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(03/28/97 10:00am)
"Is that recyclable?" Wharton and Engineering sophomore Lori Werfel urges University students to ask themselves that question each time they take out the trash. And after the success of a recycling program instituted in Van Pelt College House last November, the Undergraduate Assembly's Recycling Committee will implement a similar program in Ware College House this fall. Werfel heads the Recycling Committee Club, a subdivision of the Penn Environmental Club. She is currently working with Residence Life and the University's Recycling Group to ensure that glass bottles, aluminum cans and paper products are deposited in appropriate locations in Ware and other campus residences. Last November, Werfel and College junior Josh Rockoff devised a pilot program that distributed blue recycling bins to every suite in Van Pelt. Rockoff based that program on a 1986 Princeton University study showing that recycling increased by 175 percent after recycling bins were placed in each upper-class dormitory suite. The Recycling Committee chose Van Pelt because it is a small, controlled environment with its own garbage collection facilities, Werfel explained. She attributed the small increase in the quantity of paper recycled at Van Pelt to the "convenience and ease" of having a bin in each common room as opposed to a central bin in the lounge. While the committee did not notice a dramatic increase in the quantity of recycled materials, the quality of such goods increased dramatically. Werfel added that there is a certain level of acceptable contamination in recycling bins around campus. If the contamination exceeds that level, the bins are refused and the University must pay to dispose of the paper as trash, at a typical rate of $70 per ton of garbage. She noted that only one Van Pelt bin has been considered an "impure mix" since the program was instituted, adding that the committee expanded the program to Ware because of the dorm's small size. Although setup costs are high, Werfel hopes to expand the program to include the rest of the college houses. She said, however, that it is unlikely that the high rises and most of the Quadrangle will participate in the program. Since even-numbered floors of the high rises are already equipped with yellow recycling bins for paper -- located down the hall from the trash rooms -- Werfel said it would be too costly to offer each room a separate recycling bin. "The time and money will be better spent informing people in the high rises about the trash rooms," she explained. And Physical Plant Recycling Superintendent Al Pallanti added that "the key is to start slow and small. "Recognize your mistakes first and try to remedy them," Pallanti said. The University began its recycling effort in March 1990 by placing recycling bins for office paper in the Franklin Building. And Pallanti noted that the University saved $210,000 last year by recycling 2,719 tons of mixed paper and 144 tons of plastic, glass and cans. The University recycles 30 percent of its waste, while the city of Philadelphia recycles only 13 percent. Pennsylvania recently initiated a recycling mandate requiring institutions to recycle 25 percent of their waste stream each year. Pallanti added that recycling is "cost-effective and environmentally sound," explaining that recycled products are a commodity whose value rises and falls in connection with market demands. And he pushed students to purchase recycled notebooks and glass to increase the demand for recycled products and encourage companies to purchase more recycled paper.
(03/26/97 10:00am)
Adam Etra, Commentary Adam Etra, CommentaryThis article appeared in the joke issue. Actually it is two words. Words that bring a smile to my face. A phrase that all across America has had people lining up at the concession stands for countless hours. Words that every Quaker truly enjoys. And those words are none other than "Beer Here!" As a Penn fan through and through, I feel it is time that Athletic Director Steve Bilsky and President Judith Rodin get together and allow the consumption of alcohol at the Palestra. Of course, everyone attending a basketball game would need the proper ID to get a frothy beverage. Plus on those painful nights when the Penn women's basketball team is down by 30 in the first half, what else would be better than a nice cold one? Aside from the comfort of having a beer at games in the Palestra, it might also boost attendance figures next season. For years, fans attending professional sporting events have had the option of drinking beer, why not give college students the chance and why not have Penn lead the way? There is no question that once the Red and Blue allow their historic gym to sell beer, other Ivy colleges would follow. Who hasn't heard of Dartmouth's drinking problems? Especially when the janitors have been seen cleaning up the rum bottles lining the bleachers of Thompson Arena. The thought of beer in the Palestra brings to mind the first time I ever attended a baseball game. When it came time for the crowd to sing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" in the seventh inning, my father (already sloshed) proceeded to substitute beer in for peanuts and Cracker Jacks. His song went something like this: "Take me out to the ball game, Take me out to the crowd, Buy me some beer and then some more beer, I don't care about the rest of this fuckin' song!?" Actually my father's drunken rendition lasted a lot longer (and included several more obscenities). And it does pertain to baseball and not basketball, but hey, Penn students are smart and you all get the point. One person who empathized with my father story was Penn Director of Athletic Communications Shaun May. Referred to as "Michelob Man" by many of his collegiate buddies, May went on for hours about some old Irish tales of drinking and revelry. May's response was filled with glee as he chuckled, "It sounds like a good plan to me." Also supporting May is his drinking buddy, Penn men's basketball reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kevin Tatum. The Philly native who has been known on occasion to confuse Cornell with the Big Green has strong feelings regarding the thought of beer in the Palestra. "Yea I hope they serve alcohol next season," an inebriated Tatum said heading out of Smoke's. "That way I will not have to sneak it past those idiotic guards in yellow uniforms." Finally after sitting down and having a long chat with Bilsky on this matter, the ex-Quaker guard felt beer might induce a "riotous atmosphere at the Palestra." With these sentiments in mind there is just one phrase that needs to be said: "Bilsky, Show me da' beer!" Note: Adam's father is currently attending weekly AA meetings, but things are beginning to look up for the one-time gymnastics Olympian.
(03/25/97 10:00am)
From: Sarah Giulian's, "From Under My Rock," Fall '97 From: Sarah Giulian's, "From Under My Rock," Fall '97 We were tired of being buried, back-seated, condescended to and forgotten. We were tired of being confused with Penn State. We wanted to be spoken of in the same breath as Harvard and Yale. I was way off target with that one. If you haven't read the article, allow me to summarize. The topic: "A special investigation into why tuition has soared." The approach: "Erik Larson returns to his alma mater -- the University of Pennsylvania -- to find out why the school charges so much and where the money really goes." Have I piqued your interest? Good. Not one student at this university should leave these pages unturned. It is the most comprehensive and intellectually accessible explanation of our tuition that we can get our hands on. Unfortunately for Penn, so can the rest of the country. Larson's article seemed well researched and fair; I was neither pissed at the author nor at Penn when I finished reading. He obviously had the same goal we would: to figure it all out and get the truth. Naturally, he only scratched the surface of this mess we call finance, but that information alone was enough to send my head spinning. Everyone knows our tuition is ridiculously high. We also know its virtually identical to most top-notch universities in the country. A lot of it is probably worth it. And a lot of it isn't. So why has our tuition risen at 300 times the rate of inflation since 1983? Answering that question is like finding a Penn chick who's not wearing black pants. So I divide the expenses into two categories: the good -- what is necessary or worth it -- and the bad --what is extraneous. For example, $18 million for campus security is good. $726,943 for Penn Escort is good. Even $412 million for athletic programs is good. Renovations, the library, insurance, university voice mail and landscaping are good. We all know Penn needs to look smart to the perspective students eyes. Then there are a few expenses I'm a bit fuzzy on. I'm not sure what commencement videos are or why they cost over $9,000. I dont know why the presidents of Ivy League universities make more in salary than the President of the United States (University President Judith Rodin rakes in a cool $350,000). Full professors' salaries and benefits are bad (Unless you're a professor. Then it's good). Penn is competitive, and offering the average full professor $121,000 is part of the game -- we must be willing to pay for the best. However, as Larson pointed out, the benefits include a free ride for their kids to attend the university -- a luxury costing Penn $11 million of its tuition money in 1994. This is also part of the fierce game in faculty competition which Penn is forced to play, but boy is it backwards. Students whose parents match their professors' salaries legitimately aren't considered for aid. Somehow schools lost sight of this essential fact while tearing at each others throats to obtain the most intellectually profound of academia. That only hurts us kids. When Larson asked Rodin if she could cut tuition without sacrificing anything, would she, she obviously answered, "Absolutely." Duh. Makes it sound like money is carefully monitored, never ever spent frivolously. Sacrificing, however, is a word open to interpretation. Larson found that the chemistry department spent $38,716 on entertainment. Let me tell you what that's all about -- table for 12 ritzy restaurant, four bottles of wine, three-course meals, cappuccinos and after-dinner drinks. As a waitress, I used to think I was profiting on these continual "charge it to my department" dinner parties. After all, it brings in a solid tip. Silly me. That's just a fraction of the money I paid to support them in their feasting. Why can't we cut this from the budget? I guess the Chemistry Department would consider it a sacrifice. Is every department budgeted "entertainment" expenses? Is there any excuse for the money to be so high? Why has the performing arts community been shot down for decades in their repeated requests for more practice space while the Chemistry Department spends just under $40,000 on entertainment? Now that Penn has been stripped naked for all the country to see, will things change? Doubtful. The public easily forgets and anxiously awaits next week's issue of Time anyway. And Penn can for once be grateful to slip away like a passing whisper.
