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(04/15/98 9:00am)
The two groups withdrew from the United Minorities Council just before the umbrella group voted to create a political wing. In a surprise move, the only two Latino student groups in the United Minorities Council withdrew their membership from the umbrella group last night to protest the UMC's handling of Latino issues. The Latino Coalition -- which consists of 14 Latino student groups including La Asociacion Cultural de Estudiantes Latino Americanos and El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan -- unanimously decided that ACELA and MeChA should withdraw from the UMC at its general meeting. ACELA President and Engineering junior David Villafana and MeChA President and College sophomore Milady Nazir requested to speak before the meeting formally began. They released a joint statement saying that the "UMC remains inadequately prepared to voice Latino concerns." The two claim the UMC has become an organization that promotes cultural awareness and education and does not focus on political issues. "The University was looking to the UMC as a political institution when in reality it was cultural," said MeCha Vice President Jonathan Cantu, a College sophomore. The Latino Coalition also felt that by remaining in the UMC, the Latino voice was not being clearly heard, according to Cantu. "We as Latinos are the best representatives of Latino issues," Cantu said. "By remaining in the UMC, we were allowing the administration to see all minority issues as a big lump instead of coming to us directly to address our specific issues." Cantu added that the University was not taking the Latino community "seriously" while it was a part of the UMC. Following the withdrawal, former ACELA President and College junior Tania Castro resigned her newly elected seat as UMC vice chairperson. All Latino members of the UMC then walked out of the meeting. Ironically, the UMC was slated to vote yesterday on whether to make the organization more political -- a suggestion made by the Latino Coalition a month ago. The vote, in favor of creating a political arm for the UMC, took place without the group's Latino members. The proposal, suggested by Asian Pacific Student Coalition Chairperson and College junior Seung Lee, followed a month during which Latino group leaders worked with the UMC to create a more political agenda for the group. The proposal will create a political arm made up of three representatives from each of the ethnic coalitions, which will exclusively address political issues. The UMC will continually address both cultural and political issues. Newly-elected UMC Chairperson Chaz Howard said he envisions four ethnic coalitions with three representatives from each group making up a 12-person political advisory board for the UMC. The coalitions will be Umoja, the newly formed black umbrella organization, the APSC and a Southeast Asian coalition still in the process of forming. Howard said the UMC extends its invitation to the Latino Coalition to join the advisory board despite ACELA and MeChA's decision to withdraw from the UMC. Howard said the UMC is taking the walk-out as "a wake-up call to essentially become more political." But while Cantu said he applauds the UMC's efforts to become more political, he said the coalition felt the "the correct answer was for us to leave the UMC, and not so much [to work to] change it into a more political unit." Although Howard said he was frustrated that the Latino Coalition failed to "give the new board a chance," he added that the coalition's decision to leave the organization is reflective of the heightened political nature of the minority community. Citing the creation of Umoja, the APSC's efforts which, in part, resulted in the President's Committee on Asian/Pacific-American Student Affairs and the decision by the Latino community to mobilize on its own, Howard said he sees the minority community becoming more "proactive as opposed to reactive." Former UMC Chairperson Temitope Koledoye, who ended her duties by running last night's meeting, described the withdrawal of the Latino Coalition as a "shock." "I understand their frustration," the College senior said. "But I just don't know if walking out was the most productive way to address the issue." Koledoye said that by withdrawing its membership from the UMC, the Latino Coalition was "lashing out at the wrong" target, adding that the "UMC should be the vehicle to address the very concerns they have with the administration." Koledoye stressed, however, that the UMC will continue to address all minority concerns, including Latino issues, because "the goal of the UMC is to represent all minorities regardless of whether they are members."
(04/08/98 9:00am)
Questions surround men's role in the event. Questions surround men's role in the event.The annual event will take place this evening at 7 p.m. on College Green. Every year since 1994 hundreds of members of the University community have gathered around the peace sign on College Green to march around campus and join together to protest violence against women. But despite its seemingly innocuous goals of making the University more aware of domestic and sexual violence and giving female survivors of sexual violence a chance to share their experiences, Take Back the Night has had more than its share of controversy. As organizers prepare for this year's event -- which will take place tonight at 7 p.m. on College Green --much of the debate surrounding Take Back the Night has centered on whether men, the group some feel would benefit the most from actively participating, should be allowed to do so. A rocky beginning In 1989, several female students and faculty members tried to organize the first Take Back the Night on Penn's campus -- modeled after a similar national event created in San Francisco in the 1970s -- but the rally was interrupted by hecklers. With the creation of Penn's chapter of the National Organization for Women in 1993, however, many felt it was time to try again. One year later, about 200 people participated in the first Take Back the Night on College Green. It was the beginning of a tradition. Held each April, Penn's Take Back the Night has become an annual event that draws hundreds of students and faculty. Similar rallies are held on college campuses across the United States and Europe. But while the popularity of the Penn event has continued to grow, the format of the program has been forced to change in recent years due to the shifting demands of its participants. In 1995, the event's Survivor's Speakout -- the open-microphone portion of the rally which at the time allowed anyone, victim or perpetrator, to speak about sexual violence -- sparked controversy when a male Penn student stepped up to publicly apologize for having raped a woman in the past. Such a speech was "a grotesque misuse of the event," recalled Litty Paxton, a School of Arts and Sciences graduate student who attended the 1995 rally. "It's inappropriate for a rapist to stand up and ask for time in front of a group of women survivors," she said in an interview last week. In the aftermath of the incident, the event's organizers were confronted with a barrage of questions: Is an open-mike forum safe and appropriate? Should men be allowed to speak at the Survivor Speakout? If men are allowed to speak, should they be able to march with the women as well? Another issue raised by the open-mike format concerns the well-being of the survivors who decide to share their experiences. "In the past, after an open forum, the Women's Center was flooded with people who had spoken up [and been] caught up in the powerful nature of the whole event, then regretted it later," said NOW co-chairperson Hema Sarangapani, a College sophomore. Additionally, several participants said they were intimidated by the thought of having revealed intimate details about their pasts to hundreds of strangers, NOW co-chairperson and College junior Sapana Donde said. To prevent a repetition of the 1995 incident and to protect women who might not be ready to talk about their experience to a large group of people, NOW restricted the forum at last year's rally to a small number of people who had notified the event's organizers a few weeks before the event, Donde said. Looking back at the decision, however, College senior Marissa Engel said she felt frustrated that last year's Survivor Speakout had not been an open-mike forum. "Take back the Night is about freedom, to walk the streets without fear and to speak one's mind without restriction," Engel said. "How can a woman be free if she has to ask permission to speak?" A changing tradition This year, by contrast, the Survivor Speakout will again be open-mike -- but open only to women. "If we lived in a world where half the sex crimes were committed by men and half by women, and the victims were also half-and-half, then a co-ed speakout would be called for," Paxton said. "But it's extremely important to understand that the reality is women are victims in sexual crimes 90 percent of the time." At last year's rally, Paxton stressed that Take Back the Night was "designed by women with the intention of helping other women," a remark which enraged many of the men at the event. In angry exchanges in the letters pages of The Daily Pennsylvanian over the next few days, several students accused Paxton of being hypocritical for barring men from an event designed, in part, to eliminate sexism. In one such letter, Medical School staffer Craig Abbs, who identified himself as a victim of sexual violence, said the event should give all survivors a chance to speak -- with "no gender attached." Engineering graduate student Joseph Gentile wrote in a separate letter that "Paxton seems so blinded by her aggressions that she is refusing the additional aid of men who want to aid her in her struggle." Last week, Paxton conceded that women need help from men in overcoming the struggle against sexism, noting that women should not be solely responsible for abolishing sexual crime. The larger point, she stressed, is that the event should give women the chance to speak about their experiences and men the chance to listen. "Men need to do some thinking about [sexual violence against women] and how they stand in relation to these problems," Paxton added. Titi Yu, the former president of Penn's NOW chapter, added that men are welcome to come to event, but only to listen and support the women. "We ask the men to understand that this is a women-centric event," said Yu, a College senior. "Women need to take the leadership in this event, and they need to be able to speak out on their own." Abbs, who has attended Take Back the Night since 1994, said he does not disagree with the idea of a woman-centric event, but added that the policy of not allowing male survivors to speak has to be clearly advertised and explained before the event takes place. "It really demoralizes men who come prepared to speak," he said. "It's like saying just because you are only 10 percent [of sexual assault cases], you are not significant." Take Back the Night's original incarnation in San Francisco was not conceived as an event designed to fight sexual violence in general, but instead one designed to specifically address violence against women, Sarangapani said. "This isn't just about a crime against humanity," she said. "It's a gendered crime. It happens because the victims are women." Paxton added that while she sympathized with male victims of sexual violence, "It really isn't too much to ask that one day out of year, we have an event set aside for women." Counselors from Women Organized Against Rape will be present at tonight's open-mike forum to provide support to survivors and to make sure they are ready to speak to a large group about their experience, Donde said. Also, men will join the women in the rally's traditional march around campus -- another modification from last year, when men were asked to stay behind. The march is symbolic of women "taking back" the right to walk the streets at night. Engel, who feels men should be allowed to speak at the forum but not allowed to march, said male participation in the march reduces its significance. "Men already have a greater physical advantage walking alone at night," Engel said. "If your whole life you've been told you need a man to support you, and men accompany you on the march, then Take Back the Night is not promoting change." After the march and speak-out, NOW will facilitate two discussion groups. One, in room B-6 of Stiteler Hall, will be open to everyone present at the rally who would like to discuss the issue in a smaller group setting. Another group -- the "confidential survival circle" -- will be open only to female and male survivors at the Women's Center. Counselors and clinicians will also be present at the circle to help the survivors cope. An uncertain future Although Penn's event annually draws about 500 students, it is nowhere near the magnitude of the event at Columbia University and its all-women affiliate, Barnard College, according to Engel, a Barnard transfer. "The whole school comes out, and it lasts all night -- virtually everyone speaks," Engel said. In a school with more than 20,000 students, Engel stressed that Penn's turnout of about 500 people is rather unimpressive. But Paxton said the low turnout is not surprising when viewed in context of Penn's "apolitical" nature as a university, characterized by a lack of student rallies or sit-ins. Engel attributed the low turnout to women who feel their lives cannot flourish without being attached to a man and to men who feed off of that sentiment. "Being a woman in a woman's college is a different experience," Engel said. "It's something to celebrate, rather than to compensate for."
