adler. Another critic of the polygraph claims that 80 percent of those who administer the test are unqualified, Adler said. In principle, the lie detector works by monitoring an individual's temperature, blood pressure and other factors. These conditions become more pronounced when someone tells a lie. But according to Adler, this system is far from perfect. Accusatory or personal questions often elicit physiological responses that mimic the signs of a lie. When the polygrapher examines the resulting data, he often misinterprets these signs as indications of lying. Although the lie detector test is administered one to two million times a year, most polygraphers admit that the test is extremely unreliable and its main function is to initiate confessions, according to Adler. Adler said this dubious means of assessing truth grew out of a general trend in the United States in the mid-20th century to use science as a way to standardize the world. The polygraph offered Americans a seemingly objective way to bring about justice. Larson and Keeler developed the polygraph during the same era the SAT and IQ tests were developed, according to Alder. "Our Anglo-American system is a hybridization of the republic of expertise and democracy," Adler said.
(02/12/99 10:00am)
From Michael Brus', "Narcissist's Holiday," Fall '99 From Michael Brus', "Narcissist's Holiday," Fall '99Judy wants to have a chat with you. Well, OK, not with you specifically. Actually, what she has in mind is something much loftier than shooting the breeze. She wants to have a "discourse" with you, a "dialogue" that will move beyond the "polarization" of right and left, a thoughtful "conversation" that will transcend the simplistic "entertainments" that now pass for politics. The PNC is a Who's Who of the liberal intelligentsia, dedicated to analyzing not politics per se, but the "health" of political debate. Rodin has assembled a crack team of almost 50 political players. These include academics, professional Democrats such as Bill Bradley, Clinton flack John Podesta and campaign sugar-daddy Teresa Heinz; and local notables, including professors Drew Faust, Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Martin Seligman. What all have in common, according to PNC Executive Director Stephen Steinberg, is that they are all "experts on issues of public discourse and the democratic process." Monday evening at the White Dog Cafe, Rodin officially "introduced" the PNC's work to the public. The White Dog soiree was really just a formality. But despite the PR gloss, the PNC has produced some real results since convening in 1996. As proof of this, read the transcripts of the PNC's speeches and discussions at its World Wide Web site. Amid the expected boilerplate and self-congratulation are some thought provoking discussions, like the debate between affirmative action advocate William Gray, director of the United Negro College Fund, and Ward Connerly, a businessperson and leader of California's fight against racial preferences in government and state universities. Rodin should be congratulated for this achievement. Still, the PNC ultimately promises more than it can deliver, both because the panel is not as ideologically diverse as it could have been and because, on some level, the structure of political debate is inextricable from politics itself. First, inclusivity. Republicans and conservatives are noticeably underrepresented, which is a problem in a forum that purports to discuss the consequences of America's culture wars. In response to this criticism, Steinberg told me, "If you have people with certain views who can't work with somebody with different views, you're not going to get anywhere." Yet this country does not lack for reasonable, intelligent conservatives. Where is former Senator Warren Rudman, former Education Secretaries Lynn Cheney and William Bennett, editor Irving Kristol or historian Gertrude Himmelfarb? How about Penn's vocal conservative historians, Walter McDougall and Alan Kors? The Commission seeks to engage "public-opinion makers," yet there is not a single representative from conservative think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute or Stanford's Hoover Institution. Perhaps the most notable absence is Sheldon Hackney, a History professor and former University president. Several years ago, as head of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Hackney spearheaded a "National Conversation on American Pluralism and Identity." Not only did Rodin virtually copy Hackney's idea and then not invite him, she made pains to distance the PNC from her politically tainted predecessor. "I thought, 'There has to be a better way to offer and demonstrate moral leadership than by imitating a 600-pound elephant squashing or drowning out what behaviors or opinions it dislikes,'" she said at a PNC session. "First, we've got to learn to tolerate the intolerable. It is the antithesis to political correctness." I interviewed Hackney extensively early last semester. Rightly or wrongly, he still thinks "political correctness" is a red herring in public debate, and he has a thoughtful argument to back it up. Rodin, for personal and political reasons, does not want to hear it. Besides these flaws in membership, there is also a flaw in goals. The PNC cannot live up to its own expectations because of the impossibility of becoming completely non-partisan. At the White Dog, for example, Rodin praised Hillary Rodham Clinton for her role in the national health care debate in 1994. There are many political analysts, of course, who saw Hillary's closed-door strategy meetings as a secretive, heavy-handed perversion of public discourse. There are others who are equally critical of the GOP's manipulative ad blitz. I doubt whether a platonic panel devoted to "discourse analysis" can separate politics from process, but Judy's experts are giving it the old college try.
(11/09/98 10:00am)
For from their bases, three Air Force officers are getting an education of a different sort. and Erin Reilly On a recent Thursday morning, Maj. Don Zimmerman took a seat in the second-floor Kelly Writers House seminar room and extracted a ballpoint pen and a thick bulkpack from his book bag. Wearing a red-and-green flannel shirt, jeans and thin-rimmed glasses, he looked more like a typical Penn student than an officer in the U.S. Air Force. "We're not required to wear our uniform on a regular basis to class," said Zimmerman, 35, a second-year English graduate student who was arriving at a class on British literature of the 18th and early-19th centuries. Though their clothing might not give them away, Zimmerman and fellow Air Force officers Maj. John Terino and Capt. David Bush are on duty in University City -- on duty to learn, that is. In each case, the federal government is footing the bill for their education or research, as it commonly does for military officers: Zimmerman is pursuing a doctorate in English; Terino a doctorate in History and Sociology of Science. Bush, a pediatrician, is on a fellowship doing clinical and research work at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Zimmerman and Terino, 34, did not know each other personally before coming to the University, though they were familiar with each other's backgrounds because one taught literature and the other history at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Bush, 29, came to Philadelphia in July fresh from a three-year residency at a base near San Francisco. All three hope the knowledge and experience they gain in the City of Brotherly Love will benefit military personnel across the country -- from cadets at the academy to the chief of staff at the Pentagon to the families of Air Force servicemen at bases with major medical centers. The Shakespeare Nut Though his official task is to earn a degree, and his education is being fully funded by the Air Force Institute of Technology, Zimmerman says his real mission is to open Academy cadets' minds to the world outside air combat. Zimmerman, who is on his fourth military-funded degree and will return to the academy as an assistant professor in its English department, said the typical cadet enters the school thinking, "I'm going to be a fighter pilot. What does Shakespeare have to do with me? I know I am going to fly an F-16." Zimmerman commended Penn's English professors for their ability to use the Internet to aid in the teaching of literature. He will try to bring chat sessions and Web pages with direct links to literary resources to academy classrooms. The major was initially unsure that the government would be willing to fund his education at an expensive private university, and first looked at a number of public universities with respectable English departments. Thus, he was surprised when his supervisor, Academy English department head Col. Jack Shuttleworth, suggested Penn. "If we are spending taxpayers' money to prepare future faculty members, we want to make sure they get the best education possible," Shuttleworth said. He said Zimmerman was uniquely qualified