(03/19/97 10:00am)
TheftTheft· March 18 -- A man stole a one-quart bottle of beer from the Wawa Food Mart at 38th and Spruce streets at approximately 12:50 p.m. University Police do not have a description of the suspect in the incident, who fled the scene in a blue Ford Taurus. Theft· March 18 -- A man stole a one-quart bottle of beer from the Wawa Food Mart at 38th and Spruce streets at approximately 12:50 p.m. University Police do not have a description of the suspect in the incident, who fled the scene in a blue Ford Taurus.· March 18 -- Philadelphia Police arrested 33-year-old Tracy Spencer and 28-year-old Renita Matthews for allegedly stealing a March of Dimes envelope containing $7 in cash from the First Union bank at 40th and Chestnut streets. The incident occurred at approximately 9:50 a.m. Theft· March 18 -- A man stole a one-quart bottle of beer from the Wawa Food Mart at 38th and Spruce streets at approximately 12:50 p.m. University Police do not have a description of the suspect in the incident, who fled the scene in a blue Ford Taurus.· March 18 -- Philadelphia Police arrested 33-year-old Tracy Spencer and 28-year-old Renita Matthews for allegedly stealing a March of Dimes envelope containing $7 in cash from the First Union bank at 40th and Chestnut streets. The incident occurred at approximately 9:50 a.m.· March 17 -- The handlebars and gearshift were stolen from a student's Giant bicycle which had been secured to a rack in front of the Richards Building on Hamilton Walk. The incident occurred between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Theft· March 18 -- A man stole a one-quart bottle of beer from the Wawa Food Mart at 38th and Spruce streets at approximately 12:50 p.m. University Police do not have a description of the suspect in the incident, who fled the scene in a blue Ford Taurus.· March 18 -- Philadelphia Police arrested 33-year-old Tracy Spencer and 28-year-old Renita Matthews for allegedly stealing a March of Dimes envelope containing $7 in cash from the First Union bank at 40th and Chestnut streets. The incident occurred at approximately 9:50 a.m.· March 17 -- The handlebars and gearshift were stolen from a student's Giant bicycle which had been secured to a rack in front of the Richards Building on Hamilton Walk. The incident occurred between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.· March 17 -- A student's unattended backpack, containing a datebook, textbooks and keys, was stolen from room 1207 of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. Security guards observed a 5'6" black man wearing a bright pink Polo shirt and black jacket exiting the building with the backpack. No arrests have yet been made in the incident, which occurred at approximately 6:20 p.m. Theft· March 18 -- A man stole a one-quart bottle of beer from the Wawa Food Mart at 38th and Spruce streets at approximately 12:50 p.m. University Police do not have a description of the suspect in the incident, who fled the scene in a blue Ford Taurus.· March 18 -- Philadelphia Police arrested 33-year-old Tracy Spencer and 28-year-old Renita Matthews for allegedly stealing a March of Dimes envelope containing $7 in cash from the First Union bank at 40th and Chestnut streets. The incident occurred at approximately 9:50 a.m.· March 17 -- The handlebars and gearshift were stolen from a student's Giant bicycle which had been secured to a rack in front of the Richards Building on Hamilton Walk. The incident occurred between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.· March 17 -- A student's unattended backpack, containing a datebook, textbooks and keys, was stolen from room 1207 of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. Security guards observed a 5'6" black man wearing a bright pink Polo shirt and black jacket exiting the building with the backpack. No arrests have yet been made in the incident, which occurred at approximately 6:20 p.m.· March 17 -- Three credit cards were stolen from a coat in the Bucks County Coffee Co. shop at 34th and Sansom streets. The incident occurred between 3 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. Theft· March 18 -- A man stole a one-quart bottle of beer from the Wawa Food Mart at 38th and Spruce streets at approximately 12:50 p.m. University Police do not have a description of the suspect in the incident, who fled the scene in a blue Ford Taurus.· March 18 -- Philadelphia Police arrested 33-year-old Tracy Spencer and 28-year-old Renita Matthews for allegedly stealing a March of Dimes envelope containing $7 in cash from the First Union bank at 40th and Chestnut streets. The incident occurred at approximately 9:50 a.m.· March 17 -- The handlebars and gearshift were stolen from a student's Giant bicycle which had been secured to a rack in front of the Richards Building on Hamilton Walk. The incident occurred between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.· March 17 -- A student's unattended backpack, containing a datebook, textbooks and keys, was stolen from room 1207 of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. Security guards observed a 5'6" black man wearing a bright pink Polo shirt and black jacket exiting the building with the backpack. No arrests have yet been made in the incident, which occurred at approximately 6:20 p.m.· March 17 -- Three credit cards were stolen from a coat in the Bucks County Coffee Co. shop at 34th and Sansom streets. The incident occurred between 3 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.· March 17 -- A student's black Trek mountain bicycle, which had been secured to a rack near 16th and Chestnut streets, was stolen between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Theft· March 18 -- A man stole a one-quart bottle of beer from the Wawa Food Mart at 38th and Spruce streets at approximately 12:50 p.m. University Police do not have a description of the suspect in the incident, who fled the scene in a blue Ford Taurus.· March 18 -- Philadelphia Police arrested 33-year-old Tracy Spencer and 28-year-old Renita Matthews for allegedly stealing a March of Dimes envelope containing $7 in cash from the First Union bank at 40th and Chestnut streets. The incident occurred at approximately 9:50 a.m.· March 17 -- The handlebars and gearshift were stolen from a student's Giant bicycle which had been secured to a rack in front of the Richards Building on Hamilton Walk. The incident occurred between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.· March 17 -- A student's unattended backpack, containing a datebook, textbooks and keys, was stolen from room 1207 of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. Security guards observed a 5'6" black man wearing a bright pink Polo shirt and black jacket exiting the building with the backpack. No arrests have yet been made in the incident, which occurred at approximately 6:20 p.m.· March 17 -- Three credit cards were stolen from a coat in the Bucks County Coffee Co. shop at 34th and Sansom streets. The incident occurred between 3 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.· March 17 -- A student's black Trek mountain bicycle, which had been secured to a rack near 16th and Chestnut streets, was stolen between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.All information was obtained from University Police. Theft· March 18 -- A man stole a one-quart bottle of beer from the Wawa Food Mart at 38th and Spruce streets at approximately 12:50 p.m. University Police do not have a description of the suspect in the incident, who fled the scene in a blue Ford Taurus.· March 18 -- Philadelphia Police arrested 33-year-old Tracy Spencer and 28-year-old Renita Matthews for allegedly stealing a March of Dimes envelope containing $7 in cash from the First Union bank at 40th and Chestnut streets. The incident occurred at approximately 9:50 a.m.· March 17 -- The handlebars and gearshift were stolen from a student's Giant bicycle which had been secured to a rack in front of the Richards Building on Hamilton Walk. The incident occurred between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.· March 17 -- A student's unattended backpack, containing a datebook, textbooks and keys, was stolen from room 1207 of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. Security guards observed a 5'6" black man wearing a bright pink Polo shirt and black jacket exiting the building with the backpack. No arrests have yet been made in the incident, which occurred at approximately 6:20 p.m.· March 17 -- Three credit cards were stolen from a coat in the Bucks County Coffee Co. shop at 34th and Sansom streets. The incident occurred between 3 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.· March 17 -- A student's black Trek mountain bicycle, which had been secured to a rack near 16th and Chestnut streets, was stolen between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.All information was obtained from University Police.-- Scott Lanman
(03/07/97 10:00am)
At last night's Free Burma Coalition meeting, Penn Amnesty International President Mark Kahn asked members of the University community "to have a political conscience." FBC leaders Kahn, a College freshman, and Wharton and Engineering junior Peter Chowla were disappointed with the meeting's turnout last night. Only members of the organization attended. "Penn should have higher attendance at political activist meetings," Kahn said, observing a general "apathy" among University students. The FBC seeks to make students more aware of the problems in Myanmar, which was formerly known as Burma, and get them involved, according to Kahn. Myanmar's military dictatorship -- the State Law and Order Restoration Council -- has prevented its citizens from implementing a democratic system of government. The regime crushed a pro-democracy uprising in 1988, killing thousands. In 1990, democratic elections gave 82 percent of the vote to the national League for Democracy, but the SLORC refused to allow the elected members to take their seats. "This is what's happening now -- 250 student activists are still in jail," Kahn said. "SLORC has crushed the Karen Resistance, a group fighting for a national homeland. They use the death penalty the way that we use fines." Kahn said the military dictatorship is responsible for human rights violations, failure to allow the process of democracy, forced labor, executions and relocations. The Free Burma Coalition's objectives include weakening the SLORC by cutting its substantial flow of foreign currency provided by multinational corporations such as PepsiCo, Texaco, Total and ARCO. The new activism is already proving to be effective. Last year, Harvard University officials turned down a million-dollar contract with PepsiCo as a result of FBC and student protests. PepsiCo, which runs a bottling company in Myanmar and also buys agricultural products there for sale overseas, has become a target of protest on several college campuses across the nation. Kahn said he is concerned that Penn might have ties to Myanmar and may show "possible resistance to disclosing their ties and investments." Despite the low attendance, he noted the coalition was not looking for a "huge" membership. "The group can be as small as a few people working together," Kahn said, noting that "there can only be so many petitions" to sign. Kahn added that he hopes the group can generate future support for events such as speakers, protests and sit-ins. The FBC -- which works with human rights and environmentalist activists around the world -- seeks to build a movement modeled after the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. Kahn described the group as "a coming together of activists," noting that the group was formed partly to "take the burden off" other political and environmental organizations on campus. "FBC draws people together from different organizations to the issues of Burma," said Kahn, who added that the next meeting will take place after spring break.