(04/06/98 9:00am)
The University's three ethnic studies programs -- Afro-American, Asian-American and Latin-American studies -- engaged in their first joint panel discussion last week in Houston Hall. The event followed a series of town meetings throughout the year where Asian-American, Latino and black groups gathered to discuss issues in light of University President Judith Rodin's minority recruitment and retention plan, which was released in September 1996. Last Wednesday's forum, "Rethinking America: The Importance of Ethnic Studies," had two purposes: to bring the groups together and to make students and faculty members more aware of ethnic studies programs. "I saw a need for unity among different minority groups," said College junior Andrea Cherng, chairperson of the Asian-American Studies Undergraduate Advisory Board. "I wanted to provide an opportunity for the three groups to work together, but in an academic setting which is less politically volatile." Five student leaders served on a committee planning the event, during which six panelists --Ea professor and an alumnus from each program -- talked about the importance of each program. Since all three programs came into existence as a result of student lobbying, panelists stressed the importance of student action. "You have much more power than you think," Romance Languages Professor Jorge Salessi, a panelist for Latin American Studies, said to the the students at the forum. From their origins to the way each program analyzes "how race, class and gender would systematically privilege one group over another," all ethnic studies programs share many similarities, according to Asian-American Studies Professor Mark Chiang. All ethnic studies programs share the pressure to prove themselves "to be a legitimate intellectual endeavor," said English Professor Farah Griffin, a representative of the Afro-American Studies program. She stressed the tendency in higher education to "ghettoize" ethnic studies and assume that such programs are only applicable to minority groups, preventing the programs from being incorporated into mainstream courses of study. The most frequently asked question is "How will ethnic studies degree be useful in the real world?" Griffin said. Afro-American Studies -- or any other ethnic studies program -- teaches students to think and write critically, and is also crucial to understanding America as a diverse and multicultural society, she said. Griffin also cited the many medical and technological advances made as a result of violence and forced experimentation on the black community. "Any understanding of the United States that ignores the contribution of black people is false," Griffin said. The first Penn student to earn a degree in Latin-American Studies, 1997 College graduate Freddy Godoy, said that before entering the Latin-American Studies program, what he "knew culturally was not supplemented by an intellectual framework." And 1996 College graduate Malavika Rao, one of the first students to lobby for the Asian-American Studies Program, said that when she began taking the few Asian-American Studies courses offered at the time, she realized that Asian-Americans had lived as "house guests to the country." Asian-American contributions to the United States were "never a part of my education before I came to Penn, and unless things changed, it seemed like it would never be a part of anyone's education," she said. But 1971 College graduate Cathy Barlow, who founded DuBois College House, said ethnic studies have come far, as evidenced by the forum itself. "It's good to see that each program feel strong and well-established enough to be willing to collaborate with other programs," she said. Barlow is no stranger to minority activism at Penn. In 1968, she led black students in an open sit-in at College Hall to protest Penn's treatment of its growing number of black students. The sit-in resulted in a dialogue with the administration which led to the creation of the house and the Afro-American Studies Program. "I think there's a certain amount of fear among people who are just beginning to come into power, fear of sharing some of that power," she said. "But when you do, it becomes an important tool for accomplishing change."
(03/25/98 10:00am)
The campus's two largest religious communities seek to create appropriate spiritual environments for students. Christianity is by far the dominant faith in the United States. This is not necessarily the case at Penn, however, where Jews are found in much greater proportion than in the country as a whole. And while the United States is clearly a Christian country, many students identify Penn as a Jewish island. The two largest religious labels with which Penn students identify themselves are "Jew" and "Christian." A recent survey of 250 random undergraduates conducted by The Daily Pennsylvanian found that 23 percent identified themselves as Jewish while 47 percent did so as Catholic or Protestant. Yet beneath these figures lie two populations with such diverse backgrounds and beliefs that not all members even feel they are part of the same group. Jews and Christians at Penn face many common challenges, including issues of attracting a diverse group of students to their events and reconciling religious beliefs with sometimes contradictory intellectual pursuits. Though the number of Christians at Penn is double the amount of Jews, the campus's Jewish presence is highly visible. With many students viewing Penn as a Jewish campus, the largest challenge facing many Christian groups may simply be reminding Catholic and other Christian students that Penn is "not a one-religion campus," according to former Newman Council President Christine Albanese, a College senior. While Admissions officers said they could not give exact numbers, Hillel estimates that about 3,000 Penn undergraduates are Jewish, constituting 25 to 30 percent of the University undergraduate population. The percentage is similar to that at several other Ivy League schools, but Penn has a larger student body, giving it many more Jews in real terms than other Ivies. Hillel President Ami Joseph said "the culture at Penn has been that Jews do not have to assimilate or forget their roots." Although students are quick to identify themselves as Jewish, Joseph said many seldom question or think deeply about their Jewish identity. "Jewish students feel at home here," the College senior said. "However, this comfortability leads often to complacency in which people don't question and explore the why and the how of the Jewish identity." Penn Jews also face the challenge of reconciling their religious life with academic pursuits, according to Rabbi Howard Alpert, who oversees the Hillels on all Philadelphia-area college campuses, including Penn's. "The main problem [Jewish students face] is integrating the intellectual side of their life with their spiritual side," Alpert said. "Growing up in a world that is highly secular, students have to learn to balance fitting into the world with spirituality." Engineering sophomore Craig Englander, tri-chairperson of Penn's Orthodox Community, said he is open to exploring theories and studies that contradict his religion because it is one thing to "learn and understand what other people think, but another thing to accept it." But he said he does find it difficult to "reconcile the accepted rational thinking and religion." "If someone brings me a 65-million-year-old dinosaur fossil and my religion says that the world is only 5,000 years old, if he says to reconcile the two, then what do you say?" he asked. "To what extent do I reject religion and accept the theory?" Such tension between spirituality and rational thinking is also present in the Christian community. University Chaplain William Gipson, who is responsible for overseeing and coordinating religious activities on campus, said practicing Christian students are often challenged by a "real or perceived sense that some members of the University community view religious belief and intellectual pursuits as incompatible." Many are challenged with the notion that "one cannot be a rational person and believe in God, especially Christian belief in God," Gipson said. Ian Sneed, a staff member of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship -- the campus' largest Christian group, open to both Catholics and Protestants -- said he feels that Christian belief does not discourage rational thinking because "God is the creator of the Universe and pursuing the knowledge and truth about this world is a spiritual endeavor." Sneed, a 1993 College graduate, said the evidence for his beliefs is "not airtight with 100 percent proof -- nothing is." "But the weight of evidence is so strong that I can reasonably conclude that the Bible is trustworthy, that Jesus actually did exist as a person, was nailed on the cross and rose from the dead," he said. Just as Jewish organizations on campus say they often face the challenge of attracting students who have become distanced from their religion after leaving home, Christian groups also face the challenge of creating a religious home away from home at Penn. The DP poll showed that 52 percent of the 175 people polled who said they belonged to a religious organization at home said they no longer attend any services at Penn. Albanese said finding a new religious group is just one of the many transitions students must face when beginning college. "Students undergo several transitions including finding new friends," she said. "Students can really find a new home in their respective religious community. The Newman Center and Hillel strive really hard to create that sense of home and community." At the same time, Albanese said the wide variety of beliefs and practices within each religious denomination make it "hard to create groups where everyone is going to feel welcome and at home." And trying to attract new members can cause image problems for some Christian groups, who claim they must deal with being dubbed "pushy" or "intolerant" when they choose to evangelize and share their faith on Locust Walk or other areas on campus. "Many evangelical Christians -- evangelical being distinct and different from fundamentalism -- felt that their view of Christian evangelism is sometimes considered an intrusion on the rights of others," Gipson said. "For these students, telling others about their faith is part of their faith. So they find it difficult when their understanding of evangelism is viewed as proselytizing." Most of the letters and columns written about Christians in the DP have discussed their method of evangelism, especially during Jesus Week, which takes place this year the week of April 6. The influx of letters and guest columns -- written by non-Christians and Christians alike -- discusses the issue of intolerance and the freedom of religion, focusing on the allegedly "pushy" Christian doctrine that Jesus is the only way to heaven. "I do not question the value of Christianity or the absolute good that its philosophies bring about," wrote Amar Kosaraju, a graduate student in the Dental School and Graduate School of Education, in an April 1997 column. He attributed India's high literacy rate to the work of missionaries who spread Christian philosophies. "But I do object to the infringement of other people's religious rights," Kosaraju wrote. "I should not be told what I believe is wrong or told that I will end up in hell." Engineering senior Mike Felo, a Bible discussion-group leader for InterVarsity, said he is surprised at the amount of feedback evangelism gets on campus. "Walking up and down Locust Walk, people are trying to shove all kinds of things in my face like tickets for a show, money for the poor and I think people, including myself, try to avoid it for that very reason," he said. "But when a religious group is out there, all of the sudden people are highly offended to the point of writing letters to the DP." Felo compared evangelism to the many salespeople and fund-raisers on campus. In all three cases, people are enthusiastic about something and they want to share it, he said. "Evangelism for a Christian is a natural product of excitement and enjoyment of their relationship with God," Felo said. Wharton senior Li Ling Tan added that there are different styles of Christian evangelism that are not as visible as "contact evangelism."
