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(09/29/93 9:00am)
Treatment at the new gene therapy clinic starts small, but makes big headlines On September 3, James Wilson made international headlines when he implanted a gene into a 32-year old woman with cystic fibrosis. Ten days later the New Jersey woman returned to her normal routine at work. And although the woman's treatment will not eliminate her lung disease, Wilson is confident that within his test tubes lies the cure to many lethal genetic diseases. In March, Wilson came to Philadelphia to head the University's newly formed Institute for Human Gene Therapy – the only center of its type in the nation. Wilson, 38, has been searching for an effective way to translate the laboratory genetics into medical cures since he earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 1984. At that time he studied Leschnyhan syndrome, a form of cerebral palsy that causes patients to mutilate themselves. The disease has been isolated to a single gene, which Wilson studied at the molecular level. But Wilson said knowing the structure is not sufficient. His center's aim is to discover how to implement that knowledge. Wilson brought 20 researchers and assistants from the University of Michigan to help in his study. "I was frustrated by the fact that the knowledge we gained had no effect on patients," Wilson said. "We could tell the parents of the patients that we knew what was wrong but they would ask how it [the knowledge] could help and we had no reply." The cystic fibrosis case demonstrates that the process between understanding genetics and treating patients is long and complicated. Cystic fibrosis is the nation's most common lethal inherited disease. Patients with this disease lack a gene that prevents the body's flow of salt and water that is responsible for preventing a dangerous accumulation of mucus in several organs, including the lungs. The experiment began in 1989 when University of Michigan researcher Frances Collins cloned the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis. Next, Wilson and his research team worked to reconstruct the normal gene and developed models to insert it into a human. After many trials Wilson discovered that the healthy gene could be carried into the body by a virus. The adenovirus, which commonly causes respiratory problems, was determined to be the best vehicle to transport the healthy gene. But at this point Wilson came to a stand still since, unlike other diseases, no good animal models have been developed for cystic fibrosis. Wilson ultimately decided to extract diseased human lung tissue and transplant it into a mouse. Wilson said he was lucky in that diseased lung tissue was readily available because the patients often need lung transplants. At this stage, the gene is inside a virus which is inserted into diseased lung tissue that will be transplanted into the laboratory animal. But while the procedure was successful in treating the mouse's artificial disease, researchers were skeptical as to whether or not this treatment would be safe on humans. In order to protect the patients, Wilson conducted tests on baboons to determine the safe dosage range. Once this had been determined, he solicited volunteers for the trial and selected 20 people who have been divided into two dosage groups. "I am in awe of her courage to participate and to be the first," Wilson said of the New Jersey woman. "[The experiment] is a paradigm in molecular medicine." She is the fourth person in the U.S. and the first in the Philadelphia area to receive this type of treatment. This first phase, however, is not specifically designed to cure the patients, Wilson said. Rather, it will supply the research team with vital data on human response to genetic therapy that will guide the actual study. The woman will not be cured because only a small portion of her lung was treated. "After completing the first stage of therapy on the New Jersey woman, I was delighted to see that there were no complications," he added. "I was more determined to move forward even more aggressively so that I could say to the woman when she comes back to the hospital that we have a cure." The patient received the gene through a bronchoscope which was led through her mouth, down her throat and into an isolated area of the left lung. The instrument served as a funnel to transport a saline solution which contained millions of adenovirus particles carrying copies of the engineered normal cystic fibrosis gene. Wilson warned that because doctors are very cautious in this type of research, they start with a single delivery of the gene in a low dosage and observe. Wilson said that once he is certain that the patient does not experience any adverse effects, he will increase the dosage slightly for the next group. Wilson hopes that the 20 patients will be sufficient to determine an effective dosage. Almost one month later, the woman – whose name has not been released – is now living at home and says she is feeling well. She has not yet experienced any adverse reactions to the treatment. "What drives us as doctors is seeing patients with lethal diseases and knowing that there is nothing we can do to directly cure them," he said. But, Wilson and his research team will have to wait and continue to monitor the tissue in her lung to see if the gene has transferred. They are unsure how long it will take. Wilson said that because of the experiment's success so far, he plans to continue to administer the gene through a virus. It will be applied to three general groups – children born without immune systems, children born with inherited gene defects of high cholesterol and patients with cancer. "There is no doubt in my mind that gene therapy will have a role in cystic fibrosis in the future," Wilson said. "The actual virus [for transport of the gene] we do not know yet." Wilson said that in the future, the gene therapy system will most likely be specialized for each disease. "But the timespan for a cure will be a matter of years, not decades in my opinion," Wilson said. Moreover, Wilson said, the overall cost of gene therapy will be cheaper in the long term. "Compare the cost of other drugs that must be taken daily, often three times a day, for a lifetime to the cost of the singular or few gene therapies."
(03/31/93 10:00am)
The 16 members of the Provost Search Committee met for the first time Monday and took up the charge made by President Sheldon Hackney to find a replacement for outgoing Provost Michael Aiken. Economics Department Chairperson Andrew Postlewaite, who is chairing the committee, said the group met with the president for more than an hour Monday, but has not had its first official committee meeting. Postlewaite said the search committee will consider candidates from both inside and outside the University. He said the president has not given the committee a deadline. Before the search starts, Postlewaite said, committee members will consult with University deans and others at "a large number of universities" about possible candidates. He said the vacant position will be advertised nationally in educational publications. The first job of the committee is to determine a time when all members of the committee can meet, Postlewaite said. He said the search process "has to be fairly long and drawn out" since the chief academic officer's position is so important to the University. "I'd be happy if we are able to finish something by mid-fall," he said, but added that is "probably optimistic." Postlewaite added that if a replacement for Aiken is not found by the beginning of next semester, it will be up to Hackney to choose an interim provost. Aiken will leave the University in June to become chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Aiken was named to the post on February 5, but Hackney did not finalize a search committee until late last week. Hackney initially said he hoped a new provost would be named by July 1. The 12 faculty members on the committee -- six of whom were appointed by the Faculty Senate and six of whom were chosen by Hackney -- include three College professors, two Wharton School professors, one Nursing School professor, one Engineering School professor, two Medical School professors, one Dental School professor and two Social Work School professors. Hackney named Postlewaite as committee chairperson. The Nominations and Elections Committee chose College sophomore Beth Hirschfelder and College senior Jonathan Goldstein as the undergraduate representatives. Goldstein is a past member of the Undergraduate Assembly. Representatives of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly are GAPSA Chairperson Allen Orsi and GAPSA Vice Chairperson for Policy Anne Cubilie.
(02/09/93 10:00am)
Mark Baker had been holding his breath for a long time. Last Friday, his dream came true, when he and four other University students were listed in USA Today as representatives of the "Best and the Brightest" college students in America. Baker, who was given an honorable mention award by the newspaper, said he was very excited about the recognition he received. "It's a big honor," the College senior said. "It's truly an incredible feeling." According to the newspaper, 20 students were selected to the All-USA Academic First, Second and Third teams and 73 students earned honorable mention out of a total field of 1,342 nominees. Judges chose winners for their blend of scholarship, initiative, leadership and creativity. Baker said he feels he was selected as an honorable mention for the original screenplay he wrote, which was entitled "A Dream Deferred." "More than the screenplay, it was the content of the screenplay that I felt would make me stand out from the rest of the crowd," Baker said. "It is about how our potential black leaders, like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, are killed before they have the chance to grow up into the great black leaders that they could be." Baker said he forwarded his screenplay to Spike Lee's production company, Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks, and is awaiting a response. Wharton senior Lisa Chen earned the University's highest honor, landing a spot on the Second Team. Chen, who was named last semester as one of Glamour magazine's top 10 college women, studied the effects of pollution on Hawaiian monk seals and tutored Philadelphia prisoners, while maintaining a 3.6 GPA. "While the USA Today [award] was nice recognition, the Glamour award was a little more special because they invited us to New York City and we were recognized through the press and the media," Chen said. She added that it was interesting for her to look at the students who made the first team and the opportunities they had. Among the members of the All-USA College Academic Team was a mother from Kansas who organized classroom activities for autistic students and a 50-year-old man from New York who was homeless for three years and tells stories of his homelessness. College Junior Mark Liberman and Wharton MBA student Ryan Limaye were on USA Today's third team. Limaye, who finished the University's Managment and Technology program in two and a half years, said it was not such a great honor to be recognized by the newspaper. "I'm very happy to be recognized at a national level for my achievements, but it doesn't mean a whole lot to me," Limaye said. "I'm more interested in doing well here and doing well in the job search." Limaye said he realized that he had been selected when he glanced through the newspaper on Friday in between summer job interviews and said he "didn't lose any sleep" over the honor. "It was the lowest thing on my list of priorities," he said. Liberman, who could not be reached for comment, developed a computer service course for the U.S. Foreign Service on the use of the telephone in French. He is also a "big brother" to newly arrived Russian emigres. Wharton and Engineering junior Ashish Rughwani also garnered an honorable mention in the competition. Rughwani spent a summer working at NASA in Washington building a satellite that will be launched later this year and started a international embassador lecture series at the University. He said the competition's message is what is important. "It gives you a little motivation," Rughwani said. "It's a way of telling college students that society values academic talent."