to obtain such a pricey degree. "In the changing technological world, we need someone who is humanely educated as well as technologically efficient," he said. "[Zimmerman] unifies both of these." And he unifies both of something else: Zimmerman has had experience in both the academic and combat spheres of the military. In fact, he faced the decision of his life nearly eight years ago with the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War. As an Air Force pilot, his commander offered him the chance to fly in Desert Storm. His wife, Gail, was 3 1/2 months pregnant at the time with their first child, Marshall, and a week earlier her doctor told her she no longer had to stay in bed. "In no sense did I want to go all the way around the world," Zimmerman said. Evaluating his options, he came to the conclusion that since his wife had a church and military-family support-group and her pregnancy was no longer in a dangerous stage, he should take the mission. Zimmerman ultimately joined his crew at Diego Garcia, an atoll in the Indian Ocean. But 12 hours before his first scheduled combat mission, the war was over. These days, Zimmerman's family and mission are grounded in Colorado. When Zimmerman -- who is in an accelerated three-year program in which he must finish his dissertation by May 2000 -- returns to the academy classrooms, he hopes the move will be his last. The History Buff Terino, a third-year graduate student in the History and Sociology of Science Department, also has the military to thank for his repeated, free-of-charge visits to universities. The Reserve Officers' Training Corps program provided the financial assistance Terino, now 34, needed to attend Penn as an undergraduate, earning his bachelor's degree in HSS in 1986. The Air Force Academy was looking for a teacher and returned him for his master's degree in HSS, which he received in 1991. Now he is back to finish what he started and earn a doctorate in the subject. Upon completion of his degree, the Pentagon will employ Terino as the historian for its chief of staff. As for the future beyond Penn and the Pentagon, Terino hopes to return in four or five years to the academy as a professor. He, like Zimmerman, is on a time constraint. "I turn into a pumpkin in September of '99," Terino said, explaining that his funding does not extend past that date, forcing him to write his dissertation faster than normal graduate students. Penn has already shaped Terino's life in more than just the educational sense. He met his wife Susan, a 1986 College alumna, as an undergraduate. Another thing: Terino is "a real nut when it comes to Penn football," said Zimmerman, who has attended several recent games with Terino. In addition, because of his long-time affiliation with the school, Terino has established "a great rapport" over the years with professors in the HSS department. And Terino echoed Shuttleworth's feelings about why officials chose Penn as opposed to other institutions for Air Force officer education. "If you want to be the best, you have to associate with the best," he said. The Children's Doc Bush will also return to the Air Force, but not as a professor. When he finishes his clinical and research work at CHOP in three years, he will care for the children of servicemen and servicewomen at one of the Air Force's four bases with major medical centers, in California, Texas, Ohio or Mississippi. "If I'm taking care of their kids," Bush said, "then I'm contributing to their peace of mind and allowing them to do their jobs better." As a military doctor, Bush is guided not only by the oath of the medical profession but by the stated credo of the Air Force. "Everything we all do is to support the mission," he said of himself and his fellow military men in University City. "And the mission is to defend and protect the constitution of the United States and the country." This sense of duty that he feels toward his country was one of the factors that propelled him into military service as he fulfilled his lifelong ambition of becoming a doctor. It was the Air Force Academy that put him through five years of medical school at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He graduated in 1995 with a medical degree, a doctorate in Clinical Epidemiology, and the rank of captain. Bush then served his three-year residency in pediatrics at Travis Air Force Base, 45 minutes outside of San Francisco, and came to Philadelphia in July when he received funding from the Air Force for a fellowship in pediatric cardiology. At CHOP, Bush treats patients but will also pursue hospital-based research in the next few years before returning to a base. Somewhere in between caring for patients and conducting research, he still finds time to spend with his wife, Anneke, and their 19-month-old daughter Abigail in their Havertown, Pa., home. The couple is expecting another child in February. And despite the 36-hour shifts he puts in regularly, "I love what I do," Bush said. "We take children that may not have a chance for life, and give them a full life," he added. "Everything we do is to improve the chance of not only living, but living a full life and achieving the most that they can. It's rewarding to see that you've helped someone do that."
(10/31/98 10:00am)
Before Yale's season opener, Elis transfer Rashad Bartholomew huddled with the offensive linemen on the grass of Brown Stadium. The tailback offered a prayer with his protectors, asking that the bond forged between him and the offensive line would prove strong enough to break Yale's losing ways. Bartholomew had recently freed himself from a trying, two-year experience at the Air Force academy, and like a jovial newlywed on his second honeymoon, vowed this time to make things work. The message was a simple quid pro quo -- if the linemen blocked for him, he promised to run the Elis out of the cellar. Six weeks into the season, Bartholomew has been a man of his words as Yale sits in a four-way tie for the Ivy League lead at 2-1. · In Bartholomew's September 19 debut, the Elis broke a 13-game Ivy League losing streak. Since then, Yale has also snapped streaks of two straight winless seasons at home and of four consecutive losses to Columbia. At 3-3 overall, the team owes much thanks to Bartholomew and the offensive line. "It is one of the closest relationships I've seen between positions," said Yale sophomore lineman Eric Lee, who also blocked for Bartholomew at Peninsula High School in southern California. Upon arriving in New Haven, Conn., this September as a last-minute transfer, Bartholomew was introduced by Lee to the offensive linemen and they quickly accepted him as an their leader on and off the field. He's been a total, turnaround player for a team that had become mocked as the East Coast's Prairie View. Second-year coach Jack Siedlecki made a gutsy move naming Bartholomew the starting tailback despite not joining the team until September, but it has proved an ingenious vote of confidence for the transfer, as Bartholomew ran for 140 yards against Brown -- even without knowing many plays in the book. "I guess we're dealing with the new Yale," Bears coach Phil Estes said after the game, alluding to the difference from last season when Siedlecki called on wide receiver Derek Bentley to play tailback, and 1995-96, when Carm Cozza played the ineffective Jabbar Craigwell. Possessing the Ivy's best average yards per carry among backs at 5.13, and on a pace to break 1,000yards rushing, Bartholomew uses his blazing speed (4.49 40-yard dash), extraordinary power and a Terrell Davis-sized vertical leap to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. "He's got the best leaping ability I've seen," Siedlecki said. · The turf warrior, however, had childhood dreams of leading air raids -- not a ground attack. Rashad's father, Ronald, has served in the United States Air Force for over 20 years and is currently ranked a colonel and stationed in San Antonio, Texas. When Rashad was a high school senior, his father encouraged him to accept free tuition to the Air Force Academy, since it was an affordable option and Rashad had an interest in flying. "At the time, it was the logical choice," Rashad said. It didn't work out. "When he went to [Air Force], he hoped and dreamed to be a pilot," said Brava Bartholomew, Rashad's mom. "But he washed out before he even left the ground -- he didn't qualify." With a sub-par score on his flight aptitude test, Rashad found himself prohibited from flight. He felt alone on the Colorado campus, unable to partake in the activity that prompted him to attend Air Force. A damper on his dream drained him emotionally, as building new friendships in the intense environment proved difficult. "Going to Air Force required a lot of commitment," Bartholomew said. "I wanted to have a little more happiness." As far as football, Rashad had been a high school star at both schools he attended -- O'Fallon and Peninsula. Air Force coach Fisher DeBarry, in addition to others, heavily recruited him. But Bartholomew struggled to gain yards for