(03/05/97 10:00am)
From Nathan Smith's, "Just Skip to the Crossword," Fall '97 From Nathan Smith's, "Just Skip to the Crossword," Fall '97 A month or two ago, I noticed a plethora of speeches in the news. Apparently we elected a president or something. Anyway, as I sat drooling and nodding over the umpteenth acceptance speech, inspiration suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. Despite the fact many of the speeches made by American potentates seem pitched to people with an average IQ of 50, every such delivery represents a late night of writing and editing for the speech writer. All that midnight oil -- or midnight halogen to be precise -- burned away just for the sake of making some presidential appointee seem eloquent for about 25 minutes. It's a crying shame. It occurred to me there must be some way, short of overthrowing the government, to save them the trouble. Most speeches are carefully stolen from past writers and subsequently rephrased so as to avoid accusations of plagiarism. So why not compose one perfectly generic piece of political rhetoric, to be used at any and all speech making events? Imagine the labor and money saved! Imagine the many talented and capable writers suddenly put out of work by this revolutionary labor-saving creation! Isn't that what America is all about? So, after a great deal of contemplation, I have carefully composed a speech which fits all occasions. Whether accepting a Nobel peace prize, addressing the Undergraduate Assembly, rallying the Christian Coalition, reviving the Esperanto movement, defending NAMBLA or condemning any given foreign country, the following speech is guaranteed to instill the proper combination of passion, anger, and blindness prerequisite to mobilizing a large, torch-bearing crowd. Best of all, I have decided not to protect it with copyrights so that all political figures might easily adopt it as their own. So, dear reader, get an eye full now. Before you know it, you will be hearing these exact words falling from the lips of Jack Kemp, Al Gore, Judith Rodin and Colin Powell alike. Fellow Americans. Lady Americans. I stand today with memories of yesterdays past and dreams of tomorrows of the future. Like most of you, I am troubled by what I see in the papers, on the news, on the information superhighway and on the naked streets of the city. It is high time we collectively set about answering the whole vexed question of what is going on. Are we ready to roll up our sleeves, take action and solve it or must the slow process of checks and balances grind on imperceptibly until finally we are back to square one? I ask you, are we or are we not Americans? Until we arrive at the hard answers to these rather soft questions, the bridge to the 20th century will not be able to support 18-wheelers. And in the race towards a new era, I for one am not going to sit by and watch the wholesale exclusion of truckers! If you feel as strongly as I, join me in the battle for our struggle. As citizens of this great nation we have the right -- no, the moral obligation -- to take up arms and defend the causes we barely understand and half-heartedly believe in! Besides, what else have you got to do with your time, now that it's no longer football season? Here is the place! Now is the time! You are the one! So don't just sit there; stand up! We have wallowed in complacency long enough. We have drunk to the dregs the bottle of apathy. The time has come to put a cork in it. Standing at the base of a seemingly insurmountable mountainous mound of mounting opposition, it can be all too easy to lose hope, to turn away, and take the easy way out. Well damn it, cast your fears aside. If we all pull together and reach deep down into the bowels of our guts, we shall there discover the intestinal fortitude necessary to take the hard way out. We've taken it so easy and nothing has been accomplished -- just imagine if we make it hard ourselves! Think how little we can achieve then! As we teeter on the cusp of a new millennium, the edge of the thousand year chasm, we must choose between tripping and tumbling into a future thrust upon us, or running full throttle, headlong into the unknown. Otherwise, the choice will be made for us. Nobody wants that. We must open wide our arms and embrace the spiny porcupine of potential. For the alternative -- carefully thinking about the issues and making prudent, rational decisions -- sounds to me like the end of American society as we know it. It's easy enough for me to stand up here and yell until I'm blue at the mouth. In fact I just did. But the real transformation is up to you, the average Joe Blow from Kokomo that composes the pith and vinegar of this society. You are the brainless brawn which can slap the sleeper hold on all who oppose us! So let's go out there and get 'em! KILL KILL KILL!!! (At this point the speaker should roll his or her eyes back, fall to the ground and twitch uncontrollably.) For optimal effectiveness, the speech should be complemented by the properly timed dabbing of the brow, dramatic pauses, and inspirational tears. Also, you should pay one person in the audience for standing up at just the right moment and saying, "hey, he's right!" Carefully delivered, this speech is guaranteed to rouse any audience to violent action, or your money back.
(02/24/97 10:00am)
RapeRape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital. Rape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.BurglaryRape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Rape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Theft from AutoRape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Theft from Auto· February 22 -- A television valued at $800 and a Magnavox VCR valued at $200 were stolen from a 1994 Jeep parked near 41st and Sansom streets. The vehicle's rear window was smashed in the incident, which occurred between February 21 at 9:30 p.m. and February 22 at 4:30 p.m. Rape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Theft from Auto· February 22 -- A television valued at $800 and a Magnavox VCR valued at $200 were stolen from a 1994 Jeep parked near 41st and Sansom streets. The vehicle's rear window was smashed in the incident, which occurred between February 21 at 9:30 p.m. and February 22 at 4:30 p.m.TheftRape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Theft from Auto· February 22 -- A television valued at $800 and a Magnavox VCR valued at $200 were stolen from a 1994 Jeep parked near 41st and Sansom streets. The vehicle's rear window was smashed in the incident, which occurred between February 21 at 9:30 p.m. and February 22 at 4:30 p.m.Theft· February 23 -- A cellular telephone was stolen from an unattended bag in the Cinemagic 3 movie theater on 39th and Walnut streets. The incident occurred between February 22 at 10:15 p.m. and February 23 at 12:30 a.m. Rape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Theft from Auto· February 22 -- A television valued at $800 and a Magnavox VCR valued at $200 were stolen from a 1994 Jeep parked near 41st and Sansom streets. The vehicle's rear window was smashed in the incident, which occurred between February 21 at 9:30 p.m. and February 22 at 4:30 p.m.Theft· February 23 -- A cellular telephone was stolen from an unattended bag in the Cinemagic 3 movie theater on 39th and Walnut streets. The incident occurred between February 22 at 10:15 p.m. and February 23 at 12:30 a.m.· February 22 -- A student reported that two unattended and unsecured cameras were stolen from Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. The incident occurred between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Rape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Theft from Auto· February 22 -- A television valued at $800 and a Magnavox VCR valued at $200 were stolen from a 1994 Jeep parked near 41st and Sansom streets. The vehicle's rear window was smashed in the incident, which occurred between February 21 at 9:30 p.m. and February 22 at 4:30 p.m.Theft· February 23 -- A cellular telephone was stolen from an unattended bag in the Cinemagic 3 movie theater on 39th and Walnut streets. The incident occurred between February 22 at 10:15 p.m. and February 23 at 12:30 a.m.· February 22 -- A student reported that two unattended and unsecured cameras were stolen from Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. The incident occurred between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.· February 21 -- A University employee's medicine box containing 15 blood pills was stolen from a building on 39th and Walnut streets. The medicine was left unattended and unsecured in the incident, which occurred between February 20 at 5 p.m. and February 21 at 10 a.m. Rape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Theft from Auto· February 22 -- A television valued at $800 and a Magnavox VCR valued at $200 were stolen from a 1994 Jeep parked near 41st and Sansom streets. The vehicle's rear window was smashed in the incident, which occurred between February 21 at 9:30 p.m. and February 22 at 4:30 p.m.Theft· February 23 -- A cellular telephone was stolen from an unattended bag in the Cinemagic 3 movie theater on 39th and Walnut streets. The incident occurred between February 22 at 10:15 p.m. and February 23 at 12:30 a.m.· February 22 -- A student reported that two unattended and unsecured cameras were stolen from Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. The incident occurred between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.· February 21 -- A University employee's medicine box containing 15 blood pills was stolen from a building on 39th and Walnut streets. The medicine was left unattended and unsecured in the incident, which occurred between February 20 at 5 p.m. and February 21 at 10 a.m.·EFebruary 21 -- A University employee reported that two Gateway 2000 laptop computers valued at $2,000 each were stolen from a secured room in the Caster Building at 37th Street and Locust Walk. The incident occurred between February 20 at 4:15 p.m. and February 21 at 9 a.m. Rape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Theft from Auto· February 22 -- A television valued at $800 and a Magnavox VCR valued at $200 were stolen from a 1994 Jeep parked near 41st and Sansom streets. The vehicle's rear window was smashed in the incident, which occurred between February 21 at 9:30 p.m. and February 22 at 4:30 p.m.Theft· February 23 -- A cellular telephone was stolen from an unattended bag in the Cinemagic 3 movie theater on 39th and Walnut streets. The incident occurred between February 22 at 10:15 p.m. and February 23 at 12:30 a.m.· February 22 -- A student reported that two unattended and unsecured cameras were stolen from Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. The incident occurred between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.· February 21 -- A University employee's medicine box containing 15 blood pills was stolen from a building on 39th and Walnut streets. The medicine was left unattended and unsecured in the incident, which occurred between February 20 at 5 p.m. and February 21 at 10 a.m.·EFebruary 21 -- A University employee reported that two Gateway 2000 laptop computers valued at $2,000 each were stolen from a secured room in the Caster Building at 37th Street and Locust Walk. The incident occurred between February 20 at 4:15 p.m. and February 21 at 9 a.m.Criminal MischiefRape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Theft from Auto· February 22 -- A television valued at $800 and a Magnavox VCR valued at $200 were stolen from a 1994 Jeep parked near 41st and Sansom streets. The vehicle's rear window was smashed in the incident, which occurred between February 21 at 9:30 p.m. and February 22 at 4:30 p.m.Theft· February 23 -- A cellular telephone was stolen from an unattended bag in the Cinemagic 3 movie theater on 39th and Walnut streets. The incident occurred between February 22 at 10:15 p.m. and February 23 at 12:30 a.m.· February 22 -- A student reported that two unattended and unsecured cameras were stolen from Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. The incident occurred between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.· February 21 -- A University employee's medicine box containing 15 blood pills was stolen from a building on 39th and Walnut streets. The medicine was left unattended and unsecured in the incident, which occurred between February 20 at 5 p.m. and February 21 at 10 a.m.·EFebruary 21 -- A University employee reported that two Gateway 2000 laptop computers valued at $2,000 each were stolen from a secured room in the Caster Building at 37th Street and Locust Walk. The incident occurred between February 20 at 4:15 p.m. and February 21 at 9 a.m.Criminal Mischief· February 22 -- Members of a rival fraternity allegedly tore off a window grate and threw bottles at the Sigma Alpha Mu house on 38th and Walnut streets at approximately 3 a.m. Rape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Theft from Auto· February 22 -- A television valued at $800 and a Magnavox VCR valued at $200 were stolen from a 1994 Jeep parked near 41st and Sansom streets. The vehicle's rear window was smashed in the incident, which occurred between February 21 at 9:30 p.m. and February 22 at 4:30 p.m.Theft· February 23 -- A cellular telephone was stolen from an unattended bag in the Cinemagic 3 movie theater on 39th and Walnut streets. The incident occurred between February 22 at 10:15 p.m. and February 23 at 12:30 a.m.