(12/01/92 10:00am)
The University used to warrant the label of "The Party School of the Ivies." But, thanks to Liquor Control Enforcement officers, times are changing. Students of all ages who used to frequent campus bars and crowd into hot, sweaty, fraternity parties are having to reassess what they do for fun . . . or at least look over their shoulders if they are going to drink underage. LCE officers warned this week they would continue to crack down on underage drinkers -- in bars, at fraternities or "anywhere where underage people are drinking." And students said yesterday they are concerned that the LCE's threats will permanently alter the state of social activities at the University. "Penn is like the perfect Ivy -- it has the perfect balance of a good education and a good time," said a College freshman who asked not to be identified. "The LCE is really threatening that." "I definitely don't think it's going to be the same socially as it has been in the past," said Interfraternity Council President Jeffrey Blount. "Obviously, with the threat of the LCE, [fraternities] can't afford to have as many open parties." While fraternity brothers and their close friends will still have a social outlet, the Wharton senior said, Greek social activities will not be as accessible to most non-Greek students. "Just because the fraternities aren't having large parties doesn't mean we're not having any social activities for our members," Blount added. But, "we have to be more concerned with our own safety now. Though we would love to have open parties every weekend, unfortunately the current situation does not allow us to do that." Engineering senior Michael Lee, a member of the non-IFC fraternity Alpha Phi Delta, said that while his fraternity will continue throwing parties, the possibility of an appearance by the LCE is always considered during the party's planning stages. "I think anyone who's not 21 worries about [the LCE] when they go into a bar . . . and every fraternity is going to worry about it if they serve drinks," Lee said. "I don't think we'll have fewer parties but [the LCE is] definitely something we think about everytime we throw one." LCE officers argue that they are just doing their job by raiding bars and parties in search of underage drinkers who may have slipped through the door and are sipping on an alcoholic beverage. But while many students acknowledge that underage drinking is against the law, they are perplexed as to why the state police have decided to crack down now since underage students have been drinking for years. "This is a college campus. It's going to happen," said College sophomore Kelly Jarvis. "They can stop people from going to bars but they can't stop people from drinking." "I don't think they should be cracking down so hard," said College junior Shane Sorg, who is 21. "It's college. Everybody wants to go out and drink. You need a few bars that are going to let [underage] people in." And some students said they think the state police should worry about other things besides underage drinking. "People are getting shot and stabbed two blocks away and they're worried about drunk people stumbling home," Jarvis said. "It would be different if they had to worry about people driving." "It's absolutely ridiculous that [the LCE has] nothing better to do than raid campus bars at a university where they know three-quarters of the people are under 21," said Wharton senior Jodi Lynne Bayrd, who added that one reason she chose to attend the University was its reputation as "the social Ivy." But whether or not the LCE achieves its goal of halting underage drinking -- and many students said they doubt underage drinking will ever stop -- they have succeeded in putting fear into the hearts of many University students. "I think it's definitely getting scary," said College junior Andrea Chen. "It would definitely make me think twice about going to a bar with a fake ID. [But] people aren't going to stop drinking because of it, they're just going to be more careful about where they go." "It definitely won't stop me from going out but I'll definitely have to think twice," the unidentified College freshman added. "I'll constantly have to look over my shoulder." Blount predicts that the LCE's latest crackdown is just the beginning of a "snowball picking up steam." "I hoped that it would not be like this while I was in school here," the IFC President said. "[But] give it four more years -- it's going to be that much more strict."
(11/11/92 10:00am)
To the Editor: After almost two-and-a-half years of applauding the DP's fight against stereotypes and other forms of bigotry, I was amazed to see the editorial page promote exactly these qualities in your editorial, "Shades of Animal House." After all of their efforts to eliminate stereotypes, the DP uses almost half of its page six to perpetuate a bygone stereotype of a wild fraternity member. Once again the DP chooses to portray the Greek organizations on this campus in a negative light through its yellow journalism and sketchy reporting. Precious little coverage was offered by the DP last year as a highly constructive lecture on the dangers of hazing was given on bid signing night. And of course there was no editorial on this subject the next day. The Daily Pennsylvanian simply did not see this as news because it did not offer the opportunities to attack greek organizations on this campus. Given all of the positives that fraternities and sororities contribute to life here at the University of Pennsylvania, I find it amazing that time and time again, the DP can only search for some negative point to bring up on its pages. I plead with the officers, writers, editorialists and staff of the DP -- please, do not condemn our organizations because they are different than yours. I think that once you begin to print the whole truth, not only will you find that the community respects you more, but also you will respect yourselves more. MICHAEL FIRSTENBERG Engineering '94
(11/10/92 10:00am)
Homeless people and panhandlers are a fact of life on the University's campus and at urban universities across the country. For some students, life in a city is a new reality, posing questions about how to deal with people who ask for spare change and the urban problems which accompany them. Some students continue walking when they are approached by one, others search for spare change, while still others begin chatting with people who ask them for money. Making a decision about whether or not to give money can be a complex one, with various groups and individuals speaking out on either side of this issue. One sign can be found on lampposts, doors and newspaper boxes around campus advising students not to give money. "STOP giving money to Panhandlers! Students, your naivete is destroying our neighborhoods," it reads. "Panhandlers do NOT want carfare, diapers, money for either food or housing," the sign continues. "Panhandlers want only one thing: Crack Cocaine." Peter Vaughan, acting dean of the School of Social Work, said the problem is not that easy to define. "Homelessness is a big issue," Vaughan said. "Many want to reduce it to people who need drugs and alcohol. This is a simplistic, mean-spirited approach by society. In the process, too often the victims get blamed as we blame the people on the street for their homelessness." Engineering freshman James Ingraham said he does not feel his spare change is used to support a drug addiction. "I don't always know what to do," Ingraham said. "I do know that one way or another, they do need to get food. If I can help, I'd like to. I'd hardly like to support a drug habit, but my spare change can't buy cocaine." Since his arrival on campus in September, Ingraham has befriended a man named Earl, who Ingraham says is homeless. "I like him and I trust him," he said. "I've never seen him drunk or on drugs and I've seen him at all hours unexpectedly. I try to help him out. I try to be nice to him." Marty Breme, manager of Trevor's Place, a Philadelphia homeless shelter, said students should not give panhandlers money. Instead, she encourages students to volunteer and donate to organizations that help the homeless. "Never give any money to people on the streets," Breme said. "They are really good at manipulating. Most on the streets aren't even homeless. They chose to panhandle and thus be on the streets." "There are lots of good organizations that are legitimately helping the homeless," he added. "Supporting them is the best way to help the homeless on the street." Paul O'Neill, the Eastern Pennsylvania Salvation Army spokesperson, said that organizations benefit two groups. "Number one, everybody gets a good, warm feeling that they're helping their fellow man," O'Neill said. "Number two, the homeless person, and child, in particular, gets a feeling that there are people that care. They remember that for a long time." O'Neill said that as the holidays approach, more and more volunteer projects start. Students can work kettles on street corners, volunteer at food banks and shelters, or get the name of a Philadelphia child from "an Angel Tree" and buy them a gift for the holidays. Vaughan still claims that, concerning the issue of to give or not to give, "there's no pat answer and I go in with lots of years of experience." Aside from the question of giving money, many other societal questions face students and the American public as the search for an end to homelessness continues. Robert Cardie, Newman Center assistant director, said he thinks the solution lies in "reaching out and reform." "We have to reach out to the homeless people where they're at