the Falcons against Western Athletic Conference defenses, and was quickly moved to the bench. He watched from the sidelines as then-Falcons junior Jemal Singleton emerged as the ball carrier out of the halfback and freshman Qualario Brown played occasionally as two-deep. "He wasn't too happy at Air Force," Lee said. "He's a very sociable kid, but going to Air Force depressed him." · If Bartholomew stayed in school for a third year, he would have been obliged to serve in the military upon graduation -- a task that two years at the academy led him to dread. While he went through the motions of studying for his sophomore courses and improving his football game in spring practice, Bartholomew devoted most of his energy to filling out transfer applications. He received quick acceptances from Division I-A football schools Virginia and Northwestern and the Ivy League's Penn and Yale. This was the start to a new beginning. Once completing his sophomore year at Air Force, Bartholomew finally confronted his father about the decision he was prepared to make. "He kind of expected it," Rashad said. "After two years, I realized things were not going the way I wanted. He was a little taken at first but he accepted it." While Bartholomew liked the Quakers because of their strong Ivy League football reputation, he was most interested in Yale because Lee often raved about the Elis' new head coach, Jack Siedlecki. "We talked through the school year," Lee said. "He asked how school was for me and I said I loved it." Bartholomew went that June to visit Yale and meet with Siedlecki -- a visit that proved decisive in his joining the Elis. Not only did he reunite face-to-face with Lee, but he also had a pleasant conversation with the Yale second-year coach. Unlike at Penn, where coach Al Bagnoli indicated a commitment to start Jim Finn at tailback, Siedlecki made it clear that a starting position was available. He even gave the Palos Verdes, Ca., native reason to believe the program was going to rebound from its collapse in the mid-1990s. "He's very talented and came in at a position where we had tremendous need," Siedlecki said. "Our defensive back, Josh Phillips, came out of spring practice as our No. 1 [running back], and we really needed to find someone who would make a difference." Since accepting admission to Yale, things have changed for the political science major. · "We've been making things work. But from the economic point of view, it has been a [big] transition," Bartholomew's mom said, noting the family now must pay for him to attend school. Even his depressed social life has turned around, as roommate David Smith said, "everyone around here -- even outside football -- seems to know who he is," and according to Lee, "he can finally have fun and talk to girls again." With his spirits raised, Bartholomew's football game has taken off at Yale like the proverbial jet. After he was tackled by the last Brown defensive back to deny him a touchdown on his first play from scrimmage, Bartholomew continued to run for a marathon of yards in week one -- carrying the football 31 times for 140 yards, including a nine-yard, third-quarter touchdown. His teammate, quarterback Joe Walland, earned Ivy League Player of the Week for his performance. But with his rushing totals, Bartholomew couldn't have been far behind in the voting. Over the next few weeks, Yale beat Holy Cross for its first home win since 1996 and then fell to Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H., 22-19. Defenses began focusing on Bartholomew, and it appeared the magic was wearing thin. Last week, however, the former Falcon made a 180-degree reversal, rushing the football 17 times for 192 yards -- an incredible 11.3 yards per carry -- against Columbia. Until then, the Lions had the best rush-defense in the Ivy League. What made Bartholomew's performance so impressive was that Columbia's eight-man front succeeded at limiting Finn, the Ivy's leading rushing, to 77 yards on 27 carries. Bartholomew more than doubled Finn's totals, with 36 percent of the yards coming on a fourth-quarter playbreaker. On that play, he ran through the Lions defensive line and beat the Columbia right cornerback into the endzone 70-yards downfield. "Ivy League competition compared to Division I-A teams is more lumpy," Bartholomew said. "It's not spread evenly. So, a team might have one good guard and not another to go with it." The Columbia game was the first time Bartholomew really concentrated on attacking the weakness, rather than just running at holes. The approach proved effective, as he showed that even with leading defenses focusing on him, he would find open holes. · Excited to play for the first time since high school, the most important task down the home stretch of Bartholomew's first Ivy season is to remain focused. Even as a two-year veteran of Air Force, however, that may prove difficult this weekend. Penn's homecoming is also a homecoming of sorts for the Bartholomew family, as Ronald flies from San Antonio, Texas, to his new home in West Virginia on Friday night, and will then drive with Rashad's mom to Penn for the game. In addition, Bartholomew will also have friends in the opposing stands, as for the first time, his compatriots can travel from school to school to watch him play. "People say it takes a lot of discipline to make it through Air Force," Bartholomew said. "But here it's much tougher to manage my time. Before, it was choosing between things I disliked. Now, there are things I like to do -- fun distractions." When Bartholomew kneels down with the offensive line in prayer -- which has become the Elis' routine before game time -- he has reason give thanks, beyond just Yale's 2-1 conference record. While he may never fly in a combat mission, Yale has returned football, friends and fun to Bartholomew's daily routine. Even if Siedlecki's crew falls to Penn on Franklin Field -- and the odds predict they will -- an element of smile will remain on the junior tailback's face. Once again, he's playing ball and having fun.
(10/28/98 10:00am)
The Daily Californian BERKELEY, Calif. (U-WIRE) -- A University of California at Berkeley research assistant was found hanged in her University Village home in Albany Thursday in what police are calling an apparent suicide. UC Police found Irima Lisitski, 29, at 7:45 a.m. Thursday at her residence in University Village, a university-owned housing complex for married students and students with dependents. Police were alerted to the incident by a neighbor who saw the researcher's body through the window, UC police Capt. Bill Cooper said. By the time she was found, Lisitski had been dead for less than 12 hours, he said. At this point, the official cause of death has not been announced, said Michael Yost, a supervisor in the Alameda County coroners office. But he said the incident is being treated as a suicide. There is no indication of foul play, according to UC Police Sgt. Howard Hickman, who is supervising the investigation. Lisitski's family, who live in Haifa, Israel, have been contacted, authorities announced. A neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, described Lisitski as "quiet." "She had difficulty speaking English. She stayed to herself," the neighbor said. Lisitski was a post-doctoral researcher in the Molecular and Cell Biology Department, according to the neighbor. Lisitski, who was originally from Russia, had been residing in Israel for the last seven years before coming to the United States, the neighbor said. Lisitski had only lived in University Village for nine days before she died, according to a resident advisor at the village, who wished to remain anonymous. Lisitski had been depressed before her death due, in part, to the fact that she was in a foreign environment, according to her neighbor. "We wish we could have helped her," she said. "She had difficulty adjusting. She was very depressed, but we had no idea how much." The neighbor said she thought Lisitski had also faced problems occurring in her former home, Israel, at the time of her death. According to International House Executive Director Joseph Lurie, who has dealt with two suicides by foreign students in the past year, the change in cultural environments has an effect on foreign students. "There are special vulnerabilities for foreign students because they are far from home, but that does not necessarily cause something like this," Lurie said. Lisitski had been divorced for three years and was allowed to stay in the village because she had an eight-year-old daughter, the neighbor said. The daughter was staying with her grandparents in Israel when the incident occurred, the neighbor said. Because the village houses students living with dependents, the university had been pressuring Lisitski to bring her daughter to the country to live with her, the neighbor added. The daughter was expected to join her mother shortly, she said. The death has prompted village officials to conduct outreach efforts within the complex in order to deal with the reactions of other residents.
