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(11/03/95 10:00am)
After four-and-a-half hours of deliberation, the jury in the trial of Marketing Professor Scott Ward acquitted him of all four charges against him yesterday. He was charged with involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, statutory rape, indecent assault and corruption of a minor. But Ward is not even halfway finished with his legal battle. He faces two more trials -- one criminal and one civil. He was acquitted yesterday of charges that the professor paid a male teenager, "B.M.," for oral sex as many as 50 to 100 times. After embracing his attorneys and saluting the jury as they exited the jury box, Ward spoke to reporters on his way out of the courthouse. Ward also said that he felt bitter toward B.M. for his alleged extortion attempt -- considering all that Ward claims he did to help the teenager. He also expressed anger at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for not having more seriously investigated B.M.'s alleged extortion attempts. Ward also dismissed the possibility that he would be found guilty in the impending civil suit filed by B.M. He added that "if [B.M.]'s civil attorney has any sense, he'd settle for old sneakers." But David Ginsberg, the attorney who will represent B.M. in his civil suit against Ward, said he is "certain [his] client will prevail in his civil case." Ginsberg also said that while the professor was found "not guilty," this does not mean he was found innocent. "All this means is that there was some doubt in the jury's mind as to whether it was proved that the professor was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," Ginsberg said. "It doesn't prove that he didn't commit the conduct he was charged with, and a lot of evidence was in fact kept from the jury." Ward also faces another criminal trial in connection with a 1993 sting operation in which he allegedly offered money for sex to Sean McMahon, an undercover state trooper posing as a 15-year-old boy. Ward is charged with four crimes, including criminal attempt at involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, in connection with the sting operation. If found guilty, he faces 22 to 44 years in prison. During its deliberations, the jury made two different requests of Montgomery County Judge Bernard Moore. After about two hours, they asked to see transcripts of B.M.'s and Ward's testimony. Moore denied this request. Then about two hours later, they asked Moore to read to them again the conditions that would have had to been proved by the prosecution in order to convict Ward of corruption of a minor. About 15 minutes after Moore re-read the three conditions, the jury returned to the courtroom with its not-guilty verdict. Before the the two sides began their closing arguments, Ward's lead defense attorney, Jean Green, called three more witness to testify as character witnesses for Ward. Each spent about five minutes on the stand. Marketing Professor David Reibstein said that "everyone I've ever known has had the utmost admiration and respect for him." Rudolpho and Jean Besette, who traveled from Wellfleet, Mass. to testify, also said Ward was held in high regard by Wellfleet residents, and is a respected member of the Wellfleet community. Ward owns a house in Wellfleet. Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Mary Anne Killinger was also called by Green to testify yesterday. She said the Commonwealth did not follow up on tapping Ward's phone line after B.M. called him with his alleged extortion attempt because Ward's attorneys and the District Attorney's office could not agree on the terms of the tap. In his closing argument, Green attempted to divert the jury's attention from the sexual and pornographic evidence, and concentrated instead on B.M.'s alleged extortion attempt. He said "the video in this case" -- which depicted a conversation between B.M. and Ward in which B.M. asked for $12,000 to tell the "truth" in court -- was the most important piece of evidence in the trial. He also attempted to portray B.M. as a street-smart, world-class manipulator, and Ward as a victim of the teenager's manipulation. But in his closing argument, Montgomery County Deputy District Attorney Mark Miller attempted to portray B.M. as the victim and Ward as the manipulator. He compared Ward's Ph.D. degree to B.M.'s third-grade reading level, suggesting that a boy of B.M.'s limited intelligence would be unable to manipulate a person as intelligent as Ward. Ward said he will soon resume his academic responsibilities at the University. He is currently on a voluntary leave of absence. He also spoke of the encouragement he has received throughout his legal proceedings from his students and colleagues.