right now," Cardie said. "And we also have to reform the structures of society that create homelessness." Beth Penders, Newman Center community outreach coordinator, said she agrees with Cardie. "A homeless person is a person," Penders, a College junior said. "Treat people with dignity and respect whatever your choice is. Don't just walk away." Raj George, chairperson of the Undergraduate Assembly community relations committee, said homeless people often have interesting stories to tell. "The most important thing is to sit and talk to the person as another human being," George, a College sophomore said. "Enjoy a conversation on a person-to-person level." O'Neill believes that in addition to treating the homeless with dignity, society must work on a long-term solution. "Help them out," he said. "Get them into drug rehab. Help them find permanent housing. Help them find work. Help to get them proud and dignified. It goes a long way . . . We're looking at the long term solutions." Former homeless people have both similar and differing ideas to solve the problem of homelessness. Rob Roberts said he was born in Abbington, Pa. in what he characterized as a "middle-class family." He says he has always worked, has never stolen anything and has never been in jail for "any reason whatsoever." "Through messing with drugs, I lost it all," he said in recounting how he became homeless. "With support, I have been able to get back up and I am no longer homeless. I am getting my life back together." In Roberts' opinion, people aren't looking at homelessness objectively. "What people need to do if they really want to help is not to look at one side of the story," Roberts, who visits campuses talking about his experiences, said. "Some people are homeless for reasons beyond their own control." "You are generalizing if you think everybody wants to be an addict," Roberts continued. "A lot of people out there really wish they had another way of dealing with it." Roberts emphasized looking at "the big picture." "If students at Penn came together to help these people out, they can get them off their campus," he said. "Take time to assist them by teaching them how to read. Give them a resource so that you empower them to create something of themselves." He compared this attitude to the adage, "If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. If you teach him how to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime." Roberts said he worries that "if people continue to think only about themselves, there will be an uproar [by the homeless] which makes Los Angeles look like a bonfire." Currently, Roberts is the editor of Shelter News and Views, a newsletter which goes to all the shelters in Philadelphia and said, "I can't see myself doing other work than I'm doing now." Pete Bradley, an area resident, was also homeless. Bradley said he moved out of his house when he was 15 years old. At 17, he was arrested for selling drugs and remained in jail for two and a half years. When he was released from jail his parents would not let him back in the house and he moved into a shelter in Upper Darby. "Living on the street is not a life to lead," he said. "When you hit the concrete, you know how it feels being cold." Unlike Roberts, Bradley said he believes that students can get involved in finding a solution to homelessness by joining grass-roots organizations, while volunteering or giving money. "There are not enough students in grass-roots organizations to change the issues on poverty," he said. "You can still volunteer, but play a more crucial role in grass-roots organizations . . . look at the long term. Help people get back on their feet permanently." Bradley now works at My Brother's House, a shelter in Philadelphia and is active in grass roots organizations throughout the area. Kathleen Sullivan, president of the Penn Volunteer Network, said solving the problem of homelessness is not as easy as simply deciding whether or not to give money to a homeless person. "We have to address the root concepts of homelessness -- the empowerment of the homeless to change the state of their lives," Sullivan said. "There's a myth in society that the homeless can't take jobs," Sullivan, a College senior, said. "The jobs just aren't there. We have to create them." PVN is sponsoring a Hunger and Homelessness Week, November 16 -- 20, the week prior to Thanksgiving. During the week speakers will talk about their experiences being homeless and myths and realities about homelessness. Among other activities, the movie "Takeover" will be shown and a sleep-out will be held on College Green. "These are all being held to call attention to the problem of homelessness," Sullivan said. According to O'Neill, there are between 13,000 and 17,000 homeless people in Philadelphia. Brumme said students need to do what is right. The important thing, he stressed, is to act. "We all need to use our gifts to solve these problems," he said. "It's a collective effort."
(11/06/92 10:00am)
Provost Michael Aiken, one of five finalists for the presidency of the University of Texas at Austin, will learn today whether he has a new job. The University of Texas Board of Regents plans to name the university's next president this afternoon in Dallas, according to James Duncan, the UT system's executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and head of the search committee. Duncan said yesterday that the Board of Regents will interview Aiken and another finalist this morning in Dallas before making its final decision sometime during the early afternoon. Aiken, who has been the University's provost since 1987 and is a former dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, declined to comment yesterday. If he is offered the UT post, Aiken could become the second top University administrator to step down in recent months. Former Executive Vice President Marna Whittington, the University's chief financial officer, resigned in September to work for a private investment management firm. Even if the board passes Aiken over, there may still be a University connection to the UT helm. One of the other finalists, UT Law School Dean Mark Yudof, received degrees from the University in 1965 and in 1968. Monty Jones, director of news and public information for the UT system, said yesterday that no date has been set for the new president to start, adding that it would depend on how soon that person "could or would leave." But he predicted that the new president would take office either in January or in June, to avoid leaving a current position in the middle of a semester. Earlier this semester, Aiken visited Austin for an interview with the search committee and has since returned for a two-day campus visit to meet with UT administrators, faculty and students, Duncan said. Today's interview, which Duncan said should last about an hour and a half, marks the first chance for the full board to meet with Aiken. The board met with the other three candidates yesterday and Wednesday. The original pool of six finalists, announced late last month, narrowed this week when Henry Yang, dean of the School of Engineering at Purdue University, withdrew his name from consideration, Duncan said. The other finalists include Robert Berdahl, vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Laurel Wilkening, provost at the University of Washington; and Luther Williams, assistant director for human resources at the National Science Foundation.
(10/27/92 10:00am)
and STEPHANIE DESMON Provost Michael Aiken is one of six finalists for the presidency of the University of Texas at Austin, officials said yesterday. James Duncan, executive vice chancellor for academic affairs for the University of Texas system and search committee chairperson, said Aiken appears on the school's short list for a number of reasons including his experience in both public and private education. "[Aiken is] an outstanding, experienced and competitive candidate," said Duncan, adding that the provost has a combination of "strong academic credentials" and a "good administrative base." Aiken visited Austin for an interview within the last few weeks and is expected to return for both a campus visit and an interview with the University of Texas Board of Regents, according to Duncan. Duncan added the Board of Regents plans to name a president in early November. Aiken, who has been the University's provost since 1987 and is a former School of Arts and Sciences dean, declined to comment yesterday. President Sheldon Hackney said he takes Texas' choice of Aiken as a "compliment" and said it validates an administrative philosophy he has always had. "I like to get the very best people I can in the key positions and when one does that, one is always vulnerable to other people discovering them and offering them the next job in their careers," Hackney said. Hackney added that Aiken would be qualified for the position. "[Aiken] understands universities," Hackney said. "He loves them, understands the faculty culture extremely well, respects the academic process and has very high standards." But he added that although he would be happy for Aiken should he become Texas' next president, "if he [Aiken] doesn't get chosen I'll also be delighted." The finalists, who were chosen from among 183 nominees and applicants, also include Robert Berdahl, vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Laurel Wilkening, provost at the University of Washington; Luther Williams, assistant director for human resources at the National Science Foundation; Henry Yang, dean of the School of Engineering at Purdue University; and Mark Yudof, dean of Texas' School of Law.