(03/23/98 10:00am)
In 1971, the Black Student League constituted Penn's entire black population of 40 undergraduate students. Although the BSL still counts about 40 to 50 students as members, Penn today has more than 500 black students and 32 different black organizations. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to foster communication among black leaders and cater to the needs of a black population more diverse than it was a quarter-century ago. Hoping to remedy these ongoing problems, black campus leaders recently approved a plan under which the BSL will shift its focus to cultural and social issues while a new umbrella organization will bring together black undergraduate groups under its own separate leadership. The new umbrella group, called Umoja -- a Swahili term for "unity and togetherness" -- will consist of an executive board with six members. Each of the 32 black campus groups will be assigned to one of seven units run by the board and corresponding to the seven principles of Kwanzaa, the African-American spiritual festival that lasts from December 26 to January 1. The changes were announced at a forum at W.E.B. DuBois College House last night. "The Umoja plan will create a communication network with a much stronger base," said former BSL President Rasool Berry, who led the black student leaders in formalizing the plan. Over the last five years, Umoja was an informal group that allowed for communication between black student leaders. "This holds strong implications with how we interact with the administration, the United Minorities Council and other student organizations and how the black community interacts with one another," added Berry, a College junior. The BSL executive board has historically represented the entire black undergraduate population in political discussions, despite its relatively small membership. "Historically, the BSL was looked at to represent the political voice of the African diaspora at Penn, but the BSL had its own membership and did not entirely represent the black population," said newly elected BSL President Terrance Whitehead, an Engineering junior. "So the Umoja puts things in the proper place," he added. Berry said he deliberately did not meet with University President Judith Rodin this year as the BSL president because he did not feel he was in a position to "effectively represent the African diaspora." "The evolution of Umoja was predicated upon the evolution of the black population in numbers and in need," Berry said. Umoja's focus is much more "inclusive" to the needs of the African diaspora -- referring to the multifaceted cultures of those of African decent -- according to Berry. This is evidenced by the name of the organization. "The term 'Umoja,' 'the African diaspora,' highlights the relations and the bonds as people of African descent and acknowledges how that descendence puts us in American society," Berry said. He added that the term delineates the different nationalities and cultures within the African diaspora more clearly then the word "black" in Black Student League. The BSL will focus its attention to social and cultural issues, handing over all political issues to Umoja. But Whitehead said the dynamics of the BSL will not change much. "The only shift is the political [language] taken out of the mission statement," he said. "The BSL will still be political, but in cooperation with all the other organizations." All members of the "African diaspora" may participate in the Umoja executive board elections this Saturday, where they will vote on six positions -- chairperson, vice chairperson, corresponding secretary, recording secretary/treasurer, vice chairperson for programming and vice chairperson for political action and research. The six officers should be active members of one or more of the 32 different black organizations, but not hold office in their respective groups.
(03/02/98 10:00am)
The University's annual Minority Scholars Weekend became the first major beneficiary of University President Judith Rodin's plan to raise funding for programs designed to increase the presence of underrepresented minorities on campus. The Admissions Office invited 400 top prospective minority applicants for the Class of 2002 to campus for a chance to get to know Penn. For the 140 students who participated in the weekend's mix of campus tours and panel discussions, the event offered the opportunity to see both the University's academic and social sides. The Minority Scholars Weekend is a major part of the University's efforts to recruit more underrepresented minority students, Admissions Dean Lee Stetson said. The three-day program was expanded considerably since Rodin released her four-point financial initiative to increase the presence of underrepresented minorities on campus in September 1996, he added. In particular, Admissions was able to cover the travel expenses for more prospective students attending the program this year with the extra funds, which came from Rodin's minority recruitment and retention plan's central budget of $1 million a year for the next five years, he said. Stetson said the funds for the overall minority recruitment process -- which also includes travel expenses for recruiting officers -- have also increased over the last year. The Admissions Office invites prospective students from the black, Latino and Native-American communities to participate in the event. Within the Asian-American community -- who are not considered underrepresented since they make up 23 percent of Penn's student body -- the Admissions Office directly targets economically disadvantaged students, according to Stetson. Asian-American students make up the only group whose family income level are factored into whether they are invited to the Minority Scholars Weekend. "We're not talking about the mainstream Asian Americans who come in with affluent strong backgrounds; we get about 23 percent of them each year. These are students who come from economic backgrounds which are less advantaged than the average Asian-American applicant," Stetson explained. "We're trying to reach out to all those who are underrepresented, including the Asian Americans," he added. Such "underrepresented Asian-American students" include economically-disadvantaged students from Vietnam, China, Korea and Japan -- and some students from Indian communities from inner city or rural areas. But Asian American student leaders were not pleased with their community's representation at the program. "These efforts to represent underrepresented Asian Americans sound really great but? as of now, I don't think anything has changed," said Asian American Pacific Student Coalition Chairperson Seung Lee, a College junior. "For example, there were less than 20 Asian American students out of the 140 students who participated." Although the Admissions Office does not have access to the students' financial status, "you could tell by their parent's occupations, the area they live and the school district. If someone is a cook at a restaurant, that's different than owning a restaurant," Stetson said. But he stressed that the program invites students primarily on the basis of merit, although the University is still in the process of making its decisions on the candidates. College Dean Richard Beeman, who spoke to College faculty, students and prospective students at a breakfast and presentation event Thursday morning, commented that this weekend was highly beneficial for both the prospective students and the University. "These students are wonderfully able," Beeman said. "What could be better for the University than to have more of these diverse students make their home at Penn?" Chemistry Professor Bill Dailey, one of the faculty members invited to the breakfast, emphasized the need for the University to better represent the national population. "We must reach out and attract the best and the brightest minority students to build a foundation at the University so that it becomes more accessible for minorities," he said. The weekend's events included a step show performance sponsored by the BiCultural InterGreek Council and a closing dinner sponsored by the United Minorities Council. Students also attended information sessions on each of the four undergraduate schools.
(02/25/98 10:00am)
With Undergraduate Assembly elections a month away, several student organizations are taking measures to reverse a trend of few candidates and low voter turnout over the past few years. Some student leaders have blamed the situation on voter apathy, while others say that students do care but are simply unable to understand the current system of student government. In an effort to acquaint students --Eparticularly potential candidates -- with Penn's student government and its electoral processes, the United Minorities Council and the Nominations and Elections Committee will sponsor the first annual Student Involvement program in the High Rise East rooftop lounge tonight at 7 p.m. In the past, UMC Chairperson Temitope Koledoye explained that "the fact that not very many people are aware of the many opportunities available at Penn" has caused low voter turnout and poor participation in the branches of the University's student government. NEC Chairperson Chris LaVigne, a College senior, said tonight's forum will focus on encouraging more students to run for office, as well as increasing voter turnout more generally. The UMC, which is not a student-government organization, is co-sponsoring this program because minority students have traditionally not been active in student government, particularly in the Undergraduate Assembly. Out of the 33 seats in the UA, "less than five, if that many" are held by minority students, UA Chairperson and College junior Noah Bilenker said. In explaining his group's participation in the forum, Koledoye noted that the UMC represents "a large constituency, and we'd like for them to get involved in as many aspects of University experience as possible," including student government. "Being involved in student government does not preclude being involved in ethnic or social organizations," the College senior added. Bilenker said the UA has consistently not had minority representation, adding that few members of the minority community have chosen to run in recent elections. "I don't know if it's the UA's fault that some people feel that the UA doesn't fully address minority issues and so they decide not to run," Bilenker said. "But I'd think that would be more of a reason to run." The debate over what UMC members felt was the UA's inability to properly represent minorities -- who make up 35 percent of University students -- began three years ago when the group first requested a seat on University Council, an advisory body made up of students, faculty and administrators. The seat was approved in November after three years of heated debate, although most of the 15 UA members on Council voted against the UMC seat. But the UA elections are plagued by more than just a lack of minority candidates. Last year, only 51 candidates ran for 24 seats on the UA -- which was an improvement over the 33 students who the previous year. And every referendum on the ballot for the last three years has failed to garner the 20 percent voter turnout necessary to validate the vote. "I'd like the people who run for the UA to be more cross-sectional. Actually, I want people to run in general," Bilenker said. "You'll get the best quality of people that way and you'll see the UA turn around. It's capable of doing great things with the right people, ideally."