· February 22 -- A student reported that two unattended and unsecured cameras were stolen from Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. The incident occurred between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.· February 21 -- A University employee's medicine box containing 15 blood pills was stolen from a building on 39th and Walnut streets. The medicine was left unattended and unsecured in the incident, which occurred between February 20 at 5 p.m. and February 21 at 10 a.m.·EFebruary 21 -- A University employee reported that two Gateway 2000 laptop computers valued at $2,000 each were stolen from a secured room in the Caster Building at 37th Street and Locust Walk. The incident occurred between February 20 at 4:15 p.m. and February 21 at 9 a.m.Criminal Mischief· February 22 -- Members of a rival fraternity allegedly tore off a window grate and threw bottles at the Sigma Alpha Mu house on 38th and Walnut streets at approximately 3 a.m.All information was obtained from University Police. Rape· February 21 -- A man allegedly forced a woman into a room at 41st and Baltimore streets and raped her at approximately 6:35 p.m. The woman, who was unaffiliated with the University, hit the man in the head with a telephone before calling police. The perpetrator, who has not yet been arrested, was an acquaintance of the victim. The woman was taken to Jefferson University Hospital.Burglary· February 23 -- University Police arrested Shil Patel, Ronak Patel and Vijay Vohra for an alleged burglary in Hamilton Court at 39th and Chestnut streets at approximately 3:45 a.m. Starting in the courtyard, the three men allegedly smashed the glass on a door with an eight-foot-long metal pole, then pried open another door. The suspects were apprehended before any property was stolen. Two of the suspects were students at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.Theft from Auto· February 22 -- A television valued at $800 and a Magnavox VCR valued at $200 were stolen from a 1994 Jeep parked near 41st and Sansom streets. The vehicle's rear window was smashed in the incident, which occurred between February 21 at 9:30 p.m. and February 22 at 4:30 p.m.Theft· February 23 -- A cellular telephone was stolen from an unattended bag in the Cinemagic 3 movie theater on 39th and Walnut streets. The incident occurred between February 22 at 10:15 p.m. and February 23 at 12:30 a.m.· February 22 -- A student reported that two unattended and unsecured cameras were stolen from Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. The incident occurred between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.· February 21 -- A University employee's medicine box containing 15 blood pills was stolen from a building on 39th and Walnut streets. The medicine was left unattended and unsecured in the incident, which occurred between February 20 at 5 p.m. and February 21 at 10 a.m.·EFebruary 21 -- A University employee reported that two Gateway 2000 laptop computers valued at $2,000 each were stolen from a secured room in the Caster Building at 37th Street and Locust Walk. The incident occurred between February 20 at 4:15 p.m. and February 21 at 9 a.m.Criminal Mischief· February 22 -- Members of a rival fraternity allegedly tore off a window grate and threw bottles at the Sigma Alpha Mu house on 38th and Walnut streets at approximately 3 a.m.All information was obtained from University Police.-- Scott Lanman
(02/14/97 10:00am)
The Associated Press HERSHEY, Pa. -- Serving beef to your dinner guests? You might try a little Burgundy or Pinot Noir as an accompaniment. Save the Zinfandel for the next time you serve spaghetti. The advice comes not from a wine gourmet, but your friendly experts in state government. Employees of the state's Wine & Spirits Shoppes go to great lengths to learn the difference between Chablis and Chardonnay. Formal training about the intricacies of wine -- quality, vintage, cost -- is required for the 659 store managers. And many of the managers, who have discretion to choose the wines they stock, sample the products at optional tastings like the one sponsored Thursday by French winemaker Louis Jadot. Jadot, based in the Burgundy region of France, set up tables at the plush Hotel Hershey to introduce 10 white wines and 14 red wines of 1995 vintage. The wines were drawn from barrels especially for sampling; the actual bottling won't occur until later this year. Under the bright chandeliers of a dusty-blue conference room, 24 wine glasses, each filled with a different type, were lined up in front of each of 20 or so state store managers who attended the event. The wines ranged from a amber-tinged Saint-Aubin, which Jadot recommends for casual dining, to Chambertin Clos De Beze, a ruby-colored wine for collectors that should not be uncorked before 2005 for maximum taste. The value-priced Saint-Aubin sells for about $21 a bottle; while the Chambertin could go for $90 a bottle. Bill White, manager of a state store in Ardmore that keeps 4,000 items in stock, said he buys books about wine and attends tasting sessions to gain expertise. ''Customers are so hungry for information on wine. They want advice. If they're going to make a decision, they want to know it's the right one,'' he said. Gerard Yvernault, executive vice president of Kobrand Corp., which imports Louis Jadot, said he is impressed with the level of professionalism among employees of the state store system. ''It's good to do business with people like this,'' Yvernault said. ''They are anxious to learn and to improve their knowledge.'' It is unclear what would happen to the Wine Bureau if Gov. Tom Ridge succeeds in persuading the Legislature to sell the state store system to private industry. Neither wine store managers nor wine sellers wanted to comment on the prospect of a sale. They preferred to focus on the wines in front of them -- all 24. ''We're trying to do the best job we can,'' Phillips said. ''That's our contribution to the issue.''
(02/14/97 10:00am)
The Associated Press HERSHEY, Pa. -- Serving beef to your dinner guests? You might try a little Burgundy or Pinot Noir as an accompaniment. Save the Zinfandel for the next time you serve spaghetti. The advice comes not from a wine gourmet, but your friendly experts in state government. Employees of the state's Wine & Spirits Shoppes go to great lengths to learn the difference between Chablis and Chardonnay. Formal training about the intricacies of wine -- quality, vintage, cost -- is required for the 659 store managers. And many of the managers, who have discretion to choose the wines they stock, sample the products at optional tastings like the one sponsored Thursday by French winemaker Louis Jadot. Jadot, based in the Burgundy region of France, set up tables at the plush Hotel Hershey to introduce 10 white wines and 14 red wines of 1995 vintage. The wines were drawn from barrels especially for sampling; the actual bottling won't occur until later this year. Under the bright chandeliers of a dusty-blue conference room, 24 wine glasses, each filled with a different type, were lined up in front of each of 20 or so state store managers who attended the event. The wines ranged from a amber-tinged Saint-Aubin, which Jadot recommends for casual dining, to Chambertin Clos De Beze, a ruby-colored wine for collectors that should not be uncorked before 2005 for maximum taste. The value-priced Saint-Aubin sells for about $21 a bottle; while the Chambertin could go for $90 a bottle. Bill White, manager of a state store in Ardmore that keeps 4,000 items in stock, said he buys books about wine and attends tasting sessions to gain expertise. ''Customers are so hungry for information on wine. They want advice. If they're going to make a decision, they want to know it's the right one,'' he said. Gerard Yvernault, executive vice president of Kobrand Corp., which imports Louis Jadot, said he is impressed with the level of professionalism among employees of the state store system. ''It's good to do business with people like this,'' Yvernault said. ''They are anxious to learn and to improve their knowledge.'' It is unclear what would happen to the Wine Bureau if Gov. Tom Ridge succeeds in persuading the Legislature to sell the state store system to private industry. Neither wine store managers nor wine sellers wanted to comment on the prospect of a sale. They preferred to focus on the wines in front of them -- all 24. ''We're trying to do the best job we can,'' Phillips said. ''That's our contribution to the issue.''
(02/12/97 10:00am)
A 16-3 spurt in the opening minutes of the second half was all Princeton needed to win easily. It only took Princeton five minutes to put the final nail in the 1996-97 Penn men's basketball coffin. When both teams left their locker rooms for the final 20 minutes of action, the Tigers were clinging to a shaky one-point lead over the Quakers, 31-30. But Princeton's offense, which had been stifled for most of the first half, suddenly caught lightning in a bottle and used a 16-3 run to end any realistic hopes of Penn winning a fifth consecutive Ivy League title. The Tigers scored on their first eight possessions of the second half, which included five driving lay-ups and two big three pointers. Keyed by the return of floor leader Sydney Johnson, who sat for most of the first half with three fouls, the senior from Towson, Md., hit two of the Tigers' first three shots. Using his quickness, Johnson initially blew by junior Garett Kreitz for an inside score and then stole an errant pass from Michael Jordan and raced down court to add another easy deuce. The second half onslaught by Princeton came at such a furious pace that by the time Penn had a chance to catch its breath, the Tigers' measly lead of one had ballooned to 12 points and later 20. During the insurmountable run, the Red and Blue used a 1-3-1 zone defense -- the only time all game the Quakers did not match up man-to-man. The result -- easy drives down wide-open lanes to the hoop. Before the game, Tigers coach Bill Carmody had gone on the record as saying that for Princeton to notch a win at the Palestra it would need to "play smart and hit shots." After bucketing an unbelievable 76.2 percent from the field in the second half, Carmody calmly complemented his team on their intensity and extra effort following half-time. "I thought we played real well tonight," Carmody said. "We shot the ball well and basically tonight our shots went in and that was the difference." In addition to Princeton's blazing shooting (including 11-of-19 from downtown), the Tigers ran their offense to near perfection. Almost all of Princeton's lay-ups came on pretty backdoor passes, including a couple of beauties from point guard Mitch Henderson. The junior from Culver, Ind., first hit center Steve Goodrich on a pass right down the middle for a lay-in. Ten minutes later, Henderson enacted the same play with backup big-man Jesse Rosenfeld. "We ran our offense pretty well in the second half," Carmody said. "Our cuts were a little sharper and when guys were open, they hit their shots." Penn coach Fran Dunphy gave credit to Carmody and the Princeton team for its second-half performance. Dunphy felt that the suffocating defense used by the Quakers in the first half fell apart when the Tigers began to hit their open shots. "As I said before, our best chance to win against Princeton was good ball pressure," Dunphy said. "But I am not sure that our team on a given night like tonight is ready to maintain that kind of pressure for an entire game." Kreitz put it best when he said "playing against Princeton you can't afford to sleep at all on defense." But as Kreitz went on to say, the Princeton win was not all a matter of the Quakers napping -- it was just excellent shooting by the Tigers. Sophomore guard Brian Earl, who last year had a dreadful outing at the Palestra (0-5), bounced back to nail four of eight treys, and leading Princeton with 17 points. In addition, Ivy League Player of the Week Gabe Lewullis also landed four of five bombs, proving once and for all to Quakers fans that his last-second lay-up versus UCLA was no fluke. While Princeton was en fuego from behind the arc following intermission, Penn hit a woeful 1-of-7. Added together with inexperience and the result is a third Ivy League loss for Penn and back-to-back conference defeats at the Palestra for the first time since Princeton and Columbia dropped the Quakers in 1991. It certainly was not out of the ordinary last night to see Penn go through a rough stretch in the opening minutes of the second half. All season, the Quakers have had to hurdle inconsistency both on the offensive end and defensive end. The difference is this time, Penn will not get a chance to make up for their inability to play a solid 40 minutes of basketball, and now the miniscule hopes of the Quakers rests in the hands of other Ivy teams.