(05/21/92 9:00am)
While the University was teeming with the parents this weekend, in town to witness one of their proudest moments - their child's college graduation - Steven Pessagno's thoughts were elsewhere. Pessagno was not talking about all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the milestone he would achieve the next day. Nor was he talking about jobs, for that matter. He was talking about shame - the "Wall of Shame," to be exact, a 9-foot by 10-foot expanse of wall in his apartment, where the College student and his housemates plastered rejection letter after rejection letter from prospective employers. Pessagno's story is simple, and for many of this year's graduates, all too familiar: "I'm unemployed right now," he said. The proof was on the wall. Many seniors, reached just days from graduation, reported that they, too, were still looking for jobs. Several of them, especially those in the College, said that they had interviewed extensively and sent resumes all over, but had no job to show of it. With media reports of gloom and doom for seniors entering the job market - The New York Times called this year's market the worst in 20 years for new graduates - and the economy's snail-pace recovery, it might seem as if many University graduates might as wel give up now. But despite popular perception of the individual horror stories, times may not be so terribly tough for this years graduating class. A number of the new graduates, particularly those from Wharton, Engineering and Nursing schools, said they were already fully employed. Several said they even had the luxury of picking from several offers. Officials with the University's Career Planning and Placement Service conceded that the job market is tight. But they said early indications suggest that students in those schools are enjoying considerable success in their job searches. Beverly Hamilton-Chandler, the CPPS associate director who handles Wharton, said that despite a slower pace this year, a slightly higher than usual number of Wharton graduate reported hiring to CPPS. "Wharton students overall have fared quite well," she said. "Given the number of responses ehat we've already received they seem to be quite happy. They're really in quite good shape." Donna Kahn Patkin, who oversees the Engineering School for CPPS, said: "Given a tough year, we've been pleased to hear that students have been able to find appropriate employment and things don't sound any differnet to us in terms of the actual jobs - so far." Even for students from the College, such as Steve Pessagno, who feel qualified and confident in their abilities, but have found only frustration in the job search so far - the near future may be brighter than they realize. According to Peggy Churchack, the CPPS assistant director in charge of the College, many students from the College wait longer than students from the University's other schools. She said many employers who seek the type of student with a degree from the College often do not hire ahead of time or recruit on campus - factors which mean many graduate from the College are still in the job hunt when graduation rolls around. Churchack even agrees that some of the skepticism felt by this year's graduates - and the resulting increases in applications to graduate schools - may be partially the result of the bad press about the job market. "It seems at least worthy of conjecture that part of this change is in fact people thinking, 'This market is so lousy, I might as well go to grad school,'" she said, although the average College graduate may be no less successful than those from previous years. Despite the different success rates experienced by students from the different schools, CPPS officials said students at the University have done well overall. "I think Penn students are doing better than most college seniors today," CPPS director Patricia Rose said. "Because of the quality of our students, we find that they're very successful in applying for jobs and getting accepted at graduate and professional schools." But even quality students need to plot out a thoughtful job search strategy for optimal success, several experts in career planning agreed this week. Victor Lindquist, the director of Northwestern University's career planning department and the author of a study on the job market, said this year's graduates need to focus on medium-size and smaller companies. He said tha many of the larger Fortune 500 companies, such as IBM are looking to downsize because of the recession, and will likely have fewer openings for new college graduates. In his study, the Linquist-Endicott Report, Lindquist notes that more than half of the companies surveyed said they would recruit less on college campuses this year than in 1991. The problem, according to career planning experts, is how to find jobs with smaller companies, which are often less visible than those with large corporations. CPPS's Rose said that she was "hopeful that [CPPS] will continue to forge relationships with [small to medium] companies" to increase opportunities for University students. But she also noted that the University's "traditional clients," the large corporations, would remain a top priority despite the drop in on-campus recruiting. Some of them, most notably Proctor & Gamble, continued interviewing and hiring University students this year. Still, as Lindquist noted, the majority of jobs available are at medium-size companies, and most of those openings never make it to the newspaper's ads. Insted, he said, they are usually filled internally through promotions or personal connections. Lindquist said that he had heard about a woman who mentioned to her hairdresser one day that her husband was having trouble finding a job as a financial analyst. Later that day, when another customer said her husband was looking to hire such a person, the hairdresser put the two in touch. The husband received the job shortly afterwards, complete with a $150,000 salary. "You need to develop contacts with anyone and everyone because you never know where the hell a job is going to come from," Linquist said. Rose agreed that networking is important. "At a time when the job market is tighter, you certainly want ot use every resource you can and networking is probably the most important," Rose said. She added that in addition to personal contacts, using the CPPS networks offers advantages as well. Dan Richter, a College graduate who majored in psychology, said a strong recommendation from a professor helped get him a plum research position at the National Institute of Mental Health. "I did O.K., but its a whole lot of 'who you know' and not 'what you know,'" he said. Another factor which often plays a role in the job seeker's ultimate success is the individual's commitment to a particular career or field of graduate study. Rose said the focus of students in the Nursing, Engineering and Wharton schools helps them do well, as it does for students in the College majoring in certain areas, such as economics, with clear post-University professional pathways. Phillip Gardner, a research administrator fro the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University, said graduates looking for work should zero in on a "specific target" and be prepared to "do a lot of knocking on doors" before finding a position. That's a lesson that Steven Pessagno said he did not learn until recently. The most disappointing part, I think, is more that I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do until I got into this process," he said, adding that he is confident he will find a job after returning from a 30-day trip through Europe this summer. As for where to find the jobs, the universal advice seems to be: head west and south and - at least for now - avoid the New England market. For a large percentage of this year's graduates, all the job advice in the world is of no use at the moment, because they are headed to graduate school. Rose estimates that among the University's graduates this year, applications to graduate school were up by about 10 percent overall. Many of the applicants planned on attending graduate school regardless of the state of the job market. In fact, CPPS officials said most medical school applicants had been planning on that path for some time due to the extensive requirements for such necessary steps as taking the Medical College Admissions Test. But for students like Jennifer Gray - who came out of the Engineering School with a degree in materials science and engineering, only to have "the hardest time finding a job" - graduate school seemed like the best option. She said she hopes graduate school will both buy her some time while the economy improves, and make her more desirable candidate for employers once she completes her graduate studies. There is at least one person who has not yet taken such a cerebral approach to post-University life is Catherine Ramsingh. "I haven't even started looking for a job," she said casually. "I'm going to relax for the summer, then take my time and look. You can't stress about these things." Of course 2,000 other graduates might beg to differ.
(03/06/92 10:00am)
While some students are heading off to the Carribean or Ft. Lauderdale, others will be keeping the home fires burning back on campus Images of warm beaches, hot sun and late-night partying streak through the minds of most students as they make it through the last of their midterms and count the days until they can temporarily escape from the dreary East Coast winter. But while Cancun, the Bahamas and Jamaica may be the destination of some, Beige Block and the High Rises will be the locale of several students who will remain in Philadelphia this week. As many as one-third of the students at the University are estimated to be staying on campus over the break, according to Assistant Director for Residential Living Services Gordon Rickards. Catching up on schoolwork is a major incentive for overworked students to stay in Philadelphia over break. College senior Harry Sandick will be on campus working on the final touches on his senior honors thesis. Although he will submit his first draft today, he wants to take the time to refine his thesis, as it concludes the end of a three-semester sequence in the American History Honors Program. Sandick also will need the time over break to catch up with the regular coursework and extracurricular activities that he neglected as the deadline for his thesis approached. "It's the kind of thing where you get so immersed in one academic project that everything else gets pushed aside for the moment," he said. "You may have had plans for Spring Break but you turn them down . . . because you knew you'd have so much work to do." "People look at it as a break from work," Sandick added. "But I look at it as an opportunity to catch up and cover all the bases that I didn't have time to do over normal class time." Academics are not the only reason students are staying in West Philadelphia this week. Career plans, humanitarian endeavors and financial reasons are anchoring others to the home turf. College senior Paul Cyphers is staying to put in extra hours at his job at the Class of 1923 Ice Rink because he plans to travel to Europe or Japan when he graduates. He will also continue his search for a job in sports marketing over the break. Cyphers admits that he would rather not be in Philadelphia during his last spring at the University, but he thinks extra time on campus is beneficial for him. "I went to the United Kingdom last year, so it's kind of a bummer," he said. "I wish I could go away this year . . . but it'll be nice not having to worry about classes. It's a break between sets of midterms." Ben Matelson, a College senior, will divide his time between preparing for his upcoming professional career and relaxing with friends. "[I'll be] visiting some friends over the weekend in New York," he said. "I hope to spend some time visiting law schools I've been accepted to and the rest of the time just rest and recuperate. I'll be going home [to Trenton, New Jersey] for a few days at least. I'll mooch off the parents a little bit . . . get a little good food for a change." Matelson's feelings about staying here for his last Spring Break are mixed. He says he is excited to be finishing school but "kind of sad" that he will be beginning the last six weeks of his undergraduate career. Other students are combining time on campus with visits home or with trips to nearby tourist attractions. Engineering junior John Chen is going home to Metuchen, New Jersey for the first half of the week and returning to school as early as Wednesday to catch up on engineering projects that are due after break. And Nursing freshman Hili Katz said she is not going home to Los Angeles because it is too far to travel for such a short time. Instead she will take advantage of the chance to see the East Coast and will spend a few days in Washington, D.C. and return to campus on Tuesday to "work on the multitudes of papers and projects" that await her. Students are also reaching out to the Philadelphia community during this Spring Break as well. In the Alternate Spring Break program, 35 students have volunteered to build and refurbish abandoned houses for low-income housing for the international organization Habitat for Humanity. Some students will travel to West Virginia and Rio Grande, Texas, while others will remain in Philadelphia to participate in the second year the project has run at the University. College sophomore Anne Hyson explained that this program is not the typical Spring Break experience. "The emphasis of [Alternate Spring Break] is not to go somewhere, not to have a vacation," she said. "What it is is an opportunity for students to learn more about the community and about themselves through working on a community project." Of the three locations of Habitat for Humanity, the Philadelphia one is the most significant for many of the volunteers because it is where they live. Started with "nickel and dime" fundraising a year ago, the North Philadelphia Project and other divisions are currently SAC funded. The students contribute half of the trip's cost and raise money that the group gives as a whole to the community. For people like Hyson, the Alternate Spring Break Program is the preferred way to spend this week. Hyson asserted that volunteering is something that all 35 students clearly want to do. So while some University students are off enjoying the sand and the shore, others will be keeping the home fires burning. For those students, the University may seem quiet and empty compared to the usual buzz of campus life, but many say the time and opportunity will be valuable for all around.