(11/02/95 10:00am)
Claims teen tried to extort $10,000 Marketing Professor Scott Ward testified in his own defense yesterday, saying that he never had sexual contact with "B.M.," the teenage boy who has charged that Ward paid him for oral sex. Responding to lead attorney Jean Green's direct questioning, Ward turned toward the jury and said in an emphatic voice, "I never had sex with [B.M.]" and "I never touched [B.M.] in an improper way." Ward testified that B.M. tried to extort money from him on January 30, 1993, after the professor had been arrested. "[B.M.] said, 'Look, I want $10,000, and I'll tell the truth," Ward said. "I was stunned, but quite frankly, I was not surprised." He said that during a different phone conversation, B.M. said, "Why can't we settle this like the Michael Jackson thing in California?" During Montgomery County Deputy District Attorney Mark Miller's cross examination, Ward attributed much of the homoerotic pornography seized from his home in 1993 to the fact that an openly gay couple lived in his residence before he moved there. He also insisted that in addition to the gay pornographic images police found on his computer, there were also heterosexual pornographic pictures. During Green's questioning, Ward testified that he was introduced to B.M. by a guidance counselor at Sleighton, the reform school he attended. B.M. testified on Tuesday that he first became acquainted with Ward when the professor solicited him as a prostitute. Ward said he first brought B.M. to his Ardmore home for the winter holidays in 1990 at B.M.'s request. "He didn't want to be alone for Christmas," Ward said, adding that he gave him clothes and a clock radio as gifts. Ward testified that he took B.M. from the Sleighton School to medical and dental appointments on several occasions. He also said B.M. stayed in his home for a two-day period during which the teen was administered a variety of tests -- including an IQ test that showed B.M. was "mildly retarded." "I'm guessing [B.M.] visited my home many times," Ward said, adding that he was not always at home during B.M.'s visits. Miller also cross-examined Shawn Scanlon yesterday, the 27-year-old who moved in with Ward while he was in eighth grade. Scanlon said Ward took pictures of him when he was naked in the shower and on the beach, and while urinating into a stream. Scanlon also testified that six boys, all between the ages of 13 and 15, lived in Ward's home while he was there. He added that other people, including a family of five, lived in the house from time to time. Recalling earlier testimony before a grand jury, Scanlon reiterated that Ward has not sustained a relationship with a woman in 15 years. Green attempted to establish Ward as a child philanthropist in his questioning of the professor. During his direct questioning, Ward testified that he first decided to volunteer his time to improving underprivileged adolescents' lives while he was an assistant professor at Harvard University. Ward also claimed to have been a member of the board of directors of Adolescent Counseling and Development between 1974 and 1978. But in response to Miller's questioning, Ward was unable to name any other members of the organization's board of directors -- other than Jack Sarmanian, who Ward claimed first invited him to serve on the board. Green also asked Ward about the Rebound Foundation, an organization Ward has claimed he founded to assist troubled youths. "The inspiration for [the foundation] came from a young man who dropped out of school," and was still able to flourish in society, Ward said. "I'd never seen a rebound like it." Miller cast doubt on the validity of the Rebound Foundation. During his cross examination, Ward admitted that Rebound's board of directors consisted of only two people -- one of whom was Graduate School of Education Professor Charles Dwyer. But Dwyer, who also testified yesterday, said Ward only discussed matters pertaining to the Rebound Foundation once in a two-and-a-half year time frame. Ward explained that Rebound never held any formal meetings, relying instead on phone conversations. Miller also questioned Ward about why he had initially told a social worker that Rebound was only interested in assisting white male adolescents. Ward responded that this was only the case before he decided to outreach to West Philadelphia youths. One of Ward's Ardmore neighbors also testified yesterday that Ward is very generous with his time and money and an upstanding member of the community. Ward has taken a voluntary leave of absence from his academic duties during his legal proceedings, according to Wharton spokesperson Chris Hardwick.