(02/06/97 10:00am)
With more than 100 gigs throughout the year, the group doesn't limit itself to sporting events. Both the Penn Band and a hotel attendant arranging fresh roses greeted the arriving members of Shared Medical Systems's annual sales convention Monday. The Penn Band -- which played songs for the employees -- added to the meeting's collegiate theme in a series of corporate events. Opening the three-day convention at the Philadelphia Marriott allowed the event to expand its schedule beyond its normal routine of athletic events. The musicians played to approximately 450 sales representatives at the meeting. Greer Cheesemen, director of the Penn Band, explained how outside events move the band along -- creating new traditions as well as keeping old ones alive. "Outside events bring notoriety and publicity and extends the band's name beyond the Penn community," said Cheesemen, a 1977 Engineering graduate and one-time bandmember. Although they are seeking outside events, the band's present players remain aware of the past as they begin preparations for the beginning of their centennial year this fall. "We play all home football and basketball games -- and the away games as well -- whenever the budget allows," said Engineering junior Scott Levine, who explained how the band rarely declines to attend an event. Playing at lacrosse, swimming, hockey and other less-attended athletic events, the Penn Band sometimes provides the best fan support a team has during the year. And playing at over 100 events throughout the school year, the band refuses to discriminate between experienced and novice musicians wishing to participate. "We'll take anyone who wants to play, some cannot read music and some have played in bands in the past -- we're just here to have a good time, watch the games and play," said Levine, the band's captain. The band allows its members an opportunity to play together in friendship as well as in song. "I bake cookies for my section, a very close-knit group that has a lot of fun on the road," said Engineering sophomore Sylvia Caram. "On the way to Columbia we played 100 bottles of Coke on the wall, singing and drinking the soda together." The time spent with the band has provided numerous fond memories for its members. "They put us on the Jumbotron the morning we played at the Phillies game and everyone watched the screen instead of their music -- one drummer dropped a stick after seeing himself," Levine said. As a volunteer group, participation remains optional for the 115 bandmembers. "I still have 60 of them here for practice on Mondays -- they're here because their friends are here," Cheesemen said.
(01/29/97 10:00am)
From David Brown's, "How It Works," Fall '97 From David Brown's, "How It Works," Fall '97 Just another Whartonite? a clean-cut, skinny, five foot some male struttin' up the Steinberg-Dietrich stairs, in a three-piece suit. Some onlookers think he is just trying to intimidate others, trying to gain that "competitive advantage." Perhaps he has a job either before or after class or a more likely case is he has an interview. In my time at Penn, I have only witnessed a handful of professors who have received applause on the last day of class. And most of these came as a result of someone snipping, "Hey, it'll make the old dude feel good." Not recognition for a job well-done, not because of the hours laboring to prepare each lecture, nor the consistency in showing up for every class on-time. But out of pity. Last year in Marketing 101, students didn't even stay after the last class to fill-out the Undergraduate Course Guide surveys. The professor pleaded for students to stay, but she had already made the fatal mistake of assuming students would prefer for her not to waste fifteen minutes of lecture completing the stupid forms. She figured since students were already being financially tortured -- paying more than one tuition dollar per lecture minute, and dishing out about seven cents for every single handout in Wharton classes -- students would not want any more of their money going to waste. She was wrong, and that is a shame as only about half the class heeded her pleas. Some professors deserve little respect from students. They are tied up in their lives or research they don't even have the decency to show up to their one required office hour each week. Some assign problem sets on material that is not covered. And there are others who demand punctuality to their classes, but then consistently run late. But teachers are humans, too. There are many professors who are committed to their classes, making themselves available, and responding to e-mail. And there are some who are good instructors, successfully conveying material to their students. The outstanding are annually recognized by the University with the Lindback Award Winners for Distinguished Teaching -- including Political Science Professor Daniel Deudney, Art History Professor Elizabeth Johns, Mechanical Engineering Professor Vijay Kumar and Classical Studies Professor James O'Donnell in 1996. But, it seems Penn students just don't have the decency to respect professors. The standard cry is we have already forked over tens of thousands of dollars to the Trustees, so we can do whatever we want with regards to classes. We often come to class late, disrupting class and coming through the front when a back door is available. It is also not essential during class to read a newspaper, eat a smelly hoagie or drop an empty Snapple bottle on the floor --letting it freely bounce and roll down the stairs of the lecture hall. More commonplace is the constant chatter which is disrespectful to the professor and prevents others from fully hearing the lecture. Everyone here knows someone who just loves to talk and always has something to say about nothing. It is likely the only reason some talk is because they feel superior defying authority -- untouchable since the professor does not know their names. However, in classes where students are called on and class participation counts, students don't even whisper. While not all of us are serious students, we should try to respect professors and those concentrating during class. Failure to do so leads us to be habitually inconsiderate. At a future business meeting or presentation, it will not be favorably looked upon by your colleagues if the speaker does not have your undivided attention. Respecting yourself and others today is necessary for social development. And professors, feel free to stop lecture and make a fool of the individual who consistently bothers you or diverts the attention of others. It is your class and you deserve a decent amount of respect.
(01/24/97 10:00am)
"When she was in pre-school, I wouldn't let her get some yellow clogs," her mother, Robbie, said. Since then, there's always something interesting on the feet of 34th Street's new editor-in-chief. The shoe fetish, of course, is only the beginning of other serious compulsions for this punky editoress. High school chum Anya Yurchyshyn explained Shafrir's sickness. "She's a complete psychopath when it comes to shopping," Yurchyshyn sadly noted. "She's prone to spending obscene amounts of money on things she can't afford." Various addictions cropped up throughout Shafrir's days as a playful New England youth. Her sister mournfully described Shafrir's first signs of alcoholism. "When she was a sophomore in high school, we were playing hide and go seek in her closet," the tearful sibling choked out. "We found a 12-pack of Rolling Rock." According to the younger Shafrir, who shall remain nameless, Doree's only explanation was, "It's not mine. It's my friends'." Yes, denial too. It's all there. The lowest of lows, though, occurred during an incident known only as "The Tea Pot Affair." "She got unreasonably intoxicated," Yurchyshyn said, describing a dinner with Shafrir and friends at a local Chinese restaurant. But alas, Shafrir went crazy, according to Yurchyshyn. "She kept falling out of her seat and kept making the tea pot talk," she said. "The waiter said, 'I don't appreciate comments from your tea pot.' " Well, at least when the pressures of her new job are too much, Shafrir will have the comfort of a nice pair of shoes and a bottle to fall into. -- Jason Giardino
(11/06/96 10:00am)
From Adam Mark's, "Mark My Words," Fall '96 From Adam Mark's, "Mark My Words," Fall '96 Pity the tour guides. They've got to explain to nervous pre-frosh and parents the recent shootings, stabbing and self-immolation. "Really, Mrs. Schwartz, it's not as bad as you think? Only 30 students were mugged last month. Me? Yeah, just once, but it was a learning experience." I don't mean to make light of these recent tragedies. But the rate at which members of the University community are being robbed, shot and stabbed warrants discussion. We've witnessed such an obscene amount of violence this semester that we've become rather numb. University President Judith Rodin's press statements -- cranked out with frightening regularity -- read like Mad Libs: "The University is [adjective] by this senseless [noun]. Our thoughts and prayers are with [name of victim]." I'm afraid of becoming resigned to this nonsense. I wonder if we've reached that point already. I haven't discussed Sled's murder with my friends and housemates, nor have they picked my brain on the subject, as they usually do on big news days. The campus, it seems, has been rather mum about this absolutely horrific murder. Even the upenn.talkers have kept quiet. Perhaps if Sled had been murdered a few hours earlier, we could have splashed the story across the top of Friday's front page and generated more alarm. Perhaps if the murder had occurred closer to Superblock or had been more dramatic than a stabbing on Halloween night, we'd have been more shocked. After all, Sled wasn't a fraternity brother -- or even a student. He didn't live on campus. His attempt to thwart a robbery was stupid. But must we hold all this against him? I find myself asking, in the words of a defeated Bob Dole, "Where's the outrage?" Where are the student leaders who grandstanded after Pat Leroy was shot? Where are the petitions and letters to the editor? Where are the mass e-mails from administrators? Not surprisingly, the administration has been silent in the absence of student outrage. From a public relations standpoint, this is a clever tactic. Why acknowledge the tragedy of Sled's death, why talk it out with students if they're not banging down the doors of College Hall? I suspect most students -- myself included -- are scared to death and have just run out of ways to express fear and frustration. Excuse the psychobabble, but we're bottling up our emotions. Either the administration didn't learn how to manage a crisis in the wake of Leroy's shooting, or it doesn't consider this latest murder a crisis at all. I suspect the latter. Parents and alumni who didn't pick up The Philadelphia Inquirer on Saturday and read the Page One headline "Halloween homicide jolts a reeling Penn" probably had no idea a Penn employee had been slaughtered two nights before. Since students made little noise about it, so did the administration. Our collective silence seemed nothing less than surrender. According to administrators, Leroy's shooting last month exposed weaknesses in and forced us to reevaluate our security strategies. That last week's murder hasn't generated further discussion or self-examination suggests we're either out of ideas or we're already doing as much as humanly possible to strengthen the neighborhood and prevent these sorts of tragedies. I don't believe we're out of ideas, and I don't think anyone believes we can't do more. Students are simply, unfortunately, tongue-tied -- and administrators have tabled the issue as a result. Maybe Homecoming's to blame for the eerie silence. Murder and mayhem aren't exactly hot topics of conversation at Franklin Field or Smokey Joe's. And administrators probably didn't have time to breathe between receptions. But now that the weekend's behind us, I wonder if we'll reflect on the events of last Thursday night, when Vladimir Sled was murdered only blocks away from where most of us live and only seconds away from his waiting 12-year-old son. I wonder if Rodin will continue to address issues of safety when the press dies down. I wonder if we'll see another candlelight vigil. Or have those become passZ?