(02/20/98 10:00am)
Sociology Department Chairperson Douglas Massey's work will focus on black college students. Why do so many minority students consistently get lower grades and have lower graduation rates than white students? That question is at the heart of a new 5-year study being led by Sociology Department Chairperson Douglas Massey. The study, which will follow a sample of students over five years, is the first of its kind dealing with minority college students in United States, according to Massey. Massey is getting full financial support from the Andrew Mellon Foundation in New York, which had $2.8 billion in assets as of December 1996. The Mellon Foundation, which has a particular interest in minorities in higher education, sought out Massey -- a noted sociologist whose research interest is in minorities -- and suggested he undertake a research project. "This will be very useful to the higher education community," said Jacqueline Looney, a program officer with the Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellowship Program. The issue is of particular importance at Penn. The Office of the Provost recently reported that "graduation rates for African-Americans and Latino-American students are lower than for other groups of students" within the 12.4 percent of the undergraduate student body that does not graduate every year. Last June, the foundation awarded a $200,000 grant for the initial stages of Massey's study. Once this planning phase is completed, Massey will request additional funds from the foundation to complete the study. The survey will focus primarily on the black population. With more funding, Massey hopes to expand the research to include Latinos and Asian Americans. The purpose of the research is to understand why minority students -- specifically black students -- seem to be less successful than students of white European descent, he said. The survey will attempt to tackle questions such as why some universities have lower retention rates for black students than others and why many minority students consistently receive lower grades in college even when they have the same SAT scores and family income as white students. "When we have answered these questions, we will be in a better position to design programs catering to the needs of minority students and be able to retain talented minority students," Massey said. Massey's research team will initially conduct extensive interviews with about 4,000 students -- 2,000 black and 2,000 white. The students will come from elite private and public universities as well as historically black schools affiliated with the Mellon Foundation. Penn will participate in the survey. The "retrospective background" interview will target particular points in the interviewee's lives and ask questions on his or her experiences and surroundings, such as school life, family environment and community interaction. These interviews will determine what kind of socio-economic experiences bring minority students to college and to what degree they differ from white students. Over five years, researchers will then follow the students through college and for one additional year. After the first wave of surveys this fall, the results should be available for the University to use in setting its policies, especially those pertaining to University President Judith Rodin's financial initiatives designed to enhance recruitment and retention of under-represented minority students, faculty students and staff. Through the study, Massey said he hopes to "come to a theoretical and empirical understanding of how minority students pass through the University." "This knowledge will then help design better policies that fit the needs of minority students."
(02/09/98 10:00am)
A University committee charged with researching the Asian-American community at Penn began meeting last week to gather data and address complaints about the role of the ethnic group at the University. Prompted by requests from the Asian Pacific Student Coalition and the Pluralism Committee of University Council, University President Judith Rodin formed the President's Committee on Asian/Pacific-American Student Affairs last semester to address complaints about Asian-American studies at Penn, as well as the retention and recruitment of Asian-American faculty members and students. In the September 1997 report on the Agenda for Excellence, the Pluralism Committee explained that Asian-American students, who make up 23 percent of the undergraduate population, believe they are too large of a group to receive attention as an under-represented minority. Yet they still feel their interests are being overlooked. Concerns about the number of Asian-Americans in the faculty and administration came up again in October as part of the debate about Rodin's minority permanence plan. At the time, Asian-American leaders said they were specifically concerned with recruitment and retention of Asian-American faculty members, not just ones of Asian descent. Then-APSC Chairperson Eric Lee, a Wharton senior, said the University was mixing up the two minority groups. The Pluralism Committee had several recommendations for the newly formed presidential committee, led by Vice Provost for Graduate Education Janice Madden: "Examine surveys filled out by Asian-American students, the latest psychological and sociological data on Asian-American issues in higher education and input from Asian Pacific American student leaders." "I formed this committee to develop specific and concrete recommendations based on the Pluralism Committee's report," Rodin said. "I am appreciative of their efforts and look forward to the results of their work." At the end of last semester, Rodin selected a group of faculty members and students who are "especially perceptive and knowledgeable about the Asian-American issues," Madden said. The number of committee members -- which now stands at nine, including one undergraduate and one graduate student -- is likely to increase, according to the Office of the President. Associate Vice Provost for University Life Barbara Cassel, a committee member, will focus primarily on student life issues, such as how the various student-service offices deal with the Asian-American community. The committee will also present a comprehensive survey of which departments have Asian-American administrators or faculty members. The University currently has 99 Asian-American faculty members out of a total of about 2,000. "The suspicion is that most of [the Asian-American faculty members] are located in the Med School and other areas of the campus that do not come in contact with the undergraduates," said Lee, who is also a committee member. The attempts to pinpoint the precise locations of Asian Americans are due, in part, to concerns expressed in the September report by the Pluralism Committee. In the report, Lee voiced concerns over the "lack of any visible signs of an institutional presence in the form of Asian-American faculty or administrators, which makes it difficult for students to find mentors and advisers." The committee, scheduled to meet four times this semester, also plans to tackle academic concerns by asking the departments and the undergraduate deans of the four main schools how they are addressing Asian American concerns. Another goal will be to examine how to expand and develop the Asian-American Studies Program, which currently offers only a minor. "Self-knowledge and self-studies are very important," Madden said. "We want to reserve Asian Americans and non-Asian Americans the right to learn about the history and contributions Asian Americans have made to this nation." The APSC -- which has been the driving force behind the committee -- has been discussing these issues with other minority groups and the University administration. Lee said these discussions bridged communication between different interests. "Now, where that communication will go is up to the future leaders," he said. Newly elected APSC Chairperson Seung Lee, a College junior, said the group plans to expand its scope beyond campus issues. "There is a need for the APSC to integrate into the Asian Pacific American community in Philadelphia," he said. "We want to work together with the community, to pool resources and make those resources available for students."
(01/28/98 10:00am)
While Penn seeks to boost applications from Native Americans, campus issues complicate the problem. Both the Admissions Office and the University's tiny Native American population face the challenge of attracting more Native American students to Penn. But once such students arrive at Penn, many of them choose not to identify themselves with the Native American community. In fact, the campus' only Native American organization, the undergraduate group Six Directions, is "not 100 percent functional" due to a lack of participation, according to United Minorities Council Chairperson Temitope Koledoye. Native Americans make up 0.7 percent of the U.S. population but hold only 0.4 percent of all degrees in higher education. But of the 21,643 undergraduate and graduate students at Penn, only 55 -- or 0.0025 percent -- identify themselves as Native American. Many of these students will have no ties to their ethnic heritage, according to sixth-year Education graduate student Bryan Brayboy, a Native American who is completing a dissertation on Native Americans in higher education. "If things hold true, maybe half of these people are those who have cultural ties to being American Indians," he said. Brayboy led Six Directions until last year, when the bulk of the members graduated. There is some good news for Native Americans, however. According to a 1993 National Collegiate Athletic Association report on graduation rates at Penn, nine out of 10 such students successfully completed a degree at the University between 1984 and 1988. During the same period, other schools with larger Native American populations, such as Dartmouth College and Cornell University, have faced high Native American drop-out rates. The low number of Native Americans on campus contributed to the breakdown of Six Directions, according to Brayboy. But the lack of a collective identity keeps Native Americans from forming such coalitions, he added. "I think African Americans believe in what's uniquely African-American, Brayboy said. "They can agree on that. But not for Native Americans. Things that seem uniquely Indian often aren't." There are more than 500 tribes in the United States. Native Americans strongly identify with their own tribe, rather than the entire community. Such issues were typified by an event early last semester. The UMC and the Greenfield Intercultural Center invited all self-identified Native American freshmen to a luncheon. No one showed up. Native American students said few of them have strong ties to their culture. College freshman Sunshine Archambault, who comes from the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, said she knows of only two people at Penn -- herself and Brayboy -- who "have grown up with the Indian ways and know the cultural ways, mannerisms." "People claim Native American ancestry, but it's not their religion, it's not their culture," she said. To increase Native American awareness, however, there's only one solution, Brayboy said: "Numbers must increase." The Admissions Office expanded its Native American recruitment program last year with a target pilot program inviting five high school students -- including Archambault -- and their guidance counselors from Pine Ridge. Last March, Admissions Dean Lee Stetson said the University will expand its recruitment program for Native Americans to New York, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma and North Carolina. This year, Admissions targeted a new reservation in South Dakota and added five more high schools to the recruiting list, according to Regional Director of Admissions Leslie Smith. Smith described this recruiting expansion as the beginning of "our efforts in building a Native American community at Penn." "It's a real hand-hold approach, continually talking to students one-on-one, encouraging them to apply," Smith said.