(11/01/95 10:00am)
Defense attacks teen's motive behind charges Defense attorneys hammered away at the credibility of Marketing Professor Scott Ward's accuser yesterday, portraying "B.M." as a manipulator seeking money from a man who tried to help him. Jean Green, Ward's lead attorney, called to the stand Alan Hart, a licensed private investigator who had been hired by Ward's defense team to "provide covert sound and video" surveillance of B.M. Green later played for the jury the videotape that Hart made in his Haddonfield, N.J. office, using it to bolster the defense's contention that the charges against Ward stem from an extortion attempt. Although somewhat inaudible, the videotape depicted Ward, private investigator Jerry Cross, B.M. and his friend gathered for a meeting in Hart's office. After B.M. and Ward discussed on the tape a possible payment from Ward to B.M. of $12,000, Ward asked, "So basically what you're asking me to do is pay you $12,000 to tell the truth." After a pause, B.M. replied, "Yes." Green also called Cross as a witness yesterday. During Montgomery County Deputy District Attorney Mark Miller's cross-examination, Cross read three typed transcripts of telephone calls B.M. placed to Ward in early February of 1994 -- a few months after B.M. lodged his accusations against Ward. The phone conversations centered around the money B.M. was expecting from Ward. In his cross examinations of Hart and Cross, Miller questioned the ethics and legality of the covert tapings and transcriptions of B.M.'s telephone calls. He also noted that several key conversations were absent from the tapes. Cross admitted that B.M. was unaware that his conversation with Ward was being listened to and transcribed. Miller also asked Cross to read aloud parts of one of the transcribed conversations, which cast doubt as to whether it was B.M. or Ward who had initiated the talks about exchanging money for testimony. "How much do you want?" Ward asked in the transcription. "I told you last night," B.M. answered. "How much?" Ward repeats. "I told you last night," B.M. said a second time. B.M. testified Monday that he called Ward because he was cold and hungry. He also said in his testimony that it was Ward who initially brought up the topic of money, offering him $10,000 to go to court and tell Ward's "truth." Miller also said Cross and Ward acted unethically when they met B.M. in New Jersey -- where one-party non-consensual videotaping is legal -- without B.M.'s attorney, David Ginsburg, present. Yesterday morning, the prosecution rested after calling its last two witnesses. Both had been in close contact with B.M. at Sleighton, a reform school. Miller called Steve Silverman, program director at Sleighton, as a witness. Silverman testified that although B.M. initially denied that he had ever had any sexual contact with Ward, the teenager eventually admitted he engaged in oral sex with him. Silverman also said that, contrary to Ward's previous claims, "Ward is not, and never has been, on the National Board of Directors of Devereaux," a foundation aimed at helping troubled youths. Silverman added that B.M. said he was ordered by Ward to deny having had any sexual contact with him. Kathy Polero, a Sleighton psychologist, was the last witness called by Miller. She testified that B.M. was "reluctant to go to [her] because of his feelings of embarrassment" about the situation. But she said B.M. "disclosed that the defendant performed fellatio on him," and later admitted that he also performed oral sex on Ward. Polero said she arranged for B.M. to meet with Ginsburg because she felt B.M. would need legal representation throughout the proceedings following Ward's 1993 arrest for soliciting sex from minors. In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian yesterday, Ginsburg said that B.M. "does not stand to make nearly as much money [from his civil suit] as Ward's five high-priced lawyers, who are defending Ward, an accused child molester." "This case has been compared to the Michael Jackson case, but it really resembles the O.J. Simpson case," he added. Yesterday's session concluded with Green's direct questioning of Shawn Scanlon, a 27-year-old man who moved into Ward's home when he was in eighth grade. Scanlon said he met Ward 15 years ago through his probation officer, at which time Ward helped him to procure a job as a carpenter's helper. He spoke of about 10 other people -- including a family of five, two foreign exchange students and three young adults -- who lived at Ward's Ardmore home at various times. Scanlon said in his testimony that he had never observed sexual contact between Ward and B.M. Ward, who maintains his innocence, has taken a voluntary leave of absence from his academic responsibilities, according to Wharton spokesperson Chris Hardwick.