(11/05/96 10:00am)
Aggravated AssaultAggravated AssaultNovember 1 -- University Police arrested a man at 39th and Spruce streets at 3:30 a.m. after observing him hit another man in the head with a bottle. The victim refused medical treatment. Aggravated AssaultNovember 1 -- University Police arrested a man at 39th and Spruce streets at 3:30 a.m. after observing him hit another man in the head with a bottle. The victim refused medical treatment.RobberyAggravated AssaultNovember 1 -- University Police arrested a man at 39th and Spruce streets at 3:30 a.m. after observing him hit another man in the head with a bottle. The victim refused medical treatment.RobberyNovember 2 -- A man approached a female student from behind at 42nd and Chester streets, grabbed her and asked her to give him her money. When she said she had none, he threw her to the ground and fled the area south on 42nd Street at 5:15 p.m. Aggravated AssaultNovember 1 -- University Police arrested a man at 39th and Spruce streets at 3:30 a.m. after observing him hit another man in the head with a bottle. The victim refused medical treatment.RobberyNovember 2 -- A man approached a female student from behind at 42nd and Chester streets, grabbed her and asked her to give him her money. When she said she had none, he threw her to the ground and fled the area south on 42nd Street at 5:15 p.m.November 4 -- A man armed with a handgun robbed a Dining Services employee of an undetermined amount of money at 34th and Chestnut streets at 2:05 a.m. Aggravated AssaultNovember 1 -- University Police arrested a man at 39th and Spruce streets at 3:30 a.m. after observing him hit another man in the head with a bottle. The victim refused medical treatment.RobberyNovember 2 -- A man approached a female student from behind at 42nd and Chester streets, grabbed her and asked her to give him her money. When she said she had none, he threw her to the ground and fled the area south on 42nd Street at 5:15 p.m.November 4 -- A man armed with a handgun robbed a Dining Services employee of an undetermined amount of money at 34th and Chestnut streets at 2:05 a.m.TheftAggravated AssaultNovember 1 -- University Police arrested a man at 39th and Spruce streets at 3:30 a.m. after observing him hit another man in the head with a bottle. The victim refused medical treatment.RobberyNovember 2 -- A man approached a female student from behind at 42nd and Chester streets, grabbed her and asked her to give him her money. When she said she had none, he threw her to the ground and fled the area south on 42nd Street at 5:15 p.m.November 4 -- A man armed with a handgun robbed a Dining Services employee of an undetermined amount of money at 34th and Chestnut streets at 2:05 a.m.TheftNovember 2 -- University Police arrested a male at Urban Outfitters on the 4000 block of Locust Street for stealing a tweed hat from the store.Aggravated AssaultNovember 1 -- University Police arrested a man at 39th and Spruce streets at 3:30 a.m. after observing him hit another man in the head with a bottle. The victim refused medical treatment.RobberyNovember 2 -- A man approached a female student from behind at 42nd and Chester streets, grabbed her and asked her to give him her money. When she said she had none, he threw her to the ground and fled the area south on 42nd Street at 5:15 p.m.November 4 -- A man armed with a handgun robbed a Dining Services employee of an undetermined amount of money at 34th and Chestnut streets at 2:05 a.m.TheftNovember 2 -- University Police arrested a male at Urban Outfitters on the 4000 block of Locust Street for stealing a tweed hat from the store.University Police arrested the same suspect at 38th and Spruce streets on November 1 at 9:35 p.m. for aggressive panhandling. Aggravated AssaultNovember 1 -- University Police arrested a man at 39th and Spruce streets at 3:30 a.m. after observing him hit another man in the head with a bottle. The victim refused medical treatment.RobberyNovember 2 -- A man approached a female student from behind at 42nd and Chester streets, grabbed her and asked her to give him her money. When she said she had none, he threw her to the ground and fled the area south on 42nd Street at 5:15 p.m.November 4 -- A man armed with a handgun robbed a Dining Services employee of an undetermined amount of money at 34th and Chestnut streets at 2:05 a.m.TheftNovember 2 -- University Police arrested a male at Urban Outfitters on the 4000 block of Locust Street for stealing a tweed hat from the store.University Police arrested the same suspect at 38th and Spruce streets on November 1 at 9:35 p.m. for aggressive panhandling.-- Ben Hammer Aggravated AssaultNovember 1 -- University Police arrested a man at 39th and Spruce streets at 3:30 a.m. after observing him hit another man in the head with a bottle. The victim refused medical treatment.RobberyNovember 2 -- A man approached a female student from behind at 42nd and Chester streets, grabbed her and asked her to give him her money. When she said she had none, he threw her to the ground and fled the area south on 42nd Street at 5:15 p.m.November 4 -- A man armed with a handgun robbed a Dining Services employee of an undetermined amount of money at 34th and Chestnut streets at 2:05 a.m.TheftNovember 2 -- University Police arrested a male at Urban Outfitters on the 4000 block of Locust Street for stealing a tweed hat from the store.University Police arrested the same suspect at 38th and Spruce streets on November 1 at 9:35 p.m. for aggressive panhandling.-- Ben HammerAll information was obtained from University Police.
(10/25/96 9:00am)
To the Editor: While adding a Mission Impossible-like security system on campus seems like a step in the right direction, it is merely a misguided scheme to ease the fears of several thousand parents in a suburb near you. Most of the robberies occurred in areas west and south of campus. In fact, I cannot recall reading about one single incident that actually occurred in the dorms or within the boundaries of campus. So how will this high-tech plan complete with cameras and biometric scanning devices keep people from being assaulted and shot, etc on the streets west of campus? It won't! This new system will accomplish a few things, though. First of all, it will capture all the petty crimes, such as breaking bottles and windows, urinating in public, destroying property, and other forms of vandalism, committed by drunken students returning from on-campus parties. More important, this new security will be the crown jewel of campus tours conducted by various University organizations. Crime is a part of living in any area, from West Philadelphia to West Timbuktu. All the security in the world won't stop that. A more realistic plan to improve security on the streets surrounding campus would be to simply place more officers on the streets, and possibly place one or several police mini-stations throughout the areas west of campus. But no, this is Penn, that fine institution of higher learning, which must be on the cutting edge of research, health care, undergraduate education and now campus security. Once again, the group of blundering fools who run an urban university by day and retreat to their suburban enclaves by night, have succeeded in spending your tuition dollars in the most intelligent way possible. Thank God I am not adding one red cent! Geoff Moorer Engineering '96 No gender gap here To the Editor: In the article "Women herald Center's opening" (DP, 10/7/96), Women's Center Director Elena DiLapi said, "I am thrilled to have a university that gives us this [the Women's Center] space. [As a fraternity house], this used to be a danger zone for women?" Many fraternity members, including me, were disturbed by DiLapi's comments. They reflect an individual who obviously has not spent much time familiarizing herself with the proactive measures Greeks have taken to combat unacceptable violence toward women. When community members should be promoting understanding of one another, DiLapi's comments were unsubstantiated and unfair. They only reinforced stereotypes fraternities have worked diligently to transcend. Many members of the women's community have an "old school" perception of Greek life -- images of Animal House, where alcohol abuse and sexual assault are common. But today's Greek system at Penn is quite different. It is an institution dedicated to community service, academics and responsible social behavior. Greeks recognize the necessity of educating students about acquaintance rape and sexual violence, and the importance of responsible alcohol consumption. Last year, the InterFraternity Council passed a resolution requiring all new members to attend both a Students Together Against Acquaintance Rape (STAAR) seminar and a Drug and Alcohol Awareness Team (DART) workshop. We also sponsored a number of professional speakers last spring, who discussed the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption and the personal responsibilities associated with hosting social functions that include women. Sensitivity is one of the cornerstones of Penn's Greek system. In our "21st Century Report for an Ivy League Greek System," we emphasized the importance of educating our members and chapter leaders on the dangers of acquaintance rape and sexual violence as well as other areas of individual and collective social responsibility. When the University announced the opening of the Women's Center, many leaders in the women's community expected the Greek community to speak out against it. On the contrary, Greeks have only applauded its construction and its programming. We hope the women's community knows it can look to the InterFraternity Council as a friend and partner in its movement against sexual violence and abuse. We again congratulate the community on the opening of the Women's Center and we welcome them whole-heartedly as the newest residents of Locust Walk. As University President Judith Rodin said, "[We] look forward to watching [the center] thrive and flourish." The IFC does, too. We wish you the best of luck. Josh Gottheimer InterFraternity Council President College '97 Columnist's targets respond To the Editor: For the second time in as many weeks I am compelled to respond to a DP journalist. Mike Liskey's opinionated drivel ("Clearing the air," DP, 10/10/96) attacking smokers, men, women, the police, lawyers, doctors, medical students, Wharton grads and Quakers was highly offensive. I am one of the office workers who Liskey impugned and insulted. In his column, Liskey stated that an office worker might smoke to shorten his "miserable existence on this planet." Maybe I should take up smoking so I can end it all as soon as possible. Funny, I always thought my life was pretty good. I'd like to make one thing clear: societies work due to the contributions of all types of people. The Graduate School of Education, where I work and where Liskey is enrolled, is a society with a large number of office workers whose dedication and talent enable this institution to run well. Liskey is a first-year student; maybe he doesn't yet know that his every thought need not be shared with everyone else. He might not learn this in graduate school, but he should have learned basic manners and respect for others before entering an institution of higher education. Beth Taylor Administrative Assistant Graduate School of Education n To the Editor: We are writing in response to Mike Liskey's column "Clearing the air" (DP, 10/10/96). Liskey writes, "There are just too many smokers at Penn -- and I don't just mean office workers, wanting to shorten their miserable existence on this planet, I mean students!" As office workers who don't consider their existences particularly miserable, we would like to ask him where in the hell he gets off. We, frankly, prefer second-hand smoke to first-hand condescension, and we think the University's staff deserve a bit more respect than he apparently affords them. Chris Rutledge Administrative Assistant Pharmacology Department Holly Loth College '97 Work-Study, President's Office
