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Wall Street wonders

(07/25/02 9:00am)

Stockholders and business students alike have been able to watch economics in action this summer. But the stock market these days those economics are more than a mere fluctuation -- the economy has bottomed out faster than Michael Keaton's career. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 23.1 percent and the Standard and Poor's Index has shaved off 30.5 percent since January. The changes are partly due to decreasing investor confidence in companies with fraudulently inflated corporate earnings. Hiring freezes have been put in place at many companies. The government is investigating greater numbers of new corporations and Wall Street investment firms with each passing day. One Wharton undergraduate recently described the business environment in his own Wall Street experience -- "I work in my finance internship for thirty hours at a time sometimes, curled up under my cubicle, missing out on a proper social life in New York, not to mention my daily allotment of vitamins and minerals... and now I could be going to jail for it."

https://www.thedp.com/article/2002/07/wall_street_wonders

2001 Year in Review

(12/12/01 10:00am)

This page may load slowly. Please be patient. Click here for the 2002 Year Ahead Section.   Life at Penn this year was not particularly different from any other year, with the usual trials and tribulations experienced by students and staff - until Sept. 11, when the lives of everyone at this University and across the nation changed forever. University officials responded immediately to the needs of the community following the terrorist attacks, canceling the day's classes, setting up a room full of phones equipped with free long distance so students could contact friends and family members and planning numerous counseling sessions and services for the distraught. Some professors even modified the content of their classes to address the issues surrounding the attacks. So far, 14 alumni have been identified as victims of the tragedy. Muslim student groups tried to combat racist sentiments following Sept. 11 by attempting to educate the Penn community about their religion's true attitude toward terrorism through various events, such as Islam Awareness Week. Penn has also responded to the war in Afghanistan in many different ways. Penn for Peace set up tents and banners on College Green, and students sent menorahs to Jewish American soldiers in celebration of Hanukkah. As tensions in the Middle East escalated with suicide bombings in Israel on Dec. 1 and 2, students showed their solidarity with Israel and their desire for peace through a rally on College Green. To start the year off, however, Political Science Professor John DiIulio left to take charge of the White House's Office of Faith-Based initiatives. Students hoped their demands for a 24-hour diner on campus would finally be met by El Diner. By the fall, DiIulio returned to Penn as promised, but El Diner shut its doors after only four months in operation. The space was taken over by the Philly Diner in October. In April, a graduate student alleged that he had been attacked in a racially-motivated assault by Campus Copy Center employees. The student, Gregory Seaton, filed a lawsuit against the store, but later dropped it. Penn lost School of Social Work Dean Ira Schwartz and General Counsel Peter Erichsen, but also hired deans for the School of Nursing and the School of Medicine. A new chief of staff, vice president for public safety and chief of police were also appointed. Dining Services caused an uproar by setting requirements on the number of meals freshmen were required to purchase and decided to close down Stouffer Dining Commons. The year 2001 also marked the 125th anniversary of women at Penn, drawing alumni back in droves to celebrate during Homecoming weekend. Between the reopening of Billybob and impending arrival of El Diner, students were welcomed by many changes when they returned to campus in January. UMOJA found a new home in the ARCH building, and the Social Planning and Events Committee coined the year's Spring Fling `The Sweetest Fling.' On the administrative side of Penn, a committee began deliberations over the future of the $1.9 billion University of Pennsylvania Health System, as rumors circulated that the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia might become a possible buyer or partner in negotiations. Additionally, Lori Doyle, the former Health System spokeswoman, was appointed as Penn's new director of communications, capping off a six-month search. The start of 2001 brought some departures from the Penn campus, as well. Political Science Professor John DiIulio announced that he would be taking a leave of absence to head up the White House Office of Faith-Based initiatives. Penn also suffered from the loss of English Professor Lynda Hart, who died after a battle with breast cancer at the age of 47. The realm of higher education felt the shock of the sudden murders of Dartmouth College professors Susanne and Half Zantop, who were found stabbed to death in their homes at the end of the month. Harvard University narrowed its search for a new president, while former U.S. vice president and presidential candidate Al Gore signed for a job teaching journalism at Columbia University. - Mary Clarke-Pearson February may be the shortest month of the year, but in 2001 it was jam-packed with openings and closings, beginnings and endings. Perhaps the biggest news came when the decision was made not to sell the financially struggling $1.9 billion University of Pennsylvania Health System. After months of speculation about the fate of the beleaguered system, Penn ultimately opted to spin off the Health System into a separate non-profit organization that would still be affiliated with the University. February proved to be a good month for West Philadelphia retailers, with the opening of El Diner and the reopening of Billybob. But the University suffered a setback in its relationship with the neighboring community, as the Penn-Assisted Public School chose to close its doors, at least for the time being. Provost Robert Barchi began his fireside chats with students, as John DiIulio officially announced his leave of absence from Penn to begin his term as head of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. University Trustee George Weiss donated $20 million to his alma mater to bolster financial aid and establish a campus technology hub. In the beginning of February, students and faculty alike had a pleasant surprise when an unexpected blizzard hit Philadelphia, bringing snowball fights, a picturesque Locust Walk and, for some, a mini-vacation when a few professors cancelled class. Elsewhere in the world, the University of California called for the end of the SATs as an entrance requirement, the alleged murderers of two Dartmouth professors were arrested and the Israelis elected Ariel Sharon as prime minister. At Penn, University involvement in the community was a controversial issue for West Philadelphia residents, and the opening of the much-anticipated Freshgrocer was delayed again. And while the search for a new nursing dean was in its early stages, the departure of Vice President and Chief of Staff Steven Schutt meant that another administrative search would have to begin. But some on this campus will remember February for giving them a taste of March Madness, as the woman's basketball team clinched its first-ever Ivy League championship. - Dina Ackermann  

https://www.thedp.com/article/2001/12/2001_year_in_review
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