(10/31/95 10:00am)
and Brett Levinson A jury heard graphic details of the alleged sexual relationship between Marketing Professor Scott Ward and a then-13-year-old boy during testimony in the third day of Ward's criminal trial yesterday. Ward faces criminal charges of soliciting sex in 1990 from an underage boy -- known as "B.M." -- and is alleged to have had oral sex with him between 50 and 100 times throughout 1990 and 1991. B.M. vividly described his sexual encounters with Ward and the circumstances surrounding them during his three hours of testimony yesterday. The young man, now 19 years old, appearing nervous and emaciated in loose-fitting pants and a sweatshirt, recalled meeting Ward for the first time in a Kensington neighborhood, which a social worker said was frequented by male prostitutes. "He asked me if I got paid for having sex with guys," B.M. said. Ward then invited him into the car, the boy said, and drove around for nearly 25 minutes. Although the two had no sexual contact that day, Ward allegedly gave B.M. $20 and a piece of paper with "Scott" and his telephone number on it. B.M. recalled Ward's telephone number by memory during his testimony. B.M. testified that after a few days, he called Ward because he was both "hungry" and "cold". "I needed the money," he said. He added that Ward arrived about 45 minutes after the call, and the two drove to the Holiday Inn on City Line Avenue where Ward rented a room. After watching television next to Ward on the bed for a few minutes, "he then started massaging my shoulders, rubbing my arms up and down," B.M. said. "He then told me to take my clothes off and showed me what to do." B.M. described in graphic detail how he and Ward had oral sex. According to B.M., after the two spent the night in the hotel, Ward drove him back to Kensington, gave him about $40 and told him to call if he wanted to "get together" again. B.M. said that when he began attending a reform school, Ward located him there by asking his former guidance counselor of his whereabouts. He said he went to Ward's home almost every other weekend while at the school. He testified that four other young adults were often at Ward's home as well. B.M. claimed he usually had oral sex with Ward during these visits in exchange for about $25 per weekend. B.M. also said Ward took him to a dentist to have cavities filled, and to a physician for treatment of scabies, a skin disease. After about a year, B.M. testified, "I told [Ward] I didn't want to have sex with him any more. He always asked me again and again, but I said, 'No, no, no.' He just always asked me and nagged me about it." B.M. also claimed that Ward showed him homoerotic pornographic films and photographs, while asking him, "Do you like that? Do you see that?" B.M. testified that Ward drove to his school in early October 1993 and told him to deny any sexual contact with Ward if anyone questioned him about their relationship. During his cross-examination of B.M., Ward's lead attorney Jean Green attempted to highlight inconsistencies in B.M.'s allegations. B.M. revealed that he was apprehensive and embarrassed when he first began to reveal his relationship with Ward to social workers and authorities, and was therefore sometimes hesitant to tell them all of the details. Green also questioned B.M. about the financial gains he stands to make from his allegations. But B.M. said the attorney who will represent him in his civil suit against Ward, David Ginsburg, has not discussed dollar figures with him. "I let Mr. Ginsburg worry about that," he said. Green also suggested that B.M. made extortion attempts during telephone calls to Ward after pressing charges against him. B.M. answered that he was cold and hungry and "wasn't asking him for money." "I was asking him for help, any way [that] he could help me," B.M. said, adding that it was Ward who always brought up the topic of money in their conversations. B.M. testified that Ward offered him between $10,000 and $12,000 to come to court and tell Ward's "truth." Jeremy Fischer, an attorney and the executive vice president of the Adult Adolescent Counseling Corporation, testified earlier yesterday about Ward's relation to his organization. Ward claimed to have been a member of the board of directors of the corporation, an umbrella group that handles troubled youths. Fisher said that "he had never heard of Ward," and he found "no reference to Ward" in any of the corporation's documents. The criminal charges against Ward stem from an October 3, 1993 sting operation in which he allegedly offered money for sex to Sean McMahon, an undercover state trooper posing as a 15-year-old boy. Ward will receive 22 to 44 years in jail if convicted of this offense. Following his criminal trial for allegedly engaging B.M. in involuntary deviant intercourse, Ward faces another criminal trial based on his solicitation of McMahon, as well as a civil suit filed by B.M. According to Wharton spokesperson Chris Hardwick, Ward has taken a voluntary leave of absence from his academic responsibilities during these legal proceedings, contrary to a report in yesterday's Daily Pennsylvanian. In a courtroom interview with the DP, Ward maintained that he stands wrongly accused. "The facts will show that this is a trial of extortion, not of sex or pornography," he said.