(01/20/98 10:00am)
Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, students, faculty members and community members examined ways to improve the University's relations with West Philadelphia in accordance with King's principles. As a part of the third annual, 7-week long Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration, yesterday's events took place throughout the day, concluding with an evening program during which University President Judith Rodin was scheduled to present the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Involvement Awards. But due to the death Sunday of her mother, Sally Seitz, Rodin was unable to attend any of yesterday's events, including the evening program and a reception held at her official residence, Eisenlohr Hall. Rodin's chief of staff, Steve Schutt, spoke on her behalf. All of the events addressed issues relating to King's principles -- including community service, the importance of dialogue among different groups, working with youth and non-violent resistance. The civil-rights activist was slain in 1968. Most of the discussion of King's ideals took the form of a dialogue about what many people describe as the University's strained relationship with the West Philadelphia community in recent years and past decades. Tension between the University and West Philadelphia intensified in the 1960s when the University, in partnership with the city's Redevelopment Authority, began moving residents and businesses out of the area to make way for the expanding campus. West Philadelphia is the home of 260,000 residents, 66 percent of whom are black. In fact, much of the campus today, including College Green, Superblock and 3401 Walnut Street, sits on land acquired through the Redevelopment Authority. "Penn is a guest inside a quarter of a million residents of West Philadelphia," said Social Work Professor Walter Palmer, keynote speaker at the noontime commemorative program. "To blur that distinction, the University must be sensitive to downsizing and expansion. It must incorporate its surrounding community to its agenda for progress." Palmer predates King in social activism. A West Philadelphia native, Palmer began working in the 1950s as a contemporary of Malcolm X. At yesterday afternoon's town meeting, Cory Bowman, associate director of the Penn Program for Public Service, described the division between the West Philadelphia community and the University as a "savage inequality." "Penn has a world class medical center, but how is it impacting the community in West Philadelphia?" Bowman asked. "It has the top graduate school of education, but how is it serving the West Philadelphia schools?" "The degree to which we integrate teaching, research and service to West Philadelphia is the extent to which we are headed in the right direction," he added. While discussing the University's town-gown relations, the events constantly returned to the theme of what activists can learn from King's example. Palmer, who worked with King, spoke, in particular, about the civil rights pioneer as a human being who made mistakes. "Activists who came before and after King hold him up as a beacon," he said. "Many attempt to deify him because of his influence. Though a great man, King was not a god." Because of King's moderate stance, he was not very popular in urban areas, including Philadelphia, according to Palmer. At one point, Philadelphia activists refused to let King into the city. Palmer approached King to express concerns about his non-militant stance of using integration as a political tool. "He was aware and sensitive to [these concerns]. But I saw him and he was tired. I said, 'You have got to get some rest. We really need you,' " Palmer said. "That's the last time I saw him. He was killed shortly after." Palmer stressed that "white is all right, but it's not all that. And being black is all right, but it's not all that. "We all grow, reproduce and we die. If you've lived 25 years worrying about race, color and wealth, then you've wasted a third of your life -- it's gone," he added. After listening to many of the speeches yesterday, first-year Education graduate student Vinay Harpalani said he walked out of the program encouraged by the progress made in the discussions. But he questioned his own role in them. "I'm interested. But in a [predominantly black] environment like that, the major question is, how can I contribute to the issues at hand?" Harpalani said. "I'm there, I'm listening and nobody's telling me that I can't be there. But when the dialogue about African Americans uses 'we,' and I'm not a part of that 'we,' I don't know how my interests in the issue can serve the community." College senior Margaret Quern, who received the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Involvement Award along with three other recipients, also addressed the issue of how she, as a white, served the predominantly black West Philadelphia and Camden, N.J., communities. "It takes being quiet, especially for a white person like me working with the black community," Quern said. "You have to shut up and not pretend like you have all the answers. King spoke for the misunderstood, the ignored. He listened, and that's why he was heard."
(01/14/98 10:00am)
Forty-nine years ago, 21-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. walked along Locust Walk and attended classes in the Philosophy Department of Penn's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. After receiving a bachelor's degree from Atlanta's Morehouse College, King came to the University to supplement his doctoral studies at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. Before his death 19 years later, King would transform the nation's idea of civil rights, service and passive resistance. In honor of King's vision, the University's third-annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration began yesterday with a memorial service sponsored by the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. University Chaplain William Gipson was the event's keynote speaker. More than 30 campus organizations are participating in the 7-week-long celebration, entitled "The Vision lives on? Recapturing the Spirit." No other University-sponsored event lasts as long or includes as many organizations as the King celebration. But then again, no other man was quite like King, Gipson said. "Dr. King was able to articulate the American dream and ideal in such a way that every member of citizenry could recognize and understand them," Gipson said. "No one quite compares to how he articulated and got people to recognize the vision." He added that Penn's strong efforts to honor King's principles are due, in part, to the University's surrounding community. "Poverty, day to day economic and social realities of the city, future hopes and aspirations of the youth -- they're all very much a part of Philadelphia today," Gipson said. "I think people see these realities and respond accordingly." The goal of the extended celebration is not to limit King's vision to a day or a week, according to the executive chairperson of the planning committee, Isabel Mapp. "King's principles are essential," said Mapp, the assistant director of African-American Resource Center. "To carry them out, we wanted to provide a forum of dialogue at Penn, fostering a situation where different groups can talk to each other." King advocated community service, the importance of dialogue among different groups, working with youth and non-violent resistance. Each event in the celebration focuses on one or several of these principles. In a January 19 event sponsored by the Penn Law School, for example, neighborhood elementary and middle school students will participate in a discussion of King's legacy and design a quilt to be donated to the local public school district. On January 23, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, the Black Student League, the Asian Pacific Student Coalition, La Asociacion Cultural de Estudiantes Latino Americanos and the United Minority Council will hold a forum exploring free speech at the Greenfield Intercultural Center. University President Judith Rodin will host a January 19 reception at Eisenlohr Hall to present the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award to four recipients. Two awards will be presented to members of the University community, with the other two going to West Philadelphia residents. Alpha Phi Alpha will hold its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Anti-Violence Vigil in conjunction with the University commemoration on January 18. College sophomore Chaz Howard said the vigil is especially resonant for the fraternity members because King became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha while he was pursuing a doctorate at the Boston University School of Theology. Howard said the vigil is designed both to honor King as a martyr and as a way of continuing his vision. "[King] stood for fairness and equality, and many of us feel that full equality and unity has not been achieved on campus," he said. "It's a reminder that there are things the University needs to change, like the small amount of minorities here." Annenberg School for Communication Dean Kathleen Hall Jamieson, who chaired the academic programs committee for the commemoration's planning board, echoed Howard's feeling that King's dream remains unfulfilled. "There are important unmet goals. This celebration provides a vehicle for students and staff to think about the challenge of fulfilling King's dream," Jamieson said. "If we accomplish that, than the program will be successful. If it does not, it will have been just another nice commemorative event." Even before the seven-week celebration began, the strong student commitment to planning the events has demonstrated student interest in fulfilling King's principles, Jamieson said. According to Jamieson, all of the University's 12 graduate and four undergraduate schools are participating in the celebration in one form or another. In addition to the schools, organizations such as the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Center, Women's Center, Interfaith Council, BSL, MECHA, the Hillel Foundation and APSC are participating in the event. Howard said King's special character accounts for the wide range of groups participating in the commemoration. King was "simply an interesting man," he said. "Since many people at Penn are working toward becoming future leaders, King's method of leadership is one to emulate."
(12/08/97 10:00am)
The African-American spiritual festival of Kwanzaa hit campus in full force Friday, as about 150 students and staff gathered in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge to celebrate the holiday. Kwanzaa, which means "The First Fruit of the Harvest" in the East African language of Kiswahili, is a holiday observed by many African Americans in celebration of their cultural heritage. Maulana Karenga, a professor at California State University at Long Beach, created the holiday in 1966 during the heat of the civil-rights movement. The holiday lasts from December 26 to January 1. This year's festivities -- the fifth annual University-sponsored Kwanzaa celebration -- included dramatic readings by the African American Arts Alliance and a dance selection by the Gumboots Dance Troupe, followed by a festive Karamu, or feast, in Houston Hall's Hall of Flags. Adhering strictly to African traditions, ceremony leaders had to receive permission from their presiding elders -- Director of Student Development and Support Planning Harold Haskins and Education Professor Margaret Beale Spencer -- before proceeding. Participants also paid tribute to their ancestors in a process known as libation. Beale, a first-time participant in Penn's celebration, described the ceremony as "personally and culturally meaningful in the gathering of an entire group of people who share a common understanding and experience together." The "non-heroic and non-religious" cultural celebration is not related to Christmas or the Jewish festival of Chanukah, according to Nisha Hitchman, Graduate Program Coordinator for the African-American, African and Caribbean communities, who coordinated the Penn Kwanzaa celebration. But just like during the Christmas season, gifts are exchanged on Kwanzaa. On January 1, parents reward their children's good deeds by giving them Zawadi, or handmade gifts. For College sophomore Dan Cherry, Kwanzaa's lack of religious ties does not detract from its unique spiritual meaning. "The fact that I am a Christian makes it easier for me to relate to Kwanzaa during the Christmas season," said Cherry, who spoke on umoja, or unity, at the celebration. The observance of rituals such as the gathering of families adds to the value of the celebration, Hitchman explained. "Rituals stressed throughout the Kwanzaa celebration are very important in our culture and something that we as African Americans have gotten away from in the last 50 years," Hitchman said. Karenga created Kwanzaa to encourage African Americans to reflect upon their roots in order to honor the past while critically evaluating their lifestyle in present-day America. Karenga's founding of the holiday formalized the age-old tradition of "seven principles which have already been an integral part of the African tradition since the beginning of time," according to Cherry. The seven principles, or Nguza Saba, include umoja; kuumba, or creativity; and imani, or faith -- with particular emphasis on the unity of black families. Homes are decorated in black, red and green throughout the celebration. Black represents the collective color of all black people; red represents the blood of ancestors; and green symbolizes land, life and new ideas. The celebration was sponsored by the Greenfield Intercultural Center and the Social Planning and Events Committee.
