Search Results
Below are your search results. You can also try a Basic Search.
(02/21/01 10:00am)
How many years must a people exist before they are allowed to be free?"
When thinking of the problems faced by black and Latino inner city students attending Penn and other Ivies, this is the statement that immediately comes to mind.
Much has changed since Bob Dylan's groundbreaking words, but sadly, too much has stayed the same. While everyone knows (or should know) that people of color -- and specifically Latinos and African Americans -- are confronted with ignorance and hostility in many situations and environments, it may be surprising to some that the crown jewels of American education, the Ivy League, is home to sweeping race and class discrimination.
After speaking with a former schoolmate of mine about his experience as a black male at Columbia University, I was surprised to learn how little is done to make African Americans feel at home in the Ivies and how substandard treatment from white peers is often the standard treatment received.
"Sometimes it can seem like you're just there for the brochure," said a friend of mine in a disturbingly casual manner. "You feel alienated. No one talks to you. Most white people are concerned about hate crimes and racial slurs... just because no one's calling you a nigger doesn't mean there's not racism."
I know what you are thinking -- the title of an Sinclair Lewis novel comes to mind -- "It could never happen here."
"On campus I'm not treated as a Penn student, I'm treated like a black Penn student," said a College freshman I'll refer to as 'A.' "I don't really feel accepted as part of the [Penn] community... When I go to a frat party no one dances with me, it's like 'what's she doing here?'
"I've experienced discrimination [here], it just isn't in your face," 'A' went on to say. "People will let the elevator go by... They'll look at you funny... It's not overt.
"It's little things but it's definitely there... racism has changed its face."
Surprised that racism could exist in such a respected temple of knowledge? Fail to see any burning crosses or men with funny mustaches?
Welcome to bigotry in the 21st century.
The Ivy League, which has always been innovative in all social endeavors, has chosen a progressive form of racism to impose on its students of color. A cutting edge racist technique based on a single query: "Why use hateful epitaphs when you can just give the silent treatment to people who look different?"
Simply put: Alienation is as good as humiliation.
Before continuing, I would like to make it clear that the people making these comments are not radical militants or banner waving afro-centric revolutionaries. They are thoughtful, moral and hard working, much like the way many white students view themselves. And yet they offer strong feelings of isolation in the very environment that claims to nurture individuals of that very description.
"There are feelings of equality in the Penn minority community," a female College freshman stated. "I feel comfortable in the minority community."
What compounds the horror of these students' experiences is that they all worked diligently to get into these schools, often times simultaneously combating inadequate counseling and poor class selection in underfunded public schools.
Imagine that after taking on several loans and trekking hundreds of miles away to a place acknowledged as different, they arrive only to be ostracized from the group at large and ultimately reminded that they are not wanted.
What I find most disturbing about all of this is that the majority of students are either unaware or unbothered by the vast social rift to which so many students of color fall victim.
In fact, when speaking with peers about this story many dissuaded me from trying to tell it. The most common response I received was: "You're not black, why do you care?"
But upon hearing this my thoughts drift back to a Bob Dylan lyric -- "How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see?"
Sorry Bob, it looks like the answer is still blowing in the wind.
(02/06/01 10:00am)
In an impressive showcase of contemporary piano repertoire, pianist Marilyn Nonken displayed her talents Sunday night.
Nonken wowed an audience of about 40 music students and professionals in a solo performance at Curtis Hall in downtown Philadelphia.
The concert was sponsored by Penn's Music Department and admission was free to the public.
Penn is the latest in a string of schools, including Harvard, Brandeis and Dartmouth, to request one of Nonken's performances.
She praised universities for teaching music that transcends the mainstream genre.
"Whether it's in the arts or the sciences, they're pushing the boundaries... going beyond where pop culture goes," Nonken said.
At Sunday's performance, Nonken stepped onstage and launched into music composed by Jason Eckardt.
With head swaying and forearms pulsating, Nonkey immediately seized the attention of the dozens of onlookers with her technique and expression.
Midway through her rendition of Michael Finnisy's "North American Spirituals," intricate fingerwork gave way to brutish pounding of elbows as Nonken brought the piece to a crescendo.
As they listened, audience members closed their eyes, many of them bobbing their heads to Nonken's music.
"She's very good... contemporary atonal... pretty impressive," said audience member John Blum, a therapist.
Nonken, a graduate of the prestigious Eastman School of Music and recipient of numerous musical honors, received a doctorate in musicology from Columbia University.
Lauded by The New York Times, she was twice voted "Best Of" by The Boston Globe for her pioneering style.
With influences ranging from expressive pianist Ursula Oppens to jazz legend Theolonius Monk, Nonken explores the piano as a musical canvas.
She explained her sometimes unorthodox manner.
"I believe there is a classical refined way of playing and a more gutsy way of playing and in my music... all of them are possible," Nonken said.
The audience appreciated Nonken's progressive sounds.
"It's extraordinary," said Yvonne Bobrowicz, a former professor at Drexel University. "I don't how she plays like that."
(01/29/01 10:00am)
With questions like "Who spoke the last line in Hamlet?" this year's PennBowl was a playfully eclectic intellectual affair that went off without a hitch.
The answer to the Hamlet question, by the way: Fortinbras.
PennBowl, now in its 10th year, brings teams from approximately 70 colleges nationwide to Penn for what has become the largest collegiate academic competition in the country. Graduate and undergraduate students compete on a playing field ripe with questions drawn from varying fields.
University of Michigan defeated Princeton University with a final score of 325 to 235. Underdog Michigan jumped to a 75-point lead over Princeton, which has been a front-running team since the PennBowl's inception.
Yale University, last year's winner, got knocked out early in the competition -- failing to reach the semifinals, according to officials.
Following the preliminary rounds of PennBowl, which took place on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, the PennBowl semifinals -- held in Logan Hall -- came down to a tight competition, with Michigan inching out MIT and Princeton defeating Penn State.
Although both teams wowed the audience with knowledge of subjects ranging from Jennifer Love Hewitt to Guatemalan urbanology, one competitor outshone the rest.
The victory was especially sweet for Michigan championship team member Michael Davidson, a senior.
"We beat a lot of quality teams. PennBowl is hard to win. We knew from the start that Princeton would be very good... it was hard fought," Davidson said.
Davidson was not the only one smiling.
"It's a great sense of achievement," Michigan graduate student and team member Adam Kemezis said.
Even the losing teams came away with some sense of accomplishment.
"In spite of losing, I was able to learn about all different types of material," said Eric Owens, a History graduate student at Witchita State University.
The Student Activities Council sponsored the event. Several PennBowl participants were veterans of Jeopardy! and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, according to Education graduate student Kelly Affannato, a member of Penn's team.
