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(02/20/91 10:00am)
In a didactic and entertaining lecture, University of California at Berkeley Professor Ronald Takaki spoke last night on the importance of changing university curricula to include the contributions of minority groups in every field. Takaki, a pioneer in the field of diversifying education, discussed the issue of "re-visioning" the American college curriculum. A crowd of over 100 students, faculty and community members filled the DuBois College House Multi-Purpose Room for the 50-minute lecture. Takaki criticized the American education system for concentrating primarily on "dead white European males," while neglecting the contributions of virtually all minority groups. Takaki gave a model of a diversified education by condensing a full semester of information from one of his classes into a 20-minute history lesson of the past two-hundred years of the United States. His description of the industrial revolution from the invention of the cotton gin to the intercontinental railroad included the contributions of all minority groups in America which he said most "European white male" accounts of history ignore. Takaki then encouraged the University to model its curriculum changes on the recommendations of an innovative committee to diversify Berkeley's curriculum, of which he was the chairperson. Takaki said that over the next two years, Berkeley will create over 150 new classes across the entire university to include the contributions minority groups have made. Takaki added, during the question-and-answer period, that more affirmative action in graduate teaching programs is needed to "bring more minorities to faculties across the country." Many students at the lecture said it was informative. "I knew bits and pieces of the history he covered, but to see the totality of history . . . I was amazed," said College sophomore Niko Phillips. "The speech served to elucidate the transformation of American culture by its various components," said Wharton junior Jackson Pek.
(10/02/90 9:00am)
Protesting the presence of "preponderantly white, all male" fraternities on Locust Walk, 10 members of the Progressive Student Alliance held a noontime rally yesterday expressing their idea of a new Locust Walk. During their hour-long demonstration, PSA members -- known primarily for holding demonstrations -- paraded up Locust Walk defacing Walk property in front of several fraternities and mocked Greek institutions. But their protest was met with little interest from passers-by, as dozens of students just sidestepped the demonstrators. The rally leader, who refused to identify himself and who other PSA members only called "Eric the Red," pointed out their suggestions for a "new Locust Walk" on a six-foot map and then renamed the houses with chalk. Most PSA members refused to be interviewed during the rally. And while there were several discrepancies with the names of the houses between the fliers they distributed and the grafitti on the walk, PSA member Scott Kurashige said late last night that he hopes that University members will offer their own suggestions for future plans of current fraternity houses. At a meeting Sunday night, PSA members planned the protest to coincide with the beginning of Greek Week. PSA member Carla Hutton said after the rally that members were unsure if they were going to continue protesting. Some of their ideas include changing the Phi Kappa Sigma house to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual House and changing the Phi Sigma Kappa house into an "open house" for all students. During their rally, PSA members wrote comments on every Locust Walk fraternity east of the 38th Street bridge except for Delta Psi -- known as St. Elmo's -- which accepts women as members. However, on a flier, they proposed that St. Elmo's become a "Big Screen House," with University funding for VCRs, computers and a satellite dish. Some fraternity members said yesterday that PSA members should examine Locust Walk and its residences before defacing them with fluorescent chalk. "We live here," said Phi Delta Theta brother Trevor Price, a College senior. "If you look at the house, there's no litter. We keep it clean. They obviously have no respect." During the rally, several brothers engaged the PSA members in conversation about the diversity issue but the two groups quickly reached an impasse when the demonstrators said they refused to accept any fraternities on the walk. One Phi Delt member invited the protestors to, "come in and shoot a rack," but the demonstrators soon left. "If they refuse to have a friendly attitude, how can there be any kind of dialogue about it?" Phi Delt brother Henry Schwake said afterward. After "Eric the Red" departed, a few protesters continued on to College Hall knocking loudly on office doors demanding to speak with President Sheldon Hackney. They were informed by a temporary secretary of Hackney that he was busy with lunch and meetings. "[They] should have identified themselves, and then asked to make an appointment," said the secretary after the PSA members left.
(09/19/90 9:00am)
Hafer stopped by the University campus during a four-hour layover at Philadelphia International Airport. During her 30-minute talk to about 30 students, she outlined the focus of her upcoming gubernatorial campaign. Hafer said that she supported a grass-roots effort to increase funding for family planning and a "pro-choice school system," in which schools receive government subsidies for busing so that parents can select their children's schools by academic programs, not only proximity. New Jersey has such a system. She also reminded the audience that although she supports abortion rights, she does not approve of abortion. She added that a woman seeking an abortion should not be required to notify her spouse or parents of her decision. The Republican candidate also took the opportunity to criticize Governor Robert Casey, her Democratic opponent in the November 6 election. She called recently passed abortion restrictions and the cutting of family planning and education funding "ironic." Hafer also called Casey an "old boy-network" politician who does not know how to deal with Philadelphia's financial crisis. Citing the recent lowering of the city's bond rating, Hafer said that if she were elected governor, Philadelphia would be the first problem she would tackle. She suggested that a program designed in the early 1980s to bail out distressed municipalities, such as failing steel towns in the Pittsburgh region, could be invoked to rescue Philadelphia. Hafer, the auditor general in charge of all state spending, including the prison system, suggested that the state could use the 47,000 inmates in the state's penitentiary system to combat shrinking employment. After the speech, Wharton sophomore James South said that Hafers grass-roots backround in the public health care system would "fit in well with President Bush's thousand points of light ideal." College Republicans secretary Joannie McDermott said that "Hafer has got wonderful ideas for rebuilding Pennsylvanias economy. She really provides a great alternative to Bob Casey."