(10/23/98 9:00am)
Penn freshman walk-on David Whitten will meet high school teammate Adrian Rapp at Brown. Coming off an offensive explosion in a 3-1 victory over St. Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday afternoon, the Penn men's soccer team heads into dangerous waters this Sunday -- the Providence, R.I., confines of defending Ivy League champion Brown. Waiting for the streaking Quakers on Brown's Stevenson Field, though, will be friend as well as foe. Former high school and club teammates Adrian Rapp, a freshman striker for the Bears, and David Whitten, a freshman striker for the Quakers, face off for the first time in different uniforms. "It's going to be a challenge [for all of us]," Quakers junior striker Reggie Brown said. "If we're on for 90 minutes, then we come out with a win. But if we're not on for 90 minutes, then a team like Brown will be able to punish us." The Quakers (3-8-1, 0-3-1 Ivy League) may just be prepared for this battle against the Bears (9-2-1, 2-0-1), who are ranked No. 3 in New England by the National Soccer Coaches Association. The last two outings have seen the Quakers "be on," scoring four goals in stringing together back-to-back victories over St. Mary's (Calif.) and St. Francis. Injuries and arrivals have changed the face of both teams since their last meeting a year ago. The Bears have been without their returning First-Team All-Ivy selection, Mike Rudy, for over a month due to a concussion, and Quakers senior tri-captain Jared Boggs is out for at least another week with "a partial tear" in his medial collateral ligament. In their absence, the two freshmen from the small Branson (Calif.) High School will be looked upon to gear up their respective squads up front. Two-time Ivy Rookie of the Week Rapp leads the Bears on their attack, while Quakers leading scorer Whitten patrols the other end of the field. The two played together for four years on their high school team, and for several more on a Marin United Club team that finished third in the California State Cup in '97. Last season, despite 11 goals and 13 assists by Rapp, Whitten managed to outscore his co-captain and be named Branson's offensive player of the year. "I know I'm definitely looking forward to taking on Brown," Whitten said. "I have a friend [Rapp] who plays striker over there who I played with in high school. So I'm looking forward to -- pardon my French -- talking a little shit over there." Rapp, who saw little playing time prior to Rudy's injury, has been unstoppable since his teammate went down -- tallying three goals and an assist in his past eight games. "[Brown] was fortunate to have a guy like Rapp who was biding his time behind Rudy to come in and now step up his game and take over for them," Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. "Rapp was recruited to be an understudy to Rudy, but he's had to develop a lot quicker than we anticipated," Brown coach Michael Noonan said. "He's scored some very good goals for us, and he's improving every day in practice." But in Whitten, the Quakers may just have an equal to the elusive Rapp. The Quakers striker also started '98 slowly -- he did not see any action until the Quakers 10th game -- and was even misidentified as 'Carlos' in the Quakers media guide. Whitten has come of age in the last two games, scoring goals in each of the Quaker wins. Last Sunday, in his first collegiate start, Whitten netted the game-winner in front of friends and family at St. Mary's. "David is trying his best to really get his name into the line-up each and every day," Fuller said. "That's what we need out of guys. We need guys who are trying to win a spot in the line-up on the field when they get their opportunity, and David's almost forcing my hand." Along with Whitten, Fuller has had his hand "forced" in the last few games by sophomore midfielder Michael McElwain, who also netted a goal against St. Francis. Invigorated with the frenetic energy of Brown, junior striker Jason Karageorge and freshman striker Evan Anderson, the Quakers head to Providence with a newfound offense that the Bears will be forced to respect. The offensive end of the field is where this matchup will be decided, as evidenced by Brown's high-scoring, come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Penn last season. The Quakers dominated that game early by grabbing a 2-0 lead, but three second-half strikes completed a startling comeback by the Bears in the final 34 minutes. At the same time, Bears sophomore goalkeeper Matt Cross has shut out all three Ivy foes he has faced, and with a 0.88 g.a.a. is the backbone of the leagues leading defense. "Brown is clearly one of the top teams in the Ivy League, and they're battling to get an NCAA bid," Fuller said. "We're going to need to be on top of our game to take care of them." But if Whitten and the Quakers offense can duplicate the performances of their last two games then the team might be coming back to Philadelphia on Sunday night with its first Ivy win in its last 11 tries.
(09/04/98 9:00am)
and Edward Sherwin Not all Penn students, faculty and staff took a break over the summer. Instead, one Penn affiliate travelled to Mongolia, another prepared to blast off into outer space and a third found something surprising in his pants. · Garrett Reisman, a 1991 graduate of the Management and Technology program, was chosen in June by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a member of this year's astronaut candidate class. He began 1 1/2 years of training and evaluation at the Johnson Space Center in Houston in late August. Only 100 of the 2,600 applicants for this year's candidate class were even granted interviews for the elite 25-member group. "It was sort of a long shot -- no pun intended," Reisman said of his chances for acceptance into the competitive program. After training, Reisman and his 24 classmates will receive technical assignments within the Astronaut Office before actually voyaging beyond the earth's atmosphere. He said he could be in line for a mission within three or four years. After a childhood of model rockets and movies of the Apollo missions, Reisman, 30, majored in mechanical engineering and economics while at Penn. An Alpha Tau Omega brother, he served as president of the InterFraternity Council in 1989. After graduation, Reisman received his master's degree and doctorate in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. A native of New Jersey, he currently works as a spacecraft engineer in the Space and Electronics Group of Redondo Beach, Calif.-based TRW Inc. · Amanda Fine, a 1997 graduate of Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine, will travel to Mongolia in September to spend a year as a fellow at the Veterinary Research Institute in Ulaan Bator. Fine, from Bristol, Pa., is one of only 17 winning applicants selected as a Luce Scholar for the 1998-1999 year from among 125 to 130 candidates. The highly competitive fellowship, established by the Henry Luce Foundation in 1974, "enables young Americans of exceptional promise to live and work in nations throughout east and southeast Asia for one year." Fine received her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pa., in 1993 before coming to Penn. And Fine is no stranger to the kind of first-hand research in which she will take part in Mongolia. In 1992, she spent four months in South Africa researching parasites of importance to the livestock industry. Sixty-seven colleges and universities across the United States submitted nominations to the program this year. · Only a few months out of school himself, 1998 College graduate Harold Shields is already hard at work, figuring out how to make good on his recent pledge to help send a group of youngsters to college. Shields -- who attended the University on a full scholarship, as part of the "Say Yes to Education" program -- was searching for a way to give back when he announced his plan to start a scholarship fund for the graduating fifth-grade class of Philadelphia's Belmont Elementary School. Shields' announcement at Belmont's June graduation ceremony came exactly 11 years after University alumnus George Weiss made an offer of his own to the 1987 graduating class at Belmont, of which Shields was a part. The elementary school went up to sixth grade at the time. When Weiss, a Connecticut philanthropist, offered to send all 112 members of the class to college, for free, Shields took full advantage of the offer. And more than a decade later, armed with a degree in psychology, he is out to make an impact on the lives of the next generation -- insofar as he is able. Shields may not yet have the means to provide a free ride for every deserving student, but he has promised to put aside $30 a week for seven years -- enough for 10 scholarships of $1,000 each. And that's not even counting investment income and community help which he has solicited -- and received. Shields said he has received several donations since his June announcement, ranging from $12 to $10,000. In light of the additional funds, he said he hopes to be able to help a greater portion of the 58-member class. "The response has been great so far," Shields said. "It would be great if we could get a scholarship for each and every one of the students." Before taking his proposal to the public, Shields confided his idea in April to both Weiss and Graduate School of Education Fellow Norman Newberg, who is the executive director of Say Yes. Although Newberg said he was initially concerned that Shields might be taking on too much for a young person, he soon discovered what he described as Shields' "unfaltering determination." Weiss, who was in attendance for Shields' announcement, echoed Newberg's feelings of pride. "I think it's phenomenal, it's exactly what I'm always trying to teach to the Say Yes kids," Weiss explained. "If someone makes a change in your life, you should try to turn around and make a change in someone else's life." · Some laud him as a hero, others deem him a role model, but Brett Bonfield said he was "just doing the right thing" when he returned a $1,850 wad of cash to its rightful owner. Bonfield -- a staff writer in the communications department of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations -- was shopping with his fiancZe, Beth Filla, at Thrift for AIDS on South Street when he found the money in an old pair of pants early last month. "I saw some pants that looked interesting, but they seemed too big," explained Bonfield. "But as I held them up, I felt something in the pocket that felt like an old wallet. Well, I reached in and pulled out a wad of cash, including several hundred dollar bills." Bonfield, 28, claimed that he didn't even stop to think as he headed up to the register -- the money in one hand, the pants in the other. "What I did took about 15 seconds and it took that long only because my knees were shaking," he said. "There was no decision time. I was just thinking, 'This is Thrift for AIDS, the money isn't mine and I should give it back'." The thrift store, located at 633 South Street, is a non-profit organization whose proceeds go to assist those with HIV and AIDS. A deposit slip found with the money was used to track down the rightful owner, according to Mike Martino, the store's executive director. It turns out that Javier Kuehnle, the owner of a company that makes automotive components, had donated the pants only a week before, although he had lost the money two years ago. "I was very pleasantly surprised when the thrift store called," Kuehnle told The Philadelphia Daily News last weekend. "I was actually shocked that the money showed up after all this time." To show his appreciation for the returned money, Kuehnle gave Bonfield a $500 reward. Thrift for AIDS has also given him a $100 store gift certificate.
(08/06/98 9:00am)
Nearly 100 years after W.E.B. DuBois studied urban life in The Philadelphia Negro, several University researchers will continue his influential investigation into the life of city-dwelling minorities. The W.E.B. DuBois Collective Research Institute, established in May, deals with many of the urban issues analyzed by DuBois that still plague many African-American communities today. Education Professor Margaret Beale Spencer of the Graduate School of Education, who spearheaded the project, will serve as its director. The institute is funded through the Office of the University President and the National Institute of Mental Health. The University is kicking in $1 million over five years, while the NIMH will contribute $3 million over the same time frame. The DuBois Institute encompasses eight different schools at the University, including the Wharton School, The School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Social Work and the Medical School. Spencer said that bringing in diverse topics -- such as business, health and the humanities -- is the only way to efficiently study the broad themes of urban life on which DuBois wrote. "We have created a research community for scholars interested in the basic themes and concerns raised by W.E.B. DuBois," said Spencer, a developmental psychologist and the Penn Board of Overseers Professor of Education. "It is fascinating that we ask questions redundant of those DuBois raised 100 years ago. DuBois -- who taught at Penn in the early 1900s -- is considered one of the most influential men of the time because of his research into the historical and sociological conditions faced by African Americans. He fought hard for economic and educational equality and is one of the founding officers of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "When I first arrived, different people were interested in all different aspects of his history.", Spencer said, "I realized we would learn much more about W.E.B. DuBois if we collaborated." The Philadelphia Negro, published in 1899, is a study of the social and economic conditions of African Americans in Philadelphia. The work is the first sociological text on an African American community published in the United States. The projects in the institute will range from completely new studies to extensions of old investigations taken in a collaborative light. The Kellogg Foundation has already funded a $2 million study into how youths are supported in their schools and communities that will involve faculty from the School of Social Work, the Medical School and GSE. "The collaboration is unusual in that it proposes to research and not just serve as a forum for discussion," said Spencer. "That's unique among disciplinary lines." The newly formed institute may also help mend the somewhat strained relationship between the University and the surrounding community through research and youth programs. "Our research will cross many different disciplinary lines and create a real collaboration with West Philadelphia," Spencer added. Spencer is currently involved in a school-to-work program that gives students from nearby Philadelphia public schools jobs at the University. If the institute proves to be successful, it could be seen as a model for other urban areas across the country where similar problems, such as prejudice and underemployment in African American communities, exist. The DuBois Center at Harvard also focuses on the African American visionary but, according to Spencer, the similarities end there. "Not only are we focusing on the themes, but we are coming together with basic research that can be applied into our community," she said. Representatives from the National Science Foundation, the Institutes for Social Research at the University of Michigan and the University of California at Berkeley and The Job Bank advise the DuBois Institute on a national level.