(03/04/92 10:00am)
Claims age discrimination A former long-time director of the Wistar Institute filed suit against the institute in federal court last week, charging Wistar officials with age discrimination in their decision to oust him as director last April. Plaintiff Hilary Koprowski argues in the suit that the institute forced him to step down because of his age -- 74 at the time -- even though a peer review board gave him high performance ratings as recently as 1989. The suit also cites Wistar's 1986 retirement policy which provides that "any termination of employment will be on the basis of . . . [performance evaluations] . . . and not on the basis of the employee's age." The Wistar Institute is a leading biomedical research facility located on campus, but separate from the University. The institute works closely with the University through adjunct faculty and research projects. The University Trustees approve the Wistar board members. The 18-page complaint portrays Koprowski as a scientist who brought prestige and success to Wistar over the years, only to be dumped unceremoniously after what Koprowski claims was "a discriminatory course of conduct designed to force [his] removal from the directorship because of his age . . . ." Koprowski further alleges that Wistar officials have carried out a campaign of "harassment and retaliation" against him since September when he filed complaints with state and federal agencies to protest his removal. The suit claims that in response to Koprowski's complaints, Wistar officials have engineered his removal as primary investigator for a cancer research grant, removed him as director of Wistar's Cancer Center, which he headed for 20 years, and deprived him of staff and responsibilities. Koprowski, a microbiologist who directed the institute from 1957 until last April, is demanding that Wistar reinstate him as director and end the alleged unfair treatment. Thomas Sprague, Koprowski's attorney, declined to comment on the details of the case yesterday. None of the three defendants -- Wistar, Wistar President Robert Fox and current Wistar Director Giovanni Rovera -- could be reached for comment yesterday. The institute is being represented by a lawyer in an outside Philadelphia law firm, Pepper, Hamilton and Scheetz. The lawyer could not be reached for comment yesterday. But Sprague said the defendants have about one week to file a response. Koprowski claims in the suit that he first learned Wistar intended to replace him in November, 1990, when Fox, who is a University Trustee, told Koprowski that a search committee would be appointed to locate a successor. When Koprowski protested and demanded an explanation, the suit contends, Fox told him the decision had nothing to do with Koprowski's job performance, which a peer board had rated highly in a report issued the year before. One month after Koprowski's conversation with Fox, Ira Brind, Wistar's treasurer and a member of the institute's board of managers, told Koprowski that age had been "a factor" in the decision to appoint the search committee, the suit said. That same month, a Wistar executive committee called on the board of managers to begin a selection process for a new director that would likely last "two to three years" and involve "an intensive review" of Wistar. But Koprowski argues in the suit that Fox, "not being satisfied with the prospect of a lengthy process . . . , initiated a campaign to convince" the board of managers that Koprowski "ought to be immediately replaced" because of his age. Last April 5, the board appointed Rovera as the new director, leaving Koprowski with the "titular role" of "president."
(02/21/92 10:00am)
The Third Annual International Career Recruitment Day, held Tuesday in the International House's Yarnall Conference Center, was marked by a small turnout and the noted absence of Exxon International. Andrew Adair, coordinator of Resident and International Student Programs at International House, said that yesterday's ICRD drew approximately 400 students, 200 fewer than expected, and far below last year's mark of 700. Adair said that while he sent ICRD reminders to many universities, he is not sure whether they received the information or publicized the event. Nevertheless, International House Assistant to the Director of Marketing Ronald Kern said that the low turnout benefited the students in attendance. It resulted in shorter lines and allowed for lengthier discussions with recruiters. Adair said that Exxon International cancelled yesterday morning, but they apparently did not give an explanation for their last-minute withdrawal. International House held the first ICRD two years ago to give international students from the Delaware Valley the opportunity to talk with American recruiters from multi-national corporations about positions available in foreign offices. It soon expanded to accommodate international students from universities up and down the eastern seaboard. It is now one of the six largest recruiting events for international students in the nation. Approximately half of the students interviewing for jobs yesterday were from the University, Adair said. Most of them were interested in positions dealing with engineering and business. Adair said that most companies prefer to hire students with foreign backgrounds who were raised in the United States because it enables them to cut costs and to succeed in foreign markets. He said that students who return to work in their native countries succeed not only because they are familiar with the local culture, but also because they understand American business practices. Adair added that there were also many Americans at ICRD, most of whom attended because they wanted the opportunity to live and work in another culture. Lidia Amodei, a senior international business major at Temple University, attended ICRD to interview with the recruiters from Exxon and Kepner-Tregoe, Inc. A dual citizen of Italy and the United States, Amodei is fluent in Italian and French. She said that her goal is to find work in one of the countries the European Economic Community or in the United States with the World Bank. She said that ICRD and International House were instrumental in this search. "Personally, I went to a lot of job fairs and to on-campus recruiting, but there weren't any international jobs open to someone with my background," she said. Kern said that many University students are still not aware of International House and its programs, including ICRD. "International House is a resource for Penn that students don't know much about," Kern said.