(10/30/95 10:00am)
and Brett Levinson The prosecution and the defense continued to wrangle on Friday over the circumstances surrounding Marketing Professor Scott Ward's relationship with a teenage boy in 1990 and 1991. Because of the boy's age, he is identified in court only by the initials "B.M." The charges against Ward stem from an October 3, 1993 sting operation in which he allegedly offered money for sex to Sean McMahon, an undercover state trooper posing as a 15-year-old boy. On October 12, 1993, Ward turned himself in to authorities on charges he had had sexual contact with B.M. in 1990 and 1991, beginning when the boy was 13. Ward is alleged to have had oral sex with him between 50 and 100 times. Ward is currently being tried for his alleged relationship with B.M. A criminal suit based on his solicitation of McMahon will follow. He also faces a civil suit filed by B.M. In his opening argument on Thursday, Ward's lead attorney, Jean Green, painted his client as an altruistic benefactor who aided B.M. under the auspices of the Rebound Foundation. Ward, who founded Rebound, has claimed that the foundation was comprised of faculty and students at the University, and its goal was to aid school dropouts. He also portrayed B.M. as a manipulator who knew he stood to gain financially by making accusations against Ward. In his opening argument, Montgomery County Deputy District Attorney Mark Miller characterized Ward's relationship with B.M. as one contingent upon sexual favors. He portrayed Ward as the manipulator, claiming that Rebound was merely a front that allowed the professor easy access to B.M. and other young boys under the guise of charity. Miller played for the all-white jury of eight men and four women a videotape seized from Ward's Ardmore mansion depicting young men engaged in oral sex. He also showed them photographs of naked boys holding each other, which had been seized by detectives from Ward's computer. Public social worker Sidney Arnette, who has worked with B.M. in the past, testified on Friday morning. Arnette said in a letter that B.M. was a "world-class manipulator," and that he had falsely accused his stepfather of sexual abuse. Arnette also read from two letters Ward had written to him about B.M. on Rebound Foundation stationery. In a letter dated December 21, 1990, Ward offered his help in the reassimilation of B.M. into a mainstream school. He also offered to assist in his social development through the Rebound Foundation. Ward also said in the letter that he had brought toiletries to B.M. on his visits to the Sleighton School, a Delaware County school for delinquent youths. In a second and longer letter in which he outlined short and long-term goals for the youth's progress, Ward claimed to have a Ph.D. in psychology. B.M. had also spent a weekend at Ward's home over Christmas, the letter stated. Ward's detailed goals for the boy included Ward's continuing visits to Sleighton, scholastic testing, medical care and more home visits for B.M. The defense stated that Ward had helped another girl by financing her general equivalency diploma test through the Rebound Foundation. Miller pointed out, however, that the assistance only amounted to $45. Robert Anderson, director of personal and social services at Sleighton, took the stand Friday afternoon as a witness for the prosecution. He characterized B.M. as trustworthy, and a student who demonstrated marked academic and personal improvement during his first year at the school. During Green's cross-examination, Anderson also read from B.M.'s 12-month progress report at Sleighton, which stated that "Ward has been a positive father role model for [B.M]." He also said B.M. is "a person who manipulated to survive rather than to gain monetary or physical advantage." But Sleighton Residential Recreation Counselor Lynn Marino, who was unable to identify Ward in the courtroom during her testimony, remembered B.M. as a manipulator. "He'd ask kids to borrow money, and tell them he'd repay them when he got more money from Scott," she said. Marino added that Ward periodically gave her money and cartons of cigarettes to give to B.M. Jeffrey Parks, a social worker who worked with B.M. and his family under the auspices of Child Abuse Prevention Efforts, testified that B.M. "had limited skills," and that "he'd probably be able to manipulate people of lesser intelligence, but not someone more intelligent than him. Parks also wrote in the report that B.M. was reportedly seen on a street corner in Kensington known to be frequented by male prostitutes. The trial will likely continue through this week. Ward, who continues his professorial duties throughout the legal proceedings, maintains his innocence.