(10/18/96 9:00am)
To the Editor: Bailey claims "University President Judith Rodin and English Professor Al Filreis currently strive to force academics on students in their dorms." If he is referring to the EFFECT program for undergraduate research, currently centered in Van Pelt College House, he couldn't be more wrong. As a former Van Pelt resident who worked very hard to get EFFECT (then CAUSE) off the ground, I'd like to rectify this misperception. The EFFECT program was organized by students. Only interested students need participate. It provides a forum in which researching students can get together socially to discuss their work. The group sponsors talks and panels open to the entire University community; the first talk, given recently by Steven Morgan Friedman, was extremely well-attended by EFFECT members and non-members, by Van Pelt residents and non-residents. No one bludgeoned students into going. The program was created by students, for students, and no one is "forcing" these students to bring academics into their living space. Kieran Snyder Linguistics Graduate Student College '96 n To the Editor: I beg to differ with Lee Bailey's opinion about Hill House ("Creating community," DP, 10/4/96). I am a sophomore Upper Class Board member at Hill, back for a second year of warmth and camaraderie. When I moved into my double room at Hill last year, I reacted in much the same manner of disdain and disappointment expressed by those who view Hill, but never get a chance to live in it. I envied the more spacious rooms of the Quad and Kings Court/English House. Time passed and I came to love Hill for its friendly atmosphere, blend of students and delightful facilities. The true specialness of Hill House lies in its suites. Each of Hill's five floors is grouped into three to four suites of approximately 20 students each, with graduate students in charge. It has been said that the smallness of Hill rooms compels students to get out and study together in the bigger, brightly lit suite lounges. Being part of a suite, though, means more than just hanging out with the people on your floor. A strong bond of friendship, trust and suite loyalty forms within each suite so many students feel comfortable leaving their doors wide open. Roaming the halls of my floor, I discovered the amazing pool of students that makes up the Hill community. During my (many) study breaks, I would take advantage of my floormates' "open-door policy" and pop inside random rooms. I met a wide variety of students, with various cultures, hometowns, majors and hobbies. The international representation especially impressed me. I was exposed to several firsts, such as using my fingers to eat rice with curry, provided by one Indian friend, and trying real, bitter Swiss dark chocolate that another friend brought back after his visit home to Switzerland for Christmas. My friends from the Quad visited my room last year, and were amazed at Hill's diversity. They confessed that the Quad was less diverse, filled mainly with students from the tri-state area. Finally, I offer up my praise to Hill's many facilities -- including the computer lab, library, music room, PIT (recreation center) and commissary -- and to the outstanding student staff responsible for their existence. These, and the free summer storage returning Hill residents get in Hill's basement, are just some of the reasons why I decided to come back as a member of the Hill UCB. I helped freshmen move into "Hill, Sweet Hill," pushing and pulling cartload after cartload of their belongings. It was tiring, but in the end, it was worth it all just to see the thankful gleam in their concerned parents' eyes and to hear their enthusiastic praises of Hill House hospitality. I thought to myself, "My sentiments exactly." Phoebe Choi College '99 A 'thoughtless' take on race To the Editor: Brad Boetig's guest column ("One nation, separate and unequal," DP, 10/7/96) was an inconsistent and thoughtless attempt to determine the reasons behind the "sad state of affairs" within the African American community. Boetig says equal opportunity does not exist in America. But he goes on to state that African American men make up a large percentage of the American prison population because they do not pursue educational or occupational opportunities available -- which he already admitted do not exist. If African Americans are not granted the same educational opportunities as their white counterparts and are subjected to crude, dilapidated and overcrowded schools, how are they to even fathom the idea graduating as president of any Yale University class? Boetig has no right to use his meager 10 weeks' experience in a housing project as a foundation to denounce African American mothers and fathers as unfit parents. After work, Boetig went back to his home, in his neighborhood, without knowing what it is like to live in that type of situation for generations. If racism is not the undercurrent of the lack of equal opportunity in this country, Boetig wouldn't have seen such a large number of black people living in that housing project. African Americans are not "whining about the white man's racism." We are recognizing its existence, something Boetig should have thought about before he put pen to paper. Yaminah McKessey College '00 Remarks anger students To the Editor: We would like to respond to some points in your article "Prof slams Israel on human rights" (DP, 9/30/96), and to make a few corrections and elaborations for your readers. One of Middle Eastern History Professor Bashara Doumani's techniques, used to disarm listeners, is making the issue of Palestinian rights a racial one. Doumani seeks to manipulate the American public, sensitized to racism, into misplacing their trust and sympathy. The article begins with Doumani's insinuation that anti-Arab racism is the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, when he says every Palestinian in Israel must carry an identification card citing his religion and race. Only Palestinans without Israeli citizenship must carry such cards; a bulk of Palestinians do have Israeli citizenship. In the last Israeli elections, Arabs played a pivotal role, almost winning the election for Shimon Peres. These people enjoy full rights as Israeli citizens, and carry regular Israeli papers. Religion -- which is on everyone's papers -- is important in matters such as burial, if the government must take care of it, or government functions, such as performance of marriage or divorce, which is under the auspices of the Orthodox Jewish rabbinate. Its members need to know if someone is Jewish to know what rites to perform for him or her. Doumani's statement that because "die-hard activists don't see a way out," it is now up to average citizens to take a stand, even in armed conflict, is nothing less than insane. He is trying to justify Palestinian police using guns given to them by Israel, not to fight Hamas, but rather to overwhelm and kill Israeli soldiers, who are supposed to be their "partners in peace." The lying, prevarication and historical revisionism on the part of seemingly credible academics like Doumani and Tarbieh is very much responsible for many of the West's distorted perceptions of Israel and its share of the blame in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Unfortunately, Israel does not have huge reserves of natural resources like oil to give it the credibility needed to withstand these sometimes blatant lies. It only has the status of being the only democracy anywhere in the region -- which is why people like Doumani and Tarbieh have the freedom to pull press stunts like these. Dave Crystal President, Yamin Nachon College '99 More on campus safety To the Editor: How many more students have to become victims before the University takes drastic security measures? Blue-light phones and 10 more police officers just are not enough. On October 5, we were walking from the High Rises to a sorority house on 40th and Walnut, when we were attacked by several boys who chased us down the street and pelted us with glass bottles. Where were the police? According to a Penn Police officer, the department is already overextended and severely understaffed. Police are working without a contract. Is it any wonder their morale is nonexistent? As an urban university we need a strong police force. This necessitates hiring more officers and giving them contracts. It appears the University is willing to spend money on needless projects, but is ridiculously frugal when it comes to campus security. Who needs a Perelman Quadrangle when we are too afraid to walk there? It's time for the University to make campus safety a priority. Jennifer Chachkes College '99 Felicia Platt Wharton '99 n To the Editor: Just wanted to inform you of yet another armed robbery, of three students at the corner of 46th and Pine streets. I defied the recent trend of graduate student migration into Center City by moving back to West Philly this fall? big mistake. Hopefully, an increased police presence in West Philadelphia will prevent this community from becoming entirely uninhabitable. Olivia Johnson Medicine '99 The opposite message To the Editor: Your editorial "With all deliberate speed" (DP, 10/2/96) praised the speedy action Penn administrators are taking to address safety and security issues. It's a pity that the headline communicates the opposite message. As anyone familiar with the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision should know, the phrase "?with all deliberate speed" does not mean "Do it right away," but rather "Take as much time as you need." The justices used the term to indicate that they would not insist on immediate action to desegregate the schools, but trust local officials to find the most expedient way to do so. Certainly this is not what you and other concerned students are asking now about safety, nor is it what you are commending the University for in your editorial. Sandy Smith News Officer Penn News and Public Affairs
(09/11/96 9:00am)