(01/24/92 10:00am)
Michael Sirolly would like you to believe that he's as bland as melba toast. Apparently, he told everyone who knows him to say only positive, moderately funny things about him. Take Sirolly's roommate, Engineering sophomore Galib Kachra, for example. After straining for a moment to describe Sirolly, Kachra finally said, "He eats a lot of cereal," adding, "He's hardly ever here. He's always over there [at the DP offices] or with Penn Singers." "He's a sloppy guy," Kachra continued. "He does a lot of singing in his room, but its not a problem because he's hardly ever here. No, I don't think there's any skeletons in his closet." Kachra wasn't the only one to find difficulty probing the enigma that is Mike Sirolly. College senior Apollo Ip, who had the good fortune of rooming with Sirolly last year, described the new editorial page editor as a "very strangely reticent boy" with a passion for singing Broadway show tunes while scantily clad. "He sings in the shower," Ip said. "Which is okay, 'cause I actually dig it." When pressed for more hard, cold information about Mike's sex life and financial dealings, Ip's only response was, "He has a very feeble cough in the morning and before he goes to bed. He appears and disappears and goes on with his life." Surely, there must be something dark and mysterious in Sirolly's past. Something really sick that David Lynch might appreciate. Perhaps he enjoyed blowing the heads off stuffed animals with M-80s? Maybe he traded pork futures using inside information? After all, the guy's in Wharton. The search for the real dirt on Sirolly took this intrepid reporter out into the heartland of Pennsylvania to that place where they grow the chocolate cows -- Hershey, Pa. It is there, just down-wind from Three Mile Island, where Sirolly spent most of his childhood under the watchful eyes of his parents, Charles and Sandra Sirolly. At first it seemed that Sandra Sirolly had been brainwashed like all the rest. She made it sound so idyllic -- like Mike was the very model of a fine, upstanding, all-American boy. As she tells it, Mike's always been a good kid. When he was just three, he had already learned to make Japanese garden mazes in the back yard. In Middle School, he bought a computer and learned enough programming skills to be paid $150 by a computer magazine for one of the games he designed. (A source at the Defense Department denied that Sirolly has contributed his programming skills to the nation's Strategic Defense Initiative, saying only, "We couldn't have kicked Iraq's ass without him.") At Hershey High, Sirolly had parts in all the school productions. He even joined the marching band, eventually "growing into the trombone" he played, according to his mother. On the side, Mike played intramural soccer. But then Mrs. Sirolly finally let some dirt slip out. It seems Mike used to eavesdrop on his relatives. Aaah Hah! Now we can see why he joined the DP. "As children, he and his younger brother and cousin, when the family would get together, they'd always publish a newspaper," Sandra Sirolly said. "They called it, The Noodle News. They'd interview whoever was visiting. They'd report on what was going on." "They used to try to eavesdrop on conversations," Mrs. Sirolly admitted. "Or at least that's what my sister says." There's no way around it, Mike Sirolly is a nebby gossip. And, as fortune would have it, he's become an editor at the Mecca and Medina for all nebby gossips everywhere -- The Daily Pennsylvanian. College Hall administrators, beware. Sirolly might be listening.
(01/17/92 10:00am)
The 308 beer cans were neatly stacked into a pyramid. "We don't even live here," they said. "We live next door." But they looked right at home in the piles of papers and dirty clothes. Ever since they met at the beginning of the year, these two freshmen and their neighbors have spent so much time together, they might as well live in one giant room. Many freshmen form fast friendships at the start of the school year, but not all of these bonds last until second semester, and fewer still last beyond freshmen year. Friends and family often warn students that the first people they meet at school are not necessarily the friends they will keep throughout their college careers. "[Before college] I'd been told that my first semester friends aren't my second semester friends," College freshman Michelle Vaserstein said. "I hung out with people on my floor in the beginning[of the year], but now most of my friends are on the floor above me." Sociology Graduate Group Chairperson Jerry Jacobs said the reasons students make fast friends and then drift apart are part of a long-standing debate on how much college affects students in the long run. Some students maintain a strict set of ideals and values during college, so they look for -- and keep -- friends who share their views. For others, college is a shaping experience, a time to experience new things and search for new identities. These students are more likely to go through many groups of friends before discovering friendships that last. "National statistics show that at least half of all college students change majors before they graduate," Jacobs said, adding that this ambivalence also extends to students' choice of friends. Sociology professor Charles Boss said changing friendships is part of human nature. "I suspect that one reason it's true is that you meet more people as the year goes on," he said. "I also imagine the other people they hang out with less are friends they knew from high school. These friendships dissipate over time." Third floor Smith Resident Adviser Lisa Valentine said she believes freshman form close friendships quickly because they are lonely. Valentine also noticed that as the year progresses, first-year students may not need the security of freshman floor friends. "I see people come to me less and less," she said. Some people who do not find a niche on their freshman floors find it elsewhere, on sports teams or in fraternities. According to Jacobs, freshman floor friendships often occur automatically because students live in close proximity. Athletic teams and the Greek system also encourage bonding, but students must move beyond the security of their residences to find those activities. "There's a difference between making friends because they live on your floor and making friends because you have something in common," Jacobs said. · Different dormitories on campus have reputations for producing different kinds of friendships. The Class of '28 section of the Quad, like other unrenovated sections, is known for its outgoing social atmosphere. Fourth floor resident Citron said he and his hallmates do not feel they have to leave the dorm for entertainment. "Everyone leaves their door open. We have people in rooms until two in the morning," Citron said. "There's always more than five people in a room." The fourth floor has also attracted some "regulars," people who do not hang out on their own floors but instead have "moved in" with the Class of '28. College freshman Bryan Thornson was a "regular" who visited from Hill House until he decided to move in. He now lives on the fourth floor. "This is the best floor in the Quad," he said. But the floor's friendly atmosphere has also gotten the residents in trouble. On more than one occasion, the floor has been so loud that the resident adviser from down the hall had to come to see what was going on. The unrenovated Quad retains the same dark green paint and black linoleum floors it has had since the 1950s. And earlier this year, lacrosse players on the fourth floor broke several windows. Still, some of the residents said they preferred the run-down rooms and friendly environment of one of the last unrenovated sections of the Quad to the quieter, renovated sections. "We're in the grossest rooms in the Quad and we wouldn't move to the renovated rooms even though they're better," said Sauer. · But not all freshman floors are as cohesive as Class of '28, and students' experiences vary even when they live in the same environment. College freshman Jennifer Fields lives in Hill College House, and she said her suite remains good friends, but they do not hang out together as much as they did at the start of the school year. "I still hang out with my roommate a lot, but we made a lot of new friends," she said. But Engineering freshman Manoj Aggarawal said he does not spend a lot of time with his roommate, and although he did not get to know his suite at the beginning of the year, he now has more friends in the suite and participates in many suite activities. · Some freshman friendships never break apart. College senior Brent Allen and his five housemates have known each other since freshman year, when they all lived together year on the fifth floor of English House. "In English House, everyone knew their floor pretty well," Allen said. According to Allen and his housemates, the English House environment fostered friendships. Its location far from other dormitories, encouraged students to form a tight community. The small size of the dorm also helped the residents to get to know each other quickly. "We were just too lazy to go meet anyone," Allen said jokingly. After their first year, most of the fifth floor chose to live in the high rises. Although some of the students roomed together, everyone currently living in the Sansom Street house lived in High Rise South. The next year, College senior Geoffrey Hirsch and few other students from the fifth floor were looking for an off-campus house. When they needed some extra people to fill the house, they remembered their freshman floor friends. Although they described their living accomodations as a "pit," they enjoyed living together enough to remain together another year. How did they manage to stay friends since freshman year? College senior Tom Aylward said he had an idea of why they have remained friends. "We're a great bunch of guys," he said.
(01/14/92 10:00am)
ARCO Chemical Company announced last month that it will award $250,000 to University researchers as part of a program to support science programs for underrepresented minorities. Michael Brennan, director of corporation and funding relations at the University, said ARCO will give the University the money over a five year period. The money is to be distributed to the seven different schools within the University. Most recently, ARCO presented $50,000 to the Wharton School to support an MBA program for minority and international student fellowships. ARCO officials said last month that the corporation will award 17 major research universities an annual grant of $450,000. This grant is to be distributed to the universities in individual installments ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. Overall, this money is to support either chemical engineering and science programs, or help establish funding to support under-represented minorities in science and math disciplines. "ARCO has a long tradition of giving to education both at the secondary and college levels," said Gerald Davis, director of public affairs at ARCO. "If you took a cross section of minority students going into science, you'd find there are fewer than would be expected. The idea is to promote cultural diversity." Stephen Cohen, manager of ARCO contributions, explained that the size of the individual grants is determined by the relation that ARCO has to each university. With one of ARCO's central research sites located in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, the University stands to benefit greatly by the generosity of ARCO Chemical. "ARCO has traditionally been generous [to the University] in support," Brennan said. "It recognizes the University's mission in higher education."