(12/02/97 10:00am)
After 23 years on a daily deadline as a sportswriter and a TV columnist, Gail Shister has returned to the classroom. Shister, who writes for The Philadelphia Inquirer, is spending a semester-long sabbatical at the University as the Inquirer's Richard Burke fellow. The break has provided time for Shister to enjoy "incredibly stimulating" courses and interact with students at the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Center and at The Daily Pennsylvanian. "The kind of reading I did was far from the academia like checkbooks and trade journals," Shister said. "I'm using a part of my brain that I haven't used since college." With a bachelor's degree from Brandeis University and a master's degree from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, Shister has been a pioneer in sports writing, becoming the first woman to join the sports department at three different newspapers. "I've always loved finding out things first and telling everybody," she said. "I guess that's a good definition of being a reporter." At the LGBC, Shister facilitates a women's discussion group Tuesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. on topics such as relationships with parents, sexuality and religion. The group is composed of about 20 women -- 50 percent bisexual, 25 percent lesbian and 25 percent still trying to decide their sexual orientation -- and is one of the LGBC's most popular programs. "Queer women's discussion group is the most actively meeting group at the center now -- there's nothing that meets more regularly," LGBC Program Coordinator Gloria Casarez said. "That alone is a big deal." Because there are not very many activities for lesbian and bisexual women in the greater Philadelphia area, the discussion group caters to women from outside the Penn campus as well, according to Casarez. Shister, who did not meet "another out gay human being all throughout college," believes that the group creates a nurturing environment that women need on campus. "They need to understand that being gay does not have to be a big secret," she said, adding that if you are "hiding who you really are, then you are buying into the hateful notion that there's something wrong about you." College sophomore Laurie Eichenbaum said Shister's energetic personality contributes to the success of the group. Eichenbaum feels especially encouraged by the fact that Shister came out before it was "cool to be gay," and was among the first gay women to have a Jewish wedding ceremony. Shister married Penny Jeannechild, an editorial assistant at the Inquirer, three years ago. The two are raising Jeannechild's 12-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who informed her parents at age 7 that she will marry a man. "I'm thinking about starting a support group for parents of heterosexuals," Shister said with a playful grin. Shister's role as a mother and a wife reinforces the idea that sexuality is not the defining aspect of one's character, according to 1997 Bryn Mawr graduate Alison Mott, who regularly attends the women's discussion group. "A lot of people would assume that a lesbian couple would not be structured enough for a child," Mott said. "But [Shister] has a family that's functional and disciplined. I think that's a really good model." The women in Shister's discussion group, as well as those who take advantage of her office hours at the LGBC, say they are encouraged by Shister's belief that "you can have a successful career, a family and be out, and the republic will not fall." At the end of this semester, Shister will give up her backpack and start carrying her briefcase again, returning to her column at the Inquirer. "I have to be a semi-grown-up now, and that's very upsetting to me," she said. But Shister won't leave campus altogether -- she will continue to head the successful discussion group, eager to offer the mentoring she never got in college.
(11/20/97 10:00am)
Blacks and Jews have shared a long history of being left out of wider American society, often working together to fight both overt and hidden discrimination. Their history of cooperation and antagonism, understanding and tension began in the early 1900s and runs through to the present. In recent years, however, the two groups have forgotten that they share "closer commonalities than any other groups in the U.S," according to Social Work Professor Walter Palmer. With the aim of improving relations between the two communities, the Penn Hillel/Jewish Activities Center, African American Resource Center and Greenfield Intercultural Center are sponsoring a one-week alternative spring break program, "Alliance and Understanding." In March, the program will bring 16 students to New Orleans to visit two communities, one predominantly black and one that is mostly Jewish. The students will work with community members while meeting with political and business leaders in both communities and volunteering in churches, synagogues and schools. The program coordinators are currently soliciting applications from undergraduates who "show commitment to community service, tolerance for different cultures, and openmindedness," AARC staff assistant Afi Roberson said. Applications, available at Hillel, GIC, AARC and the Jewish Activities Center, are due November 26. The program costs approximately $150 per person. After returning to Penn, the program's participants will lead workshops on black-Jewish relations for the campus and across the city. If the New Orleans trip is successful, the sponsors hope to take a group of students to Africa and Israel over winter break of 1998 to further explore the historical connections between the two groups. Melinda Pollack, Hillel's Katz Hadassah Jewish Campus Service Campus Fellow, said "Alliance and Understanding" is part of Hillel's effort to promote multiculturalism. Hillel is also sponsoring a program on Arab-Jewish relations, she said. "Certainly, it can be done with any other group," she said. "What makes this program unique is the shared historical experience between the two groups." According to Palmer, the alliance between the black and Jewish people can be seen most clearly in the early 1900s, when both communities faced segregated housing arrangements. Throughout the Northeast United States, Jewish and black "ghettoes" became increasingly visible. With the two groups cut off from mainstream America, they naturally felt a mutual understanding for one another, Palmer said. This alliance became more pronounced when Jewish people began supporting black suffrage, participating in rallies led by W.E.B. DuBois' Niagara Movement in 1915. In the 1930s, by contrast, many Jews began to assimilate into mainstream society, often changing their names, Palmer said. As Jews moved out of the ghettoes, black people took their place. Jews, however, continued to own many of the ghetto businesses and properties, creating an often-antagonistic landlord/tenant, store owner/customer relationship with the areas' black residents, Palmer said. This trend continued into the 1960s. As Jews moved up in the social hierarchy and grew increasingly prosperous, blacks grew skeptical of their ally, who by the virtue of their skin color were able to assimilate into white society. "The Jews were able to shake off some of the mantle, while blacks couldn't change their name or discard any religious symbol to fight against state-sponsored discrimination," Palmer said. But the next generation of Jews continued to support blacks during the civil rights movement, two-thirds of whose white supporters were Jewish. In 1967, national protest movements such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Students for Democratic Society, disenchanted by the lack of progress in countering racism, advocated building up black communities as a cohesive unit, rather than battling racism's external manifestations. Eventually, building internal cohesiveness developed into the concept of "community control," under which blacks replaced the Jews who previously ran the schools, businesses and other institutions in the community, Palmer explained. Many Jews reacted by saying "community control" in black communities was anti-Semitic, leading to a years-long divide between the two groups. But GIC Assistant Director Karlene Burrell said by tracing back over some of their joint history, students in the program might help build an alliance between Jews and blacks at Penn. "Hopefully students will recognize similarities in the history of struggles and alliances that has been built in the past and what may have caused the breakdown," Burrell said.