(07/02/98 9:00am)
The Daily Bruin LOS ANGELES (U-WIRE) -- University of California Regent Ward Connerly, well known for his crusade against affirmative action, called into question the ethnic studies programs on the University of California campuses, doubting their "educational value." An he plans an inquiry to determine their academic merit. "I want to visit privately with a number of faculty members and have them make the case that this is sound academic curriculum rather than the political correctness mindset.? I'm not convinced," Connerly said in an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle. He also questioned the legality of ethnic graduation ceremonies, noting that such graduation ceremonies serve only to "balkanize" campuses. "Shouldn't graduation day be the one day when all of our students, regardless of their backgrounds, can unite as one community?" he asked. Don Nakanishi, professor and director of the Asian American Studies Center at the University of California at Los Angeles, was "appalled, but not surprised by Mr. Connerly's latest campaign." Nakanishi welcomed Connerly and other regents to come and learn more about the ethnic studies programs at UCLA. "I think they will be impressed by our teaching, research, publications, archival collecting and university-public collaborations, which have been ranked as the finest in the nation and world," Nakanishi said. However, while considering the African American studies program, Connerly charged that such studies are devoid of educational import, having been founded upon the tenets of earlier decades. "All of the infrastructure created back in the 1970s and '80s as a result of black nationalism and the black power movement -- I think we need to re-examine it now," he said. According to the UCLA General Catalog, the African American studies major was originally designed in the late 1960s and early 1970s "to fill a void that existed at UCLA in terms of scholarly and curricular material relevant to the African-American experience." The major meets "a number of academic, personal and social needs" by examining the African American experience in the United States through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach, ranging from theater to linguistics. Noluthandu Williams, a fourth-year African American and international development studies student and chairperson of the African Student Union, attested to the rigorous academic standards of UCLA's ethnic studies programs. She says the African American studies courses she has taken have been more demanding than many of her other classes. "Thirteen books and three 10-12 page papers, and that is not scholarship?" she asked, referring to an African American literature class. The Cesar E. Chavez Center for Chicana and Chicano Studies program also has high academic expectations. Students apply social, economic, educational, historical and political analysis to Chicana and Chicano studies. The major, as explained in the UCLA General Catalog, "provides students with the language and cross-cultural studies background that enhances their qualifications for positions in schools, governmental organizations and private enterprise." But Connerly remains unconvinced that anything concrete and scholarly is derived from these ethnic studies programs, instead contending that they only serve to perpetuate divisiveness along race lines. He said there should be cause for concern "if students who take these courses emerge more frustrated and more race-conscious than they were when they entered." Williams refuted Connerly's comments, noting that raising the levelof consciousness amongst students is one of the very goals of ethnic studies. She praised the courses not only for their academic value, but also their avoidance of "extremist or sensationalist curriculum" which appeals to students of all backgrounds. Although Connerly criticized the classes because "the only students in them are black and brown," African American studies, as written in the UCLA General Catalog, serves non-African American students by providing them "a broadening of perspectives to take into account more than a singular cultural view." Connerly, indulging in a quest to eliminate race-based features in education, has been reprimanded by Regent William Bagley for "micromanaging" in the university. Several regents at the UC Regents' meeting June 18 and 19 at the University of California at San Francisco also chided Connerly for bringing up the issue of ethnic graduation ceremonies, because they are usually funded by fees that are provided without regard to race. "It's a morass we shouldn't get into," said Regent John Davies. Professor Nakanishi also expressed his concern with Connerly's intrusion on the university's domain. "I really hope that he and the other regents think twice before they try to change, censor, or eliminate classes and degree programs that have been formally approved and regularly evaluated by our academic senate," Nakanishi added.
(05/15/98 9:00am)
Alumnus Jon Huntsman Sr. gave the largest-ever gift to a business school, with no strings attached. Wharton alumnus Jon Huntsman Sr., a philanthropist who made his fortune in part from the plastic foam in fast-food clamshells, has pledged $40 million to his alma mater with no strings attached, Wharton officials announced Tuesday. The gift is the largest single donation ever received by a business school and contributes to a record-breaking fundraising year at Wharton. The school has raised more than $100 million in donations over the last 12 months -- $35 million more than its fiscal year 1998 goal. Penn Vice President for Development Virginia Clark noted that it was "unusual" for the donor of such a substantial gift to place the money under the jurisdiction of administrators. But Huntsman, 60, said he felt "uncomfortable" designating specific uses for the donation, adding that officials are better versed in the financial issues confronting the school. Huntsman's only specification was that the gift be used to advance the school's overarching "strategic priorities," University Board of Trustees Chairperson Roy Vagelos said. The new 300,000-square-foot Wharton building -- set to occupy the current Book Store site at 38th Street and Locust Walk -- has already been pegged as a priority. With a $100 million price tag, and construction on the building scheduled to begin this fall, the Huntsman gift may have come at just the right time. Last month, Taiwanese businessman Chen Fu Koo and his two sons, Chester and Leslie Koo, pledged $10 million to fund planning and construction of the building. Wharton Dean Thomas Gerrity and University President Judith Rodin will consider how the school will spend the Huntsman gift over the next couple of months, Wharton Vice Dean of Executive Education and External Affairs Robert Mittelstaedt noted. Funneling the money into the building is a possibility, he said. Wharton spokesperson Chris Hardwick added that the donation was a "pure gift," noting that there was no stipulation that whatever the gift is used for bear Huntsman's name. Huntsman, who earned an undergraduate degree from Wharton in 1959, is the founder, chairperson and chief executive officer of Huntsman Corp., the largest privately held chemical company in the United States. And he is no stranger to Wharton's Development Office. Last January, the entrepreneur donated $10 million to endow a joint international studies and business degree program between Wharton and the School of Arts and Sciences. The program -- the first of its kind in the country -- combines international studies, foreign language and business education. Huntsman also made a $4.4 million gift in 1993 while co-chairperson of the Campaign for Penn, the University's five-year fundraising effort. And in 1989, he established the Huntsman Center for Global Competition and Leadership, a Wharton research program. Huntsman, who lives in Salt Lake City, has also donated $100 million to establish the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. "The Huntsman family is truly one of the great 'Penn' families," Rodin said in a statement Tuesday. Huntsman currently holds a position on Wharton's Board of Overseers and served as a University Trustee from 1987 to 1994. His son, Jon Huntsman Jr., is a current Trustee. Huntsman, who came to Penn from his native rural Idaho in the late 1950s, said that his time at the University "set the stage for every moment" in his life. After leaving Penn, Huntsman revolutionized the fast-food industry by adapting polysterene products for the now-familiar clamshell containers that used to house Big Macs and Whoppers. Until the Huntsman gift, the University of Southern California boasted the largest single business school donation, a $35 million gift.
(05/15/98 9:00am)
and Edward Sherwin The University filled a few holes in the new college house system Wednesday as Interim Provost Michael Wachter announced the appointments of two faculty masters and a faculty fellow for the fall. English Professor Emeritus Robert Lucid and School of Social Work Professor Kenwyn Smith will take the helms at Gregory, a combination of Van Pelt and Modern Languages college houses, and Ware College houses, respectively. William Franklin, a research specialist in the Graduate School of Education, will move into the W.E.B. DuBois College House. With these appointments, only the faculty master positions in Stouffer and Community houses remain unfilled, although Wachter said these posts would be filled within the next two weeks. After threatening to resign over the administration's decision not to rehire Assistant Dean in Residence Diana Koros, Political Science Professor Steven Gale re-applied for the faculty master position in Community House. Wachter has not yet decided whether to renew his term. Franklin is the last of 15 faculty fellows to be named under the college house system. His appointment follows that of six other new fellows two weeks ago. "I think what we are doing is really critical for what we want to do with the undergraduate experience," Wachter said, emphasizing the importance of expanded house staffing. Lucid, 67, is no stranger to Penn's residential system, having served as faculty master of Hill College House from 1979 to 1996 and as chairperson of the Residential Faculty Council from 1994-96. He also chaired the Collegiate Planning Board, from which the idea for a comprehensive college house system originated. "Having Lucid back is just spectacular," Wachter said. "He's an exceptional Penn scholar and citizen." During his tenure at Penn, Lucid won both the Lindback and Ira Abrams awards for distinguished teaching, served as chairperson of the English Department and founded the Penn-in-London program. He will be moving into Gregory with his wife Joanne after a two-year absence. He left Hill in 1996 due to macular degeneration, a severe eye condition. Lucid said he hoped to create continuity between the 12 houses in the system and to unite Gregory's two buildings, the former Van Pelt and Modern Languages college houses. Wachter praised Smith, an organizational psychologist, as a "superb teacher" who is an "obvious guy to hold this position." Smith, in his mid 50s, should find students easy to work with because he is used to more heated conflicts that emerge in social welfare settings, Wachter added. The Australian professor will be joined in Ware College House by his wife, Psychology Professor Sara Corse, and his sons, 10-year-old twins Justin and Phillip and a 7-year-old daughter, Kalila. He stressed that accepting the position was a family decision, made only after his wife and children consented. "[Sara and I] both really planned to do this together," he said. "She is enormously talented." Corse, who has worked with drug dependent pregnant women and Smith, who co-founded the Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutritional Alliance, share a common interest in health and society. And Smith explained that they hope to use their experience to generate more community between Penn students and the neighborhood. Franklin, a specialist in child and adolescent development, comes to DuBois with plenty of experience. He was a residential fellow at California State University at Northridge, where he managed the daily operations of a 760-student dormitory.