(01/13/92 10:00am)
Al Bagnoli, formerly the head football coach at Union College, was named Penn football coach on January 2, replacing Gary Steele who resigned after posting a 9-21 record during his three seasons as head coach. With Athletic Director Paul Rubincam's announcement, the 38-year old Bagnoli becomes the 21st head coach in the 115-year history of Penn football and the Quaker athletic program's ninth new head coach hired in the last three years. Rubincam, who met his six week deadline to hire a new coach, would not reveal the terms of Bagnoli's contract, but he did say it was a multi-year deal. "Al Bagnoli was our first choice," Rubincam said. "We were looking for a coach that had a winning experience and came from a program that was a winning program. If you look at Al's credentials you can certainly see how that made him the right guy." "I think Union College and the University of Pennsylvania have so much in common. Union College is a very academic institution and it's also need-based recruiting," Rubincam said. "So Al is used to rolling up his sleeves, working with kids and convincing them education comes first and athletics second." The search committee, headed by the chairman of the Material Science and Engineering Department Charles McMahon -- who chaired the search committee which chose Steele -- considered four finalists outside the Penn program in addition to Bagnoli. Bagnoli was offered the position on New Year's Eve. "He came off as being a confident coach," said senior flanker Damon Young, who was on the search committee. "I was looking for someone who relates to the players . . . Immediately after talking with Al, I got the feeling that he is a players coach." During Bagnoli's ten-year tenure at Division III Union, he compiled a 86-19 record, including no losing seasons, four undefeated regular seasons and six trips to the Division III Tournament. In those six trips, the Dutchmen reached the finals twice and the semifinals once. Bagnoli's .819 winning percentage is the fifth highest among all active collegiate coaches. "It's nice to be here," said Bagnoli, a three-time Kodak/AFCA East Region Coach of the Year, "It's really a dream come true to work at a great academic institution." "There is a deep sense of tradition here," Bagnoli said. "Rest assured that my staff and I will be committed to bringing that excellence back and getting a little more excitement back into the football program. [We will certainly look to] bring the program back to the heights it was in the mid-to-late 80s." The first order of business for Bagnoli is to assemble his staff of assistant coaches. Bagnoli plans to sit down with the current Penn assistants with the hope of keeping at least one person to make the transition smoother. One connection is Quaker linebacker coach Ray Priore, who was placed in charge of recruiting after Steele stepped down. Ray Priore is the brother of Union offensive line coach Chuck Priore. Bagnoli inherits a program which has fallen on hard times. The Quakers have not had a winning season since the 1988 season when they went 9-1 to win their sixth Ivy Championship in seven years. In the past three years, Penn has progressively gotten worse, posting 4-6, 3-7 and 2-8 records. Last season's 2-8 overall record, 2-5 in the Ivy League, gave the Quakers a sixth place finish in the Ivies. It was Penn's worst performance since the 1-9 mark during current Temple coach Jerry Berndt's inaugural campaign at Penn in 1981. Berndt, who built the Quakers' decade of dominance, was also a Division III coach at DePauw University before coming to Penn. Bagnoli is used to rebuilding a program quickly. In his first season at the Union helm, Bagnoli produced a 8-1 record -- the Dutchmen's first winning season since 1970. The following season, Union was in the NCAA Division III title game. "Things really worked out well for me [at Union]," Bagnoli said. "We got a couple of early breaks, a very productive first year and the kids and myself just received a tremendous amount of confidence." Depending on the year, Bagnoli's Union teams were known for either their offensive prowess or their defensive stinginess. Last season Union led the nation in scoring with 46.1 points per game. In 1985, the Dutchmen led the nation in rushing defense (46 yards per game) and led in scoring defense in 1984 (4.6 ppg). "Offensively, we believe in a wide open attack," Bagnoli said. "If you look at the history of our program we have always been able to throw the ball well, we have always been able to run the ball well. If we do that, we'll prove to be unpredictable and we'll prove to be exciting." "Defensively, we're always going to be an attacking type of defense," Bagnoli continued. "We can sit back and play zone. I like the mixture and the ability to play man-to-man and the ability to pressure people with multiple fronts and coverages. We will look to use the kicking game as a weapon and win some games with the kicking game." Bagnoli does not feel the transition from Division III to Division I-AA and Ivy League regulations will be that difficult. Division III schools do not give out athletic scholarships to their athletes. At Union, Bagnoli was commended for the excellent balance he struck between athletics and the high academic standards Union sets. "I don't think the actual game is going to be different," said Bagnoli, who has turned down head coaching offers at other Ivy and Patriot league schools in the past. "The major difference is going to be in recruiting. There is more of a national scope here." Two luxuries Bagnoli will have that his predecessors have not enjoyed for many decades will be spring football practice and freshman eligibility. Bagnoli will use this spring period to evaluate the players and get a head start in installing his system. With his first true recruiting class next season, Bagnoli will have the option of recruiting players to immediately step in and play. As for this year's recruiting class, Bagnoli admits Penn probably is somewhat behind in the recruiting game, and subsequently will bring in fewer recruits than in previous years. "We'll be more involved to try and get quality as opposed to quantity," Bagnoli said. "I don't think [the five weeks of lost time] will be disastrous. At the same time I think it would be naive to think that you could miss five weeks and still get the same productivity." The 5-9 Bagnoli, a 1974 graduate of Central Connecticut State College, was a three-year letter winner at defensive back for the Division II Blue Devils. Bagnoli began his coaching career in 1975 as the defensive coordinator at Albany State. In 1977, he moved to the same position at Union before ascending to the head coaching position in 1982.
(12/09/91 10:00am)
The Mask and Wig Club copied the same nude photograph that launched a sexual harassment investigation against the Acacia fraternity in the program for its annual parody afternoon last March. The photograph was displayed as a classified personal advertisement, according to Engineering senior Craig Martin, who said he saw the program after the parody afternoon from a friend. "It said something like a single, Jewish female in search of mate -- short, dumpy, Jewish, male -- interest in porn films is a must," Martin said this weekend. Martin said he was the roommate of the complainant's boyfriend and added that he never kept a copy of the program and only saw someone else's. Mask and Wig Chairperson Alfred Bingham and Acacia President Brian Baxt did not return several telephone messages left at their houses yesterday. College junior Judy Schlossberg, who filed the complaint and has publicly discussed the Acacia case, said last night that she did not publicize Mask and Wig's involvement since they were not investigated, charged or sanctioned by the Judicial Inquiry Office. "The Judicial Inquiry Office was made fully aware on April 26 of everyone's involvement," Schlossberg said. "I told her of Acacia and Mask and Wig to the fullest extent that I knew." Schlossberg added that a major factor in the JIO's decision on collective responsibility hinged on the group's behavior following the incident. "While Acacia was voting to ban me, Mask and Wig had everybody calling me," Schlossberg also said. "[Mask and Wig] did not want to keep me from the JIO. Supporting me was their first concern. The second concern was the club's well being." Schlossberg said she and her boyfriend first found out that the photograph had been stolen when the program was distributed and that prior to that she had just heard rumors. "I did not think [Mask and Wig's actions] were in anyway appropriate. They were most certainly damaging. The only mitigating thing was their actions folowing the incident," Schlossberg said. Acacia has been found collectively responsible for a complex incident regarding the photograph, which was highlighted in a pledge skit. Four Acacia brothers, including the then-president and rush officer, were individually charged in connection with the incident.
(11/22/91 10:00am)
Years ago, coed living was virtually unknown. Then it became hip. Today it's so commonplace that it barely gets noticed. Off-campus, there exist everything from single-sex houses to houses of roughly half men and half women. And in a few cases, there are houses with one man and a large group of women, or the other way around. On campus, coed floors became the rule years ago, but Residential Living doesn't allow coed rooms or suites. Perhaps coed on-campus rooms will be the wave of the future. A few already even exist semi-officially. · College sophomore Duncan McBean shares an off-campus apartment with eight senior women. The eight women came up with the idea of inviting McBean to live with them when their intended ninth house-mate bailed out. The eight seniors needed a ninth housemate, and McBean, who was in search of a place to live, fit the bill. But McBean's room is the only one on the first floor of the 41st Street house, and he has his own bathroom as well. His house-mates live in the upstairs of the apartment. The College sophomore hardly gives a second thought to the fact that he is a male -- a sophomore male -- living with eight female seniors. None of the students' parents objected to the gender imbalance -- in fact, the women said that most of their parents thought that having a man living with their daughters would serve as protection from the hostile environment of crime-ridden West Philadelphia. "My mom is totally overprotective, and for her my living with Duncan is the greatest thing," said housemate Alix Jaffe. The housemates say their friends are often surprised when told about the gender makeup of the house. McBean says his friends ask, "How did you pull that off?" "People can't believe there are eight of us and one of him," Jaffe added. The housemates all say they get along quite well. "Having a guy around makes the whole atmosphere a lot more casual," said College senior Jennifer Causing. "I have younger brothers and I can relate to him like that," said College senior Sarah Tucker. But even in this female-dominated 41st Street house, some of the more traditional sex roles do apply in dividing the household chores. "I take out the garbage and they wash my dishes," said McBean. When the apartment was robbed earlier this year, the women were happy to have McBean living with them. After McBean's room which was robbed, "he didn't try to be macho about it. He was scared," Tucker said. All of the housemates slept together upstairs that night. · College senior Pauline Schwartz is the lone woman in a house with seven senior men, and she calls her house "a society of equals." "Sometimes they'll all be sitting around, talking guy talk, and I'll sort of go along with it," she says. "I'm not what you would call a radical feminist, but I hold my own with them, I'm proud to say." Sometimes in the course of an argument, Schwartz will claim, "You pick on me because I'm a girl," though she said she doesn't actually mean this. College senior Andy Beckwith, one of Schwartz's housemates, said that she often says the same thing to her mother over the phone. In response, Beckwith said, her mother threatens "to come and beat us up." The house members are a cohesive group, hardly arguing even about keeping the house clean. "Basically, we're all slobs," said Schwartz. Schwartz says she plays on her housemates' machismo to get them to help her. One when she was trying to put together a bookcase, she said, she asked one of her housemates a leading question about how to attach two pieces, soon to be followed with the inevitable, "Can you do it?" "What do you mean? Of course I can do it!" was the response, and Schwartz sat back and watched her housemates jockey for position to assemble the bookcase. · Although off-campus coed housing has become widespread in recent years, there are very few coed suites on campus. At least three suites in the University's Van Pelt College House house both men and women together. College seniors Elizabeth Gerst and Nancy Levy share a four-room quad in Van Pelt with College junior David Davidson and College sophomore Seth Goren. "We had to do a little bit of finagling [to arrange the suite]," said Gerst. "But Van Pelt really didn't have a problem with it." Gerst called her living situation "the best of both worlds -- I have a co-ed living situation but I still have the security of being in a protected dorm." Engineering senior Aaron Fuegi and College senior Sharon Jackson share a two-room double in Van Pelt. Jackson said that the living situation has not created any big problems for them. "It's really not a hassle," she said.
(10/10/91 9:00am)
In one of the lowest turnouts ever, a mere 25 Engineering students voted this week to elect junior Eric Spence as their representative to the Undergraduate Assembly. Spence will join eight new freshmen representatives on the UA, Nominations and Elections Committee officials announced last night. After the meeting, NEC officials said they were disappointed with the student body's lack of concern for student government elections. While 31 percent of the freshmen voted on Monday and Tuesday, only three percent of Engineering students voted to fill their one vacancy on the UA. "If people would put more enthusiasm into it, the UA could become a vehicle of power at the University," NEC member Shoshana Schwartz said last night. "This is a sign of apathy on campus." No Nursing School students ran for the school's one seat on the assembly, leaving Nursing students without a representative for the entire academic year. Freshmen who were elected are: Leonard Cooperman, Sarah Doty, Jorge Espinol, Seth Hamlin, Eric Leathers, Brian Morris, Dan Schorr and T.J. Zane. Espinol was the top vote-getter and will hold a seat on University Council. Spence won the Engineering slot, which became available late last month when Engineering junior Tobias Dengel resigned his UA position from Czechoslovakia. Before Dengel's resignation, UA members had voted to allow him to vote by proxy through Spence. The new representatives all had something to say last night, promising their constituents true representation and hard work. "I can bring a new perspective to the UA," Espinol said. "That's why I ran, because I wanted there to be an international student on the assembly. I have different concepts, different issues I think should be considered." And Doty, the only woman who won a seat on the Assembly this week, said she plans to search the UA's agenda for an issue that she can help with. "I want to learn everything I can about the issues we're facing and what students think about them," Doty said. NEC officials also noted last night that the freshmen did not campaign very hard, saying this year's candidates were much less visible than in other years. Schwartz said she thinks the UA's image may have made the candidates not as excited about the election as in her freshman year. And most candidates did not have any platform they were pushing during the campaign. But Doty said she does not think freshman have been here long enough to pick a side on the issues that face the UA this year. "Everyone gave really fake campaign promises and I was offended by that," she said. "I haven't been here long enough to know the issues." Before they announced the winners, the NEC held a hearing for five candidates, including Espinol and Spence, who did not turn in their spending receipts to the NEC office after the polling ended. Although they officially broke the rules, the NEC dropped the charges because they had valid excuses.
(10/08/91 9:00am)
Adrienne Adler spent her first two years out of college in a part-time, dead-end job. Unable to find "the kind of job [she] wanted," Adler decided to enter graduate school at the University last year, joining the growing ranks of students who are finding the job search difficult, and are in turn applying to the University. Most of the University's twelve graduate and professional schools are receiving more applications than ever before. The class that entered the University in September faced more competition in most cases and is somewhat larger than the class that entered in September 1990. The Nursing School, the graduate division of the School of Arts and Sciences, the Medical School, and the Graduate School of Fine Arts all had increases in applications ranging from approximately three percent in SAS to 16 percent in the Medical School. The Dental School, the School of Social Work and the Graduate School of Education received about 20 percent more applications for this year's incoming class than for last year's. While the number of students entering the Dental School is constant from year to year, enrollment in the School of Social Work increased by almost 40 percent, and enrollment in the Education School increased by over 11 percent over last year's figures. While Graduate School of Education Admissions Director Margaret Harkins partially attributes the increases to a "new interest in education," she said she sees the nation's current recession as a driving force behind the school's popularity this year. "[Students] used to be able to get a job right out of college," Harkins said last week. "All you needed was that diploma. [Now] there is lots of competition for every job." The graduate division of the Engineering School experienced a 15.4 percent jump in applications, coupled with an almost 42 percent increase in enrollment in degree programs. Graduate Engineering Admissions Administrative Assistant Mark Santillo also attributed the increased interest in his school to the poor economy. "It is pretty clear that in a recession the number of people who go back to school increases," Santillo said last week. "[Right now] it is a better investment to go back to school and increase their marketability." Wharton's graduate program has seen a 60 percent increase in applications during the last five years, according to Wharton Graduate Admissions Director John Enyart. "[Our] entering class is larger than it has ever been," Enyart said last week. Enyart said Wharton's situation is different from those of the University's other graduate schools in that increased interest in Wharton is "tied directly to geopolitics." "[Graduate school] could be seen as a safe harbor for a couple of years," he said of the overall trend. "Many offer answers but none of us really know. But many graduate students say the recession is not the main force drawing students back to school. "I find that hard to believe since the cost of education is so high [in the U.S.]," said James Abraham, a first-year Wharton graduate student from Ontario, Canada. "With recession, one of the first things that happens [in Canada, where the cost of education is low] is enrollment in graduate schools goes up." And some administrators agreed, saying that the jump in applications is not a result of the recession. School of Social Work Admissions Director Orneice Leslie cites a heightened national concern about social problems as a primary reason for her school's increased applications. "[There has been] a movement away from the 'I' generation," she said yesterday. "[There is] a young generation of people who want to make a difference." And many students said they simply needed advanced degrees to get the jobs they wanted. "I wanted to have choices . . . within the realm of education," said Alison Cook, a first-year graduate student in the Education School. "There are fields that all you need is a bachelor's degree," said Paul Penkalski, a first-year graduate student in the School of Arts and Sciences. "To get a job [in geology], you need an advanced degree." And Adler said the economy was only one factor, along with her general interest in elementary education, that led her to return to school. Only the Law School and the Veterinary School saw decreases in their applicant pools. Neither school was concerned about the drop in applications nor could they offer a reason for the decrease. Each school has the same number of students enrolled this year. The Admissions Director at the Annenberg School could not be reached for comment.