(10/25/95 9:00am)
Although its large brick building stands conspicuously in the middle of campus, lining the north side of Spruce Street between 36th and 38th streets, the Wistar Institute is entirely independent of the University. Founded in 1892 with the motto "saving lives through science," the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology was initially a museum of sculptures and models of human anatomy that also housed research laboratories. Prior to Wistar's founding, the museum that became part of the institute was located in Logan Hall. But its contents there were neglected and damaged by a fire. At the bequest of William Pepper, then president of the University, the University donated the land where the institute now stands, and Isaac Wistar donated $100,000 for construction of the building where the Institute is presently located. The Wistar Institute now employs approximately 500 scientists, researchers, administrators and support staff. It received about $23 million in federal grants and donations in 1994. According to Wistar spokesperson Heidi Boorstein, the approximately 200,000 square foot building contains about 50 different laboratories. Rubella and recombinant rabies vaccines were developed at Wistar, as were various methods of treating and detecting cancer, Boorstein said. "The work that goes on here is so important, and I have a lot of respect and admiration for our scientists," Boorstein said. "They're so brilliant -- we get the best of the best." She added that Wistar's scientific and support staff is very diverse and multicultural. "We're a big melting pot," Boorstein said. Among this staff are about 40 Penn students -- mostly chemistry graduate students -- who work at the institute. Although the two are separate entities, "Penn and Wistar work very symbiotically," Boorstein said. Wistar physicians and scientists neither treat nor experiment on human subjects directly, but much of their work eventually benefits human patients. Wistar Business Development Assistant Director Cherise Kent explained that results from Wistar experiments are delivered to commercial companies who can "use them and make something that's available and helpful to the public." Pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies are the primary recipients of the research. Although entrance to Wistar is strictly monitored by security guards and access cards are necessary to enter the building, Boorstein said no classified research takes place at Wistar. She explained that the institute's tight security policies are in place to protect expensive equipment, fragile scientific experiments and potentially harmful chemical agents.
(09/29/95 9:00am)
The criminal trial of Marketing Professor Scott Ward is scheduled to begin October 24, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Mark Miller. But attorneys involved in the case are still awaiting Judge Bernard Moore's pretrial ruling on Ward's attorneys' motion to "exclude pornography and other evidence of the defendant's alleged interest in sex with young males," according to Miller. An official closely involved with the case said last week the material found in Ward's possession includes such books as For Money or Love: Boy Prostitution in America and It's Okay to Say Yes: Boy Love, in addition to explicit photographs and other publications -- such as correspondence from the North American Man-Boy Love Association. But Ward denies the relevance of any of these items to his case. "I have not been charged with possession of any illegal pornographic material," he said in an interview yesterday. The charges against Ward stem from an Oct. 3, 1993 sting operation in which he allegedly offered money for sex to Sean McMahon, an undercover state trooper posing as a 15-year-old boy. On Oct. 12, 1993, Ward turned himself in to authorities on charges that he had sexual contact with a boy several times in 1990 and 1991, beginning when the boy was 13. Ward is also alleged to have had oral sex with this boy -- known as "B.M." -- 50 to 100 times during that time. Ward has maintained his innocence throughout his legal proceedings. According to Miller, Ward faces a charge of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse in connection with B.M.'s case against him. The maximum sentence for these charges is between 22 and 44 years. He also faces four additional charges -- including criminal attempt at deviate sexual intercourse -- in connection with the McMahon case. He faces a comparable sentence for these charges, Miller said. Coordinators of the 1993 sting operation botched the recording of Ward's conversation with the state trooper. But authorities in a van parked outside of Ward's Ardmore home listened to Ward's conversation with McMahon via a wireless microphone hidden in McMahon's clothing. Moore ruled in early September that although the people in the van cannot testify in the trial, McMahon himself can. But Ward feels that McMahon's testimony will be problematic for his case. "The state trooper [McMahon] has said under oath three times that nothing illegal transpired during our [October 3] meeting," Ward said. He went on to say that B.M.'s charges were financially motivated. "The charges against me [in relation to B.M.'s accusations] stem from an extortion attempt," Ward said, adding that he has a videotape which backs up his claims. According to a statement released by Wharton spokesperson Chris Hardwick, Ward "continues his academic responsibilities during the legal process." He is currently teaching an MBA course at the University, entitled "Marketing Management: Program Design." Ward was one of eight professors to earn the Miller-Sherrerd MBA Core Teaching Award last year, for excellence in teaching of core MBA classes. Ward's attorney, Jean Green, did not return numerous phone calls to his office.