(04/23/98 9:00am)
The Latino Coalition's complaints don't recognize ongoing efforts to increase minority presence. Members of the Latino Coalition have made a lot of noise this week about the University's "failure" to address Latino issues. But their concerns, ranging from low representation to high tuition costs, seem to have been made in a vacuum, without reference to the administration's current efforts -- or reality. We are all for increased minority presence and retention. Since the announcement of the Minority Permanence Plan in the fall of 1996, however, the University seems to have been taking steps toward those goals, particularly in the area of Latino representation. The number of incoming Latino students increased by 10 percent between 1996 and 1997. And the University brought in three new Latino professors last fall. Of course, these improvements are just a beginning. The University could always benefit from greater diversity. Additionally, Penn must work to hold on to minority students and ensure that quality minority professors are promoted through the ranks. It is a beginning though -- and an especially gratifying one since the numbers are plummeting elsewhere. The University of California at Berkeley, for instance, admitted only 434 Latino students into the class of 2002, in comparison to 1,045 admitted last year. The drop is due to a state-wide ban on racial preference. The Latino Coalition must recognize that dramatic positive change at Penn will not occur overnight. There is intense competition for bright minority students. And bringing in well-regarded minority professors is not as easy as sending an e-mail and having them show up the next morning. When the two Latino groups walked out of the United Minorities Council meeting last week, they said they thought they would be more successful communicating concerns on their own rather than as part of the umbrella organization. But since their departure from the UMC, the members of the Latino Coalition haven't been able to articulate a game plan for approaching the administration. The group doesn't even have a spokesperson. The UMC may not be the best possible mouthpiece. At least, though, the channels for communication are established. Administrators know how to contact UMC representatives, and they take them seriously. If you'd like to help the University's effort, go back to your high school and encourage minority students to apply. Or join the Admissions Office staff and let prospective students know about the receptive community at Penn.
(04/02/98 10:00am)
Kerry Lobel hopes to change the way homosexuals are treated in society and in politics. "We are in a state of virtual equality where we can see, feel and touch it? but it's not there," the activist told an audience Monday at Houston Hall. Lobel, director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, addressed about a dozen Penn alumni, undergraduates, graduate students and gay activists. The speech -- part of this year's program for the Bisexual Gay Lesbian and Transgender Awareness Days -- marked the 25th anniversary of the task force, a Washington, D.C.-based organization which crusades for gay rights and awareness. Lobel explained that although American society has become much more accepting of gays, it has done very little in the way of establishing legal protections for them. "There has been a tremendous cultural change that has reached every corner of the United States? but politically we're far from where we need to be," she said. Lobel also discussed the importance of the gay movement working to influence legislation at the state and local levels. Several of the students who attended the speech said they felt the program to be very important. "I think there is a strong sense of community here [at Penn]," said one student who requested anonymity. "But before I went to functions the gay students seemed invisible to me." Other students said Penn is slightly conservative when it comes to gay acceptance. "Some students here have a lack of exposure to gays and ignorance in general," said Chris Nguyen, coordinator of the Penn group Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People in Medicine. "But as they meet people, their attitudes change." For her part, Lobel expressed hope that the gay movement's objectives would eventually be met. "Americans agree with civil rights for gay people," she said. "The challenge is getting politicians to do what the country wants." As for the future of homosexuality, Lobel claimed that one day people will no longer classify each other as "gay" or "straight." A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, Lobel has worked with several activist groups, including the Women's Project in Little Rock, Ark., and the Southern California Commission on Battered Women, where she served as executive director. Lobel has also authored several books on AIDS and domestic violence.
(04/02/98 10:00am)
U. Police arrest two men for alleged robbery According to police, Derek Gillard, 35, and Gentry Ware, 22, face charges of robbery, conspiracy and related charges for the incident, during which they allegedly stole $10 in cash from the students. The students were walking on the 3900 block of Spruce Street at about 12:30 a.m. when they were approached from behind by the two men, who brandished a knife and demanded their money. The men fled west after one of the students surrendered a $10 bill, according to police. Shortly after the students alerted University Police, two officers found the men walking near 40th and Market streets, allegedly carrying the knife and the money. The men were positively identified by the students and transported to the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives bureau for processing. --Maureen Tkacik U. to award nine with honorary degrees A diverse group of nine people, including Commencement speaker Jimmy Carter, will receive honorary degrees at the May 18 Commencement ceremony. Doctor of Laws recipients will include former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, an advocate for mental health; Federal Reserve Board Chairperson Alan Greenspan and Penn Law School alumnus and emeritus trustee Arlin Adams, a long-time judge on the United States Court of Appeals. Doctors of Science degrees will be awarded to Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, and College and School of Medicine alumnus Stanley Prusiner, a professor at the University of California at San Francisco and winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Harvard Professor Frank Cross and children's book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak will receive Doctors of Humane Letters, while Jessye Norman, a celebrated opera and concert singer, will be awarded a Doctor of Music degree. -- Margie Fishman Computer bug blocks campus Internet use When a bug hits the central computing system of a campus as wired as Penn, the results are not kind to computer users. That is what happened yesterday afternoon as one of the school's network routers crashed, denying thousands in the University community access to e-mail and the Internet. Vice Provost for Information Systems and Computing Jim O'Donnell said the failed computer was one of several responsible for controlling traffic on the network. Students living in Hill House, the Quadrangle and the three high rises all reported problems with their network connections this afternoon. -- Edward Sherwin
(02/13/98 10:00am)
In Nagano, Japan, it would be a bronze. In the United States, the University's No. 3 ranking in total research funding from the National Institutes of Health comes without a medal. Not that Penn officials are complaining. The University's $217 million in NIH funding trailed only Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the University of Washington system for fiscal year 1997, according to a recent compilation of these statistics. NIH funding, which is generally difficult to get, is considered a benchmark of quality for research institutions. Penn Vice Provost for Research Ralph Amado called the rankings "wonderful." "The faculty are to be greatly applauded for their efforts," Amado said yesterday. "Credit [for the ranking] goes to the individual researchers." The University moved up one spot from last year's fourth-place ranking on the strength of a $31 million increase in NIH funding over fiscal year 1996. The increase was mostly due to a $25 million rise in funding for the Medical School, which jumped from fifth to third in the rankings. Amado attributed the $175.2 million the Medical School received to "the faculty working very, very hard." He also applauded the efforts of William Kelley, dean of the Medical School and head of the Health System. The Nursing School's No. 1 ranking was the highest of any school at Penn. The school moved up one place from last year. Nursing Dean Norma Lang said the climb is "the measurable outcome of recruiting the best faculty and the best students." "[The news] is probably one of the greatest pleasures," Lang said. "It's like getting an A-plus." The Nursing School has steadily climbed in the national rankings, surpassing schools of nursing at the University of Washington and the University of California-San Francisco over the last five years. That climb is a result of the Nursing School's status as a leading center of research, according to Barbara Medoff-Cooper, director of the Center for Nursing Research. She cited research into the impact of hospital restructuring on the quality of patient care, AIDS research and research into home care for the elderly as some of the programs at the Nursing School with high levels of funding. The University has made high rankings in NIH funding a strategic priority, according to Lang. Indeed, University President Judith Rodin described the rankings as another sign that "Penn is really accelerating in terms of its goals." The NIH is the single largest source of research funding at the University, which received a total of $351 million in research funding during fiscal year 1997. Eighty percent of that funding came from the federal government, according to Amado.
(10/27/97 10:00am)
Last fall, University President Judith Rodin announced financial initiatives for recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities, but has anything happened since then? One year after University President Judith Rodin announced financial initiatives aimed at increasing the underrepresented minority presence on campus, administrators say they are satisfied with the progress made toward the programs' long-term goals. But students and faculty emphasize the need for more work before the plan can be deemed a success. In the September 1996 Almanac, Rodin outlined four new financial programs designed to enhance the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority faculty, staff and students: · A central allocation of $1 million a year for the next five years towards recruitment and retention; · A $20 million fundraising effort to create an endowment for recruitment and retention; · An effort to secure $250,000 in foundation funding for faculty and student research on the educational benefits of diversity in a university setting; · And the appointment of a standing faculty member to monitor and report to Rodin on progress made on the other three initiatives. The last initiative was abandoned after African-American and Latino faculty argued that central responsibility for minority recruitment and retention could not be fairly assigned to a single individual. Instead, the faculty recommended that deans, department chairpersons, faculty and students actively take on the responsibility of overseeing the programs. The University is already seeing the direct results of the various efforts. In the past year, the combined number of African-American, Latino and Native-American professors has increased by 24 percent, with the addition of four new black faculty members and three new Latino faculty members on campus. Such progress, Rodin noted, "did not happen by accident." Much of the central allocation of $1 million was used to increase the hiring packages offered to the new faculty, who were also heavily recruited by other universities. The admissions office also received additional funding to use in student recruitment. But despite the efforts, many faculty emphasize that such initiatives are only the first steps toward substantially increasing the minority presence on campus. Legal Studies Professor Kenneth Shropshire, who has been engaged in continual dialogue with Rodin and several other faculty members, characterized the plan as an initiative that will eventually make Penn an attractive place for minorities, drawing top-flight professors and students. But while he applauded this year's increase in the underrepresented minority student and faculty population, Shropshire noted that he is the only tenured black member of the Wharton School's 190-person faculty. "For the number one business school in the nation, that's an abysmal number," he said. Board of Overseers member and Education Professor Margaret Beale Spencer, another faculty member included in the discussions with Rodin, said the meetings have been productive and "moving in the right direction." She expects an agreement on faculty recruitment and retention initiatives within six weeks. But other faculty members said they were discouraged at not having been asked to participate in the talks. Jerry Johnson, tri-chairperson of the African American Association for Faculty, Staff and Administrators, said his organization wasn't included in the discussion or organization stages of the plan. "So we decided to wait and see what was going to happen with the plan," said Johnson, a professor in the Medical School. "I recently asked the provost on what had been done with the [$1 million] to date. I got no answer." Provost Stanley Chodorow said he has discussed minority funding and programming with faculty from the underrepresented minority groups, adding that Johnson was present at several of the meetings and participated in the discussion. "The initiatives are complex and our discussions about them with faculty members are ongoing," Chodorow added. "It is fair to say that our commitment to minority recruitment and retention is substantial. The president and I continue to invite good proposals on how to spend the additional minority recruitment and retention funding that we have committed." Johnson, nonetheless, described the plan as short-sighted and anemic. "One million dollars every year is simply not enough to go around between students and faculty," he said. "If the University takes this issue seriously, it should disengage faculty issues from the student issues." The AAA has also voiced concerns about the plan's grouping of underrepresented minorities into one category. Johnson said this may hide the fact that the number of African Americans may be decreasing while other minority groups may be increasing. "It's not clear," he said. "This could be a redistribution process rather than a supplementary process." Additional controversy surrounding the plan stems from the fact that Asian-American interests are not included. Because Asian Americans constitute approximately 17 percent of the University student body, and 23 percent of undergraduates, the administration does not consider them part of an underrepresented group. But Rodin said that the University also continues to make progress recruiting and retaining Asian Americans. She attributed the arrival this fall of "ten new faculty of Asian decent" to these efforts. But Asian Pacific Student Coalition President Eric Lee, a Wharton senior, said the University needs to "take more care in differentiating individuals of Asian decent and Americans of Asian decent." The Asian-American population is specifically concerned with the recruitment and retention of Asian-American faculty members, not just ones of Asian decent, he said. "It is a feeling that the University conveniently reports numbers on our community in terms of Asian not necessarily Asian American, whereas information from other communities are reported in terms of African American, Latino American and Native American," Lee noted. "This also may be reflective of the resistance that the Asian-American community has faced in being acknowledged as Americans," he added. And Ankor Vora, the South Asian Society's United Minority Council representative, added that when administrators label something a "minority permanence plan," they should address everyone in the minority community. APSC's intention is not to take away from the funding aimed at the underrepresented minorities, but instead to lobby for additional funding for the Asian-American community. "We're trying to expand on the language of the plan," Lee said. "This plan has great potential." Rodin's release of the recruitment and retention plans last year came in part as a response to a national debate over affirmative action. She said she felt the need to "clearly reaffirm this University's strong commitment to diversity as something profoundly educational in itself," adding that the plan was designed to "breathe new life" into the University's efforts to recruit and retain students and faculty from consistently underrepresented groups. While Penn officials said they have fully recognized and supported the importance of diversity in education, other universities throughout the country continue to consider re-examining their affirmative action policies. Since the passing of California's Proposition 209, which outlawed race-based affirmative action in college admissions, only one black student has enrolled in the law school at the University of California at Berkeley. Based on merit alone, the school reported that its number of black students is expected to drop by more than 50 percent and the number of Latinos by 5 to 15 percent, while the number of Asians would rise by 15 to 25 percent. And in a freshman class of 6,500 at the University of Texas this year, only 150 are black -- a drop of 50 percent from last year. Black enrollment had fallen 81 percent in 1996 following a 1995 decision by the state university system's board of regents not to take race into account for college admissions. In response to the debate, Rodin, along with 62 other research university presidents of the American Association of University Schools, signed an August 1997 full-page advertisement in The New York Times urging schools to continue taking race and gender into account in admission decisions.