From Tom Nessinger's, "Inseparable My Nose and Thumb", Fall '96 From Tom Nessinger's, "Inseparable My Nose and Thumb", Fall '96Driving cross-country, youFrom Tom Nessinger's, "Inseparable My Nose and Thumb", Fall '96Driving cross-country, youlearn a lot about the folksFrom Tom Nessinger's, "Inseparable My Nose and Thumb", Fall '96Driving cross-country, youlearn a lot about the folkswho liv in this country'sFrom Tom Nessinger's, "Inseparable My Nose and Thumb", Fall '96Driving cross-country, youlearn a lot about the folkswho liv in this country'smissection - and aboutFrom Tom Nessinger's, "Inseparable My Nose and Thumb", Fall '96Driving cross-country, youlearn a lot about the folkswho liv in this country'smissection - and abouttheir very different culture. From Tom Nessinger's, "Inseparable My Nose and Thumb", Fall '96Driving cross-country, youlearn a lot about the folkswho liv in this country'smissection - and abouttheir very different culture. They call it "flyover country," those bicoastal types for whom the United States falls into three categories: "New York," "Los Angeles," and "other." For those who grew up in, or have driven through, "other" (or as in my case, both), it's quite a different thing. Then there's Big Belt Buckle Country. When you cross the Platte River in Nebraska, all of a sudden you notice everybody wearing belt buckles the approximate size and shape of serving platters, and they seem always on the verge of falling flat on their faces from the sheer weight of these things. But l digress. When you drive across the country -- as l did twice this summer -- you see how "flyover country" is far from a homogeneous mass. You only see this, though, when you actually get out of your car and mingle with the citizenry. During the daytime, though, when you're in the car with no company -- that's when the country, from sea to shining sea, from Philly all the way to Shaky Town (also known as Los Angeles), seems all the same. For it's then that you encounter the Myth of the Liberal Media. Up to that point, I hadn't actually listened to much talk radio, since I either worked or went to school during the day, so my only exposure to G. Gordon Liddy was the reams of articles about him that I coded. Which meant that I thought he was a raving lunatic, since all the reporters ever wrote about were his post-Oklahoma City rantings about ATF agents (the exact quote, Super-Glued forever to my cerebellum, was "Head shots! Head shots! Kill the sons of bitches!"). Naturally, this would keep any sane human from listening to such dreck. But there comes a point every day when you're driving, when the "Song of the Open Road" starts to sound like "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall," when you've listened to your Best of Earth, Wind, and Fire cassette for the zillionth time, that you just have to turn on the radio. Plus, I have to admit to some curiosity about these talk radio guys. So I'd flip on the AM dial, hit the "scan" button, and see what I could hear. I'll tell you what I could hear. Rush Limbaugh. Lots of him. Anywhere. Everywhere. Sure, every once in awhile I'd catch a little Michael Reagan, some Liddy, maybe a local talk show, but if there was reception, there was Rush. The reason I bring this up is because most of these guys, Limbaugh and Liddy especially, drone on and on and on about the "liberal media" and how it's taking over the country. I can't figure it. You've got to work real hard to find seriously liberal radio in this country, whereas most places you could pick up Limbaugh on the fillings in your teeth. (Remember, Rush is the guy Newt Gingrich said "is public radio," an analogy which would be accurate only if National Public Radio had pledge drives every 10 minutes and gave away Daniel Schorr newsletters and "Bob Edwards Collection" neckties as premiums.) How hard is it to find "liberal" radio? Well, every afternoon I'd try to tune in NPR's All Things Considered, as good an example of "liberal media" as I know of. Good luck. You'd have to be Hillary Rodham Marconi herself to lock onto an NPR signal anywhere other than on the East Coast. The only real luck I had in finding it was driving through Ohio, and even then I had to daisy-chain through three different college stations -- Youngstown State to Kent State to Cleveland State -- passing the NPR baton like some kind of insane frequency-modulated relay race. This is part of the problem. NPR is generally broadcast by college-owned FM stations, which are usually down at the far left(!) end of your radio dial. FM is not generally conducive to long-range transmission, and colleges don't buy large transmitters anyway, so your average college FM outfit has about the same range as the Escort Service "A" shuttle. Limbaugh, on the other hand, is usually carried on AM stations, which carry further by virtue of the laws of physics. For instance, he's on WLS in Chicago, a 50,000-watt clear-channel behemoth with a signal so powerful that my cousin once picked it up aboard the U.S.S. Independence while sailing in the Adriatic. Which means that not only are we Americans subjected to old Leatherlungs, but even the Bosnians and the Serbs can pull him in. And we wonder why they're always so cranky. Admittedly, radio is not the whole of "the media," but considering the number of Walkmen, stereos and car radios out there you've got to admit that there are a hell of a lot of receivers for what has largely become an ultraconservative medium. If you consider the media to be a battlefield, we may as well concede that the Rushes and G-Men and other right-wingers have pretty much annexed that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum as lebensraum. Sure, we could fight them, but it could take years and cost millions of lives. At the risk of calling for "peace in our time," I figure that, just this once, maybe we can negotiate some sort of treaty -- they can keep AM and all the FM frequencies above 90 megahertz, if they'll agree never, ever to complain about "liberal media" again. Call Warren Christopher and let's get started on this now.
(08/30/96 9:00am)
The U. has producedThe U. has producedNobel prize winners.The U. has producedNobel prize winners.movie styars andThe U. has producedNobel prize winners.movie styars andfamous politicans. · The two-liter plastic soda bottle was designed by Nathaniel Wyeth, Class of 1963. · School of Engineering and Applied Sciences grads have helped develop items like the radio camera, the infrared remote control for television, the liquid crystal display used in clocks and watches -- and the lunar land rover. · Murphy Brown star Candice Bergen was Penn's homecoming queen in 1964. · College Hall is rumored to have been the inspiration for the mansion in The Addams Family, created by University alumnus Charles Addams. · After being fatally wounded by assassins, Presidents Abraham Lincoln and James Garfield were treated by doctors who graduated from the University. And although Penn sports teams have clearly dominated the Ivies in the past few years, consider these previous accomplishments: · Penn played in the first commercially televised football game. · The Penn Relays are the world's largest track meet. · The Palestra has hosted more basketball games, more visiting teams and more NCAA tournament games than any other athletic facility in the country. · Franklin Field is the oldest two-tiered college stadium still in use today, and is also home to the country's first stadium scoreboard · The first African-American to win an Olympic gold medal was John Taylor, a Penn grad. · Penn's football team was the first to use numbers on its jerseys. · The two most prestigious collegiate athletic awards -- the Heisman and Outland trophies -- are named after former University athletes John Heisman and John Outland. · Penn alum Charles Diven, Class of 1936, is credited with inventing the basketball jump shot. Some Penn firsts: · First university in the nation · First U.S. medical school · First business school in the country · First computer -- ENIAC · First student union · First teaching hospital · First psychology clinic Some other famous Penn alumni: · Benjamin West, painter, 1775 · William Henry Harrison, U.S. President, 1791 · Ezra Pound, poet, 1903 · Sadie Mossell Alexander, Philadelphia attorney, 1918 · Raymond Alexander, Philadelphia attorney, 1920 · William Paley, former CBS owner, 1922 · Rabbi Israel Goldstein, founder of Brandeis University, 1914 · Maury Povich, talk show host, 1962 · I.F. Stone, journalist, 1927 · William Brennan, former U.S. Supreme Court justice, 1928 · Walter Annenberg, newspaper magnate and former U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, 1931 · Harold Prince, Broadway producer, 1948 · Alan Rachins, actor L.A. Law, 1964 · Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, 1949-1950 · Martin Cruz Smith, author of Gorky Park, 1964 · Saul Steinberg, financier, 1959 · Arlen Specter, U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, 1951 · Donald Trump, real estate mogul, 1968 · John Roberts, Woodstock Festival co-founder, producer, 1966 · Ken Olin, actor, Thirtysomething, 1976 · Lawrence Tisch, CEO, CBS network, 1943 · Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, 1965 Penn Nobel Prize Winners: · Otto Meyerhoff, medicine, 1923 · Robert Hofstadter, physics, 1961 · Ragnar Granit, medicine, 1967 · Halden Hartline, medicine, 1967 · Simon Kuznets, economics, 1971 · Christian Anfimsen, chemistry, 1972 · Gerald Edelman, medicine, 1972 · J. Robert Schrieffer, physics, 1972 · Baruch Blumberg, medicine, 1976 · Lawrence Klein, economics, 1980 · Michael Brown, medicine, 1985
(05/01/96 9:00am)
Class of 1997 celebrates achievingClass of 1997 celebrates achievingseniorhood with Hey Day festivities Even murky skies and raindrops were not able to dampen the Class of 1997's Hey Day festivities last Friday. The juniors ruled the day that would end in their becoming seniors -- officially beginning the festivities at noon with a picnic on Hill Field. Eating, talking and dancing brought the class together for the first time since its Convocation in 1993. The class's most common activity -- other than chewing on styrofoam -- seemed to be chasing their wind-blown hats. Although many proclaimed the event a great success, some complained about the presence of Liquor Control and Enforcement Bureau agents. "The secret to a great Hey Day is wearing extra, extra-large shirts," College junior Mike Fieldstone said, as he hid a water bottle filled with an unidentified substance. The event's organizer, College junior Jason Brenner said he was extremely pleased with the day's success. "Hey Day sort of has a way of planning itself," said Brenner, a Daily Pennsylvanian columnist. "I've planned some activities and I wasn't sure if students would attend them. Hey Day doesn't have that problem." At 3 p.m., the mostly-inebriated crowd managed to arrange themselves into a line for the traditional march down Locust Walk. The boisterous crowd trampled across Locust Walk, making their way through Lower Quad and onto junior balcony as they swung their wooden canes in the air. After pausing a little while to rest, the mass moved back onto Locust Walk -- this time travelling to College Green. The class assembled on the Green and waited impatiently for University President Judith Rodin to make her appearance. "You had an absolutely incredible three years," Rodin said. "I know that next year is going to be the best year for both you and Penn." After these words, Rodin proclaimed the Class of 1997 seniors. Next up at the podium was the Senior Class President Neil Sheth. After coaxing Rodin to take a bite out of his hat, Sheth announced that the class "has a great year coming up."