(05/19/95 9:00am)
and Jeremy Kahn University researchers were deeply involved in the secret testing of chemical warfare agents on human subjects throughout the 1950s and 1960s, a growing mountain of documents declassified over the past 25 years reveals. Many of these experiments were conducted by University-affiliated researchers on inmates in a Philadelphia prison who did not have full knowledge of the long-term health effects from exposure to the chemicals -- some of which are now known carcinogens. And these tests -- many involving the application of "blistering agents" which created acute acnelike skin conditions -- were conducted at the same time University researchers were forging ahead in the development of skin care products such as the anti-acne, anti-wrinkle drug Retin-A. University Professor Led Human Chemical Experiments The inventor of Retin-A, Emeritus Professor of Dermatology Albert Kligman conducted more government-sponsored chemical warfare experiments on humans than any other University researcher, a review of government documents indicates. Working at the University from 1951 to 1972, Kligman conducted scores of experiments on inmates in Northeast Philadelphia's Holmesburg Prison. Many of these experiments were conducted under the auspices of Ivy Research Laboratories, one of four research groups he founded in the mid-1960s. The research groups obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in government and pharmaceutical industry contracts to test various chemicals on human subjects. Kligman did not return repeated phone calls placed to his home and office over the course of the past three weeks. "I like to do ground-breaking research," he said in a 1989 interview. The Dioxin Experiments Kligman performed some of the first experiments on possible ill-effects from exposure to the chemical dioxin in 1964 while under contract from Dow Chemical and the U.S. Department of Defense. Dow was seeking to determine whether dioxin exposure might have been responsible for an outbreak of chloracne -- a severe, acnelike skin disease -- among workers at a plant in Michigan which used dioxin in the manufacture of a variety of herbicides. Although Kligman acknowledges testing dioxin on prisoners at Holmesburg during 1964, he claims the records of the experiments have been destroyed. But Vernon Rowe, a former Dow worker to whom Kligman reported in the 1960s, suggested in testimony before an Environmental Protection Agency hearing in January 1981 that Kligman had exceeded dosage guidelines -- by a factor of nearly 500 times -- set by Dow and the University. Rowe testified that Dow had authorized Kligman to apply a dose of 0.2 micrograms of dioxin to the backs of 60 Holmesburg prisoners and to gradually increase the dosage to 16 micrograms. Dow believed this exposure range approximated that sustained by its Michigan plant workers. The prisoners in Kligman's dioxin study all signed consent forms, but some were later to claim in lawsuits that they were told there would be no long-term negative health effects from the experiments. In addition, prisoners who participated in the Kligman experiments would receive credits redeemable for items at the prison commissary and were told that the prison would view their actions in a favorable light, perhaps counting toward good behavior if they came up for parole. Kligman was said to have initially followed Dow's exposure guidelines for the study, but with few results. "I am grieved so little has been learned," Rowe quoted Kligman as writing him. Later, Rowe claimed in his testimony, Kligman -- without authorization from anyone at Dow -- applied 7,500 micrograms of the chemical to the skin of 10 prisoners. He said this was 468 times beyond Dow's authorized maximum exposure level. Eight of the 10 prisoners who received this dose developed cases of chloracne which lasted for over seven months. "We followed the specific protocol set down by you," Kligman allegedly wrote in his report to Rowe. "Unfortunately, not a single subject developed acne nor was there any evidence of toxicity. This encouraged me to proceed more vigorously." Since the late 1970s, research has linked dioxin to cancer, fetal deaths and birth defects. It is also a major component in Agent Orange, the defoliant used extensively by the U.S. Army in Vietnam, which has allegedly caused cancer and skin diseases in thousands of veterans. Former Holmesburg inmate James Walker, of West Philadelphia, sued Kligman and the University in 1979 alleging that he had developed lupus, a rare skin disease, after having participated in Kligman's dioxin experiments. Two years later, five more former Holmesburg prisoners filed a $6 million suit against Kligman, the University, the state of Pennsylvania and the federal government, claiming they all had suffered from outbreaks of acute rashes since participating in the dioxin study. Both suits were later settled. Kligman Banned From Human Experiments In 1966, Kligman became the first researcher in the history of the Food and Drug Administration to be banned from testing drugs on human subjects. According to an August 1966 Time magazine article, the FDA had decided that Kligman's work was sloppy and that his notes were often inconsistent. Kligman attributed his poor record keeping to the fact that he often used prisoners to monitor the experiments as well as the subjects in them. The FDA later restored Kligman's right to experiment on humans. But the FDA ban did not stop Kligman from further experimentation on human