(11/18/97 10:00am)
Young, old, Jewish, Asian, black, white and Latino students and staff members discussed the causes and consequences of racism yesterday in a three-hour interactive workshop that kicked off United Minority Council's third annual Unity Week. Grinnell University American Studies Professor Kesho Scott, a former Black Panther, led the workshop, "Unlearning the Isms." According to Scott, when "96 million people of color in the United States" are marginalized, it is also dehumanizing to the white majority who do not know the experience of their own country. Such ignorance provokes racism, Scott said. "Everyone knows what Ellis Island is, but how many people know about Angel Island?" she said, explaining how Asian Americans entered the U.S. through Angel Island as the Europeans did through Ellis Island. "How about the 19 million Spanish-speaking people, the 9 million French-speaking people? Who are they?" And because academia has been "male-centered, white-ethnic-centered and classist," much of the progressive movement is not included in mainstream textbooks, Scott said. "That's why people can't name the 17 Asian groups in America or tell you how they have impacted American history," she said. Scott emphasized that unlearning racism is not just a "black and white paradigm" because all people of color experience racism. Highlighting some symptoms of racism, she said oppressed groups can react with "horizontal hostility" across ethnicities, beginning with people thinking "I've been more oppressed than you." Minority groups can also unite in "bashing white people." Both symptoms impede unlearning racism and working toward a society that can really "live up to its democratic ideals of inclusion," Scott said. "We can't make large, sweeping societal changes over night," she added. "But we can change how we behave every day, which will either reinforce or detract from the progressive movement." College senior Rajeev Ramchandran, who participated in the workshop, said individual changes must accumulate before leading to real change. "It's all in numbers," he said. "Institutional change starts when more minorities speak up, accumulating power to address issues like racism." Scott, who has held similar workshops for Fortune 500 Companies, will also present a keynote speech on the effects of racial attitudes on the college experience at the Christian Association Tuesday at 4:30 p.m, as part of the Unity Week celebration. With the theme of "United We Stand, Divided We Fail," the week will continue Wednesday afternoon, with eight out of the UMC's 12 minority groups exhibiting their ethnic foods at the food bazaar on Locust Walk from noon to 4 p.m. In the evening, the UMC and Greenfield Intercultural Center will hold a forum on labor organizing from 7-9 p.m. at the GIC. In the face of an increasing trend of college students becoming labor organizers, the panel will discuss the changing world of labor unions, GIC Director Valerie De Cruz said. "My hope is that Penn students who are studying the global economy would be interested in the condition of the environment for workers who produce goods that we consume," De Cruz said. Mai Ngyuen of the Philadelphia-based Women Organized Against Rape, will lead an interactive discussion on the "Importance of Community Activism" at the GIC, from 12:30-2 p.m. Thursday. And a film and discussion entitled "Struggle of Poor People in North Philly" will be shown at the GIC, from 7-8:30 p.m. A coffeehouse at the Christian Association Friday from 8:30 p.m.-12 a.m. will raise money for the Penn Students for Community Involvement's Poverty Awareness Week. The week concludes Saturday with a community service project, where members of the UMC and PSCI will distribute clothing and food in Kensington, Pa. UMC President Temitope Koledoye said the UMC has made strides toward expanding its role at the university by gaining a seat on University Council. The group has also received several requests from various student organizations wanting to join. "One of my goals for the UMC this year was to bring the UMC to the forefront, establishing it as an integral campus organization," Koledoye said. "And I think we're definitely moving in that direction."
(11/06/97 10:00am)
This weekend, DuBois residenta will put on an anniversary conference. The house celebrates its rich and controversial history today through Sunday with a conference commemorating its 25th anniversary. DuBois remains a "vibrant and nurturing community pursuing academic excellence, student leadership and reaching out as a partner to the West Philadelphia community," according to Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, who was the faculty master of the house from 1978 to 1980. The predominantly black college house has had to overcome its share of struggles since its inception, however. In the aftermath of the civil rights movement, the rate of black students matriculating into the University boomed, nearly doubling every year, according to Black Student League President Rasool Berry. But the campus remained an unwelcoming, hostile environment for black students, many of whom complained of being harassed by white peers and ignored by professors, the College junior said. In honor of the anniversary, Berry worked with a number of Black Student League members on a research project entitled "What Every Black Student at Penn Should Know? A History of Black Presence at Penn." The students spoke to former University administrators and examined a variety of legal documents. The students found that Philadelphia police frequently stopped black students without sufficient cause. One 1973 graduate was stopped by officers nine times just in his freshman year. In 1968, then-College for Women sophomore Cathy Barlow planned an open sit-in at College Hall to protest Penn's treatment of black students. The University's response to the sit-in began a dialogue that would lead to the creation of the Afro-American Studies Program and DuBois, programs focusing specifically on black excellence and scholarship. Formally drawn up by Barlow, a report presented to University Council called Penn's commitment to black students shallow because "it provides only a mediocre college experience," according to the March 14, 1972 Almanac. Council decided to investigate the proposed creation of a black residence but questioned "five serious issues of concern" about the residence, ranging from its legality to the benefits it would provide the student body. The proposed black residence evolved over time from an exclusively black college house to one open to all students. Pushing for her plan, Barlow continued to lead the black students in a series of protests. Finally, in August 1972, 60 black students and two faculty members moved into DuBois College House to begin the living and learning program. Since then, the house has often been a target of racial harassment. In October 1981, DuBois received a series of bomb threats. In response, nearly 1,000 University students, faculty and administrations linked arms and encircled the house, singing "We Shall Overcome." Most recently, in October 1993, several students received bomb threats and racially harassing phone calls. Since then, however, DuBois has dealt with relatively few racially charged incidents. The house has also often been targeted in debates over racial relations on campus and randomized housing. And drawing charges that The Daily Pennsylvanian unfairly scrutinizes the house because of racism at the paper, several DP columnists have criticized DuBois in recent years. But such opposition has not prevented DuBois College House from thriving as an institution because of its continued goal of academic excellence, according to Berry. "Contrary to what people would like to believe, DuBois College House's academic focus goes right along with Penn's 21st Century Project that endorses academic residential learning program," Berry said. "DuBois is not just where people live, it's where people become a community." DuBois College House Assistant Dean Sonia Elliot added that the house focuses on the "fact that education is not simply in classrooms." "Much of what happens in DuBois College House is putting education to practical use, through mentoring support and working with alumni and key administrators," Elliot said. Faculty Master Howard Stevenson described the house as a safe haven where students freely express themselves culturally and where "their existence and intellectual abilities are not questioned." Applauding the diversity among DuBois College House residents, Stevenson emphasized that diversity is more than just an issue of skin color. Berry agreed, noting that "people forget sometimes that black people do not just have one culture." "Living at DuBois, I learned more about diversity by talking to students from Trinidad and Ghana, then anywhere else," he added. One overriding misconception of the DuBois College House is that it is exclusively for black students. "From its inception, the DuBois program never rejected student on the basis of race," Berry said. Engineering sophomore Catherine La Rocco, one of the non-black DuBois College House residents, sees the house as a "bunch of people who want to live together because they get along well." As with the University's other college houses, such as the Modern Languages House and the Science and Technology Living and Learning Program, DuBois College House residents are people who choose to live with those who understand their unique intellectual pursuits and lifestyles, La Rocco said. "When I visited DuBois as a freshman, I found that people here were very polite, very caring and very nice to me -- treated me better than any other place on campus," La Rocco said. The conference celebrating the house's 25th anniversary kicks off today with an opening ceremony and gala reception at DuBois College House featuring a keynote address by Barlow. A full day of rotating workshops will take place tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at DuBois College House. And the Black Alumni Society will hold a reception Saturday afternoon after the homecoming football game. The celebration will continue with a formal ball at First District Plaza Ballroom Saturday night. And a jazz brunch featuring Lorene Cary, a University lecturer, alumna and the author of Black Ice, will conclude the conference Sunday at noon.
(11/03/97 10:00am)
The fifth-annual Asian Pacific Heritage Week consumed Locust Walk and the College Green last week, exposing the University to the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of Asian culture. "It would seem as though multicultural display and selling ethnic food on Locust Walk would not have very much impact on how people perceive Asian Americans," APA Heritage Week Co-Chairperson Heather Heo said. "But, hopefully, the week helped make the community at large more aware of what Asian Americans are all about." The event was designed to reduce campus ignorance of Asian-American culture, the College junior said. The week of cultural showcases came together with the annual "Extravaganza" bazaar Friday on College Green. The event coincided with the Philadelphia Youth Community Service project, which brought 250 children from four schools across the greater Philadelphia area, as well as from the West Philadelphia Girls Club. Children ranging from 9 to 13 years of age strolled through campus, learning how to make origami and egg rolls. The children, mostly dressed in traditional Asian garb, trick-or-treated along Locust Walk and listened to stories of Asian ethnic mythic tales on the Green. "More than anything, these kids are just going to see this event as a field trip, and they're all going to have fun," said College junior Bonnie Chong, public relations chairperson for APA Heritage Week. "But, hopefully, as they grow older, they'll remember what happened, which can add to their own understanding of their heritage." During the Extravaganza, while Asian-American groups performed on the Green -- including Hindi a cappella group Penn Masala and the Korean Student Association's traditional fan dance group -- the National Marrow Donor Program held a blood drive in Houston Hall. Lambda Phi Epsilon sponsored the blood drive as a part of its national community service project because of a lack of marrow donors of Asian-descent. Only 5 percent of the more than two million volunteers in the NMDA registry are Asian or Asian-Pacific Islanders. Seventy-eight people donated blood during the two-day drive, an increase of 21 donors from last year, according to College senior Daniel Lai, Lambda Phi Epsilon's community service chairperson. Following the Extravaganza, about 280 people packed into Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge for the annual fashion show. Thirty-five student models showcased traditional Asian wear and fashion lines by Asian-American designers. Engineering junior Bianca Wong, who coordinated the event, said the fashion line produced by Asian-American designers reflected a "blend in culture and trend and harmony between East and West." The fashion show featured designs by 15 Asian-American designers and six different cultural showcases, including traditional Vietnamese, Tibetan and Chinese clothing. The APA Heritage Week concluded Saturday with "Iridescence," a charity gala and awards ceremony that raised approximately $2,000 for the AIDS Services in Asian Community organization. ASIAC provides assistance to Asians in the greater Philadelphia area with the AIDS virus, according to Hye Heo, co-chairperson for the week. "We decided to donate this year's proceeds to ASIAC because AIDS is an issue frequently ignored in the Asian-American community," said Hye Heo, a College and Engineering senior. "By donating to ASIAC, we're acknowledging the problem and the need for awareness, showing that the Asian-American community at Penn is concerned." Each Asian-American organization auctioned off gift certificates donated by Philadelphia businesses. Members also offered their own services, ranging from cooking lessons to Broadway tickets and wine-tasting trips. Asian Pacific Student Coalition President Eric Lee said the APA Heritage Week accentuates Asian Americans' presence on campus. "This week shows that the Asian-American group is not only politically oriented but also possesses tremendous value, culturally and communally," Lee said.
(10/29/97 10:00am)
The University hired 7 black and Latino faculty members this year. With the addition this year of four black and three Latino professors, University President Judith Rodin is pleased with the effect the minority recruitment and retention plan has had in attracting underrepresented minority professors. The rise in the combined number of black and Latino faculty members, from 87 in 1996-97 to 94 this year, represents an 8 percent increase. According to Rodin, "central resources" -- the recruitment and retention plan's special allocation of $5 million -- were used to increase hiring packages offered to the new faculty members. She said other universities were also actively recruiting many of these professors. Statistics indicate that the bolstered packages have been effective incentives. The School of Engineering and Applied Science appointed six new tenured professors this year. Five of them are minorities -- three Asians and two blacks. Out of Engineering's 98 total professors, four are Latino. And the two black professors hired this year are the school's first black faculty members in 17 years. "They're top rate people who we thought would do very well in the Penn community," said Dwight Jaggard, Engineering's associate dean for graduate education and research. He added that the hiring criteria for minority faculty is no different from the criteria for other professors. "Just like we're looking for someone who can teach but also will be useful in research, we're looking for people who can also be role models for minority students," Jaggard said. Black Student League President Rasool Berry said the function of black professors as role models plays a crucial part in black student excellence. "It's very important for black students to have someone comfortable to talk to in terms of letting you know about opportunities, supporting you in your academic endeavors -- someone to point you in the right directions," the College junior said. In the Nursing School, three professors are black and two are Latino, out of a total standing faculty of 48. Two of the underrepresented minority faculty members hold fellowships granted by the University. Mary Naylor, associate dean and director of Undergraduate Nursing, said the school has sought to develop a national pool of "doctorally prepared" minority nurses through a program with Hampton University in Virginia. Faculty members from the historically black university come to Penn for doctoral and post-doctoral study, she said. At the Wharton School, officials are continuing a search which began last year for a minority professor to fill the Whitney M. Young Jr. Endowed Professorship. Wharton's African American MBA Association last year joined forces with alumni and Wharton to honor Young, a civil rights leader and executive director of the National Urban League. Interim School of Arts and Sciences Dean Walter Wales said he did not know how much the school's underrepresented minority faculty increased this year, but of the 444 faculty members in SAS, 13 are black and nine are Latino. Although the University's affirmative action officers ensure that minorities are considered for every faculty appointment, Wales said criteria for hire and tenure in SAS are strictly based on merit. "We try to hire the best people that we can," he said, adding that minority issues are one of several attributes considered when recruiting professors. Despite the central funding, the University's faculty recruitment and retention efforts are highly decentralized, according to Associate Provost Barbara Lowery. Lowery said each of the 12 schools and their academic departments is responsible for recruitment and retention. The hiring process requires departments to submit requests for faculty appointments to the dean of their respective school. If approved, the provost then considers the hire. The University's 12 affirmative action officers -- one for each school -- oversee search and appointment on the departmental level. With the release of Rodin's plan, the University has begun urging the affirmative action officers to take a more "pro-active approach instead of waiting until searches are completed," according to Lowery. This includes meetings between the officers and departments, where officials examine the department's minority hiring trends and the pool of doctoral candidates seeking jobs. English Professor Maureen Quilligan, the officer for the School of Arts and Sciences, explained, "My job is to make certain that no opportunity is missed in hiring minority faculty in a normal hiring situation." The officers play an additional role with their service on the Affirmative Action Council, an advisory board for Rodin. "We as a council continue to support affirmative action for the underserved population who feel various challenges but are able to serve here, study here and be productive workers of society," said Council Chairperson Peter Vaughn, the associate dean of the School of Social Work. Electrical Engineering Professor Jorge Santiago-Aviles, who has been meeting with Rodin, Chodorow and other minority faculty members, is encouraged that administrators are "honestly concerned with the University becoming a truly cosmopolitan place with different backgrounds and perspectives." With the addition of the three new Latino faculty members, Santiago-Aviles said he believes the University is moving forward. He stressed, however, that the plan should not only focus on faculty recruitment but also on retention. The latest faculty retention data show that it takes minorities on average five years to gain tenure. The average time for all faculty members is 5.4 years. Because achieving tenure can take seven years, the data are available only through 1990, Lowery explained. Santiago-Aviles, however, cited personal observations in claiming that the University needs to work harder at retaining underrepresented minority faculty members. "I have known six Latino faculty members since I've come to Penn but none of them have made tenure," he said. "The administration should not only offer fiscal resources but also offer guidance for new assistant professors -- of any ethnicity, but especially minorities -- through the process of tenure."
(10/28/97 10:00am)
University officials must now deal with the issue of minority retention. Since the University released financial initiatives last fall to increase the presence of underrepresented minorities on campus, more members of those minority groups have matriculated to Penn, and the administration has begun to address the pressing issue of student retention. Of the 2,333 students who accepted the University's offer of admission this year, 287 black, Latino and Native-American students matriculated -- a 24 percent increase in that population from the previous year. And the number of incoming black students increased 22 percent last year -- from 126 to 156 -- while the number of incoming Latino students increased by 10 percent, according to Admissions Dean Lee Stetson. Neither the Admissions Office nor the Department of Institutional Research and Analysis would release specific numbers on the Latino or Native-American populations. Further data shows that the growth in minority applications, admissions and enrollment has been relatively steady over the four years of University President Judith Rodin's administration -- with the exception of last year, which saw a major drop in the admissions and matriculation rates. The initiatives may have contributed to this year's rebound. But the large jumps this year may also be less significant than they first appear, because they represent a continuation of the broad trend of steady increases. "The numbers have grown significantly over the last 10 years," Stetson said, adding that his staff is working to attract more minority students for the Class of 2002. But Black Student League President Rasool Berry noted that minority representation has been better in the past. In 1971, 170 black students matriculated into the University's freshman class, he said -- 14 fewer than this year even with the heavy increase. "Why is there such a difference from 22 years ago?" the College junior asked. "Looking back and also looking at what needs to be done on this campus now, you realize it's a long way to go. But these improvements over this past year is definitely a move in the right direction." Tania Castro, president of La Asociacion Cultural de Estudiantes Latino Americanos, noted that lumping minority groups together for statistics can often be deceiving. "The University often groups the Latino-American and international Latinos together," the College junior said. "There's a big difference between the two." Rodney Morrison, director of Minority Affairs for the Admissions Office, attributed the rise in the minority population to increased recruiting efforts funded by the University's initiatives. "We visit a lot more secondary schools in high minority population -- especially those in inner city-- than our competitors," he said. As a result, Penn receives more minority applications from underrepresented minorities and Asian Americans than any of the other Ivies, with a minimum of 6,000 minority applications out of a total of approximately 15,500, according to Morrison. He also credited the high numbers to the Minority Scholars Weekend, which offers prospective students a comprehensive view of the academic and social aspects of the University. "Most of these students from the weekend are admitted also to Yale, Harvard, Princeton and other Ivies, so we know that we're attracting high-caliber students," Morrison added. With the support of the minority recruitment and retention funds, the Admissions Office hopes to be able to pay for the students to come to campus for future Minority Scholar weekends. Berry said, however, that the funding has led to few changes in recruitment practices. "The increased funding for the Minority Scholars Weekend is great, but that's really the only real tangible change," he said. "What we need is sort of a think tank, a mechanism to increase input in what we can do as a University to increase the amount of black students on campus." Berry attributed the high number of black students in the 1970s, in part, to minority students who travelled with Admissions officers to help recruit prospective students. He said the Admissions Office should be concerned with "what success we had in the past and how we can capitalize on that in the future." Emphasizing students' primary obligation to academics at the University, Morrison said taking them on recruiting trips for one or more weeks would be difficult, especially since admissions staff travel for six to nine weeks out of the year. Although not geared specifically toward recruiting minority students, the Admissions Office does sponsor an outreach program to train students to return to their high schools during breaks to talk about Penn. The funding initiatives will also help support efforts to improve student graduation rates. Part of the University's initiative to increase overall undergraduate retention rates focuses specifically on underrepresented minorities, given findings that graduation rates for black and Latino students are lower than for other student groups. Deputy Provost Michael Wachter said the University has yet to decide exactly how the funds will be used. "We've identified the problem and we will work it out," Wachter said. "The solutions will evolve over time but we are committed to solving the retention problem." Among those minority students who leave Penn without a diploma, 38 percent of black and Latino students have completed 30-plus credit units or most of their requirements, but are on financial hold, according to Wachter. But a new, more flexible loan arrangement targeting these students and should improve the black graduation rate by 3 to 5 percentage points by next year, according to a statement from the Office of the Provost. "This step is very important for those who don't get their diplomas, but it's a Band-Aid instead of a solution," Berry said. "The issue is bigger than a loan arrangement," he added. "We should question what is actually causing the debt in the first place."