subjects with chemical agents. At about the same time the FDA was deciding that Kligman's experiments were poorly conducted, the University signed a $386,486 contract to test chemical warfare agents for the U.S. Army, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. To this day, the contract is one of the largest ever awarded for the testing of chemical warfare agents on human subjects. More Prisoners as Subjects Under this contract and several others between the Army and the University, researchers began a barrage of tests -- many conducted simultaneously -- using Holmesburg inmates as human subjects. One such program, conducted by Kligman, sought "to learn how the skin protects itself against chronic assault from toxic chemicals, the so-called hardening process," according to Kligman's 1967 report to the scientists at the Army's Edgewood Arsenal Research Laboratories in Maryland. The Army believed the study could have both offensive and defensive military applications. Kligman and his assistants worked with a variety of blister-producing chemicals, applying to prisoner's foreheads and backs, at times even immersing a subject's limbs in caustic solutions, according to a declassified 1967 report obtained from the Department of Energy. "An inescapable conclusion from all our studies is that solid hardening is obtainable only if the skin passes through a very intense inflammatory phase with swelling, redness, scaling and crusting," Kligman wrote in the report. "Once hardened, the immersions may continue indefinitely without noticeable effect." Kligman suggested in his report to the Edgewood Arsenal that the Army might consider using turpentine as a skin hardener, except that almost half of the prisoners exposed to the chemical -- often used in paint thinners -- contracted allergies. "These reactions may be quite severe when an entire forearm is involved," he wrote. Kligman reported some success in hardening subjects' skin against such chemical warfare agents as sodium lauryl sulfate and chlorinated phenol, managing to "harden" 12 inmates to both toxins for an entire year. But Kligman wrote the Army in 1967 that he was having trouble hardening prisoner's to other substances. Experiments Hospitalize Inmates All three prisoners exposed to pure ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, a highly toxic gas, "exhibited psychotic reactions (hallucinations, disorientation, stupor) within two weeks and had to be hospitalized," Kligman reported to Edgewood. Kligman concluded that no skin hardening process could prevent the psychological effects a chemical agent might have and that "hardening is short-lived, and requires continuing exposures for its peak maintenance." Kligman also reported that the study had ended prematurely when inmates "complained bitterly." "After weeks of apparently peak inflammation, the skin exhibited no willingness to become hardened and the willingness of the subjects to go on diminished to zero," Kligman wrote in a letter to Army researchers at Edgewood. The names of the subjects in the declassified report are blacked out, ostensibly to protect their identities. But the lack of knowledge about the fate of the subjects in the experiments -- or even which subjects were involved in which tests -- makes tracking any long-term health effects from the studies difficult. Kligman and other University researchers performed no long-term follow-ups on the subjects. In 1967, Kligman was also conducting research at Holmesburg for the Army under the auspices of Ivy Research Laboratories. According to a 1975 report of the Inspector General of the Army, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, "Ivy Research [Laboratories] used at least 94 inmates to test choking agents, nerve agents, blister agents, vomiting agents, incapacitating agents, and toxins." The report also stated that Ivy Research was banned from Holmesburg Prison after its tests were blamed for causing a 1972 prison riot. There are even allegations that Ivy Research was conducting radiation experiments on inmates at the time of Kligman's skin hardening tests. Allegations of Human Radiation Experiments In 1990, Edward Farrington, a former Holmesburg prisoner, filed a $6 million law suit against the University and other defendants claiming that he developed leukemia as a result of University-conducted research at Holmesburg in 1967. In his handwritten suit, Farrington alleged that radioactive material was injected at seven points along his arms and back that were marked with permanent tattoos. He alleged University researchers checked these points with a Geiger counter for several weeks. Farrington claimed that workers from the University "enticed" him into participating in the radiation study by assuring him there would be no lasting effects. He alleged that officials from the University and the prison lied about the risks of the experiment. Farrington also wrote in the suit that he could not recall what department of the University oversaw the alleged experiment, and that he could not remember the names of any of the workers, except that one was called "McBride." University lawyers initially denied any knowledge of alleged radiation research and later stated in a court filing that an investigation at the University had failed to verify Farrington's account of a University-conducted radiation experiment. In 1992, the University paid Farrington an undisclosed sum "in order to avoid the costs of litigation and to buy peace," according to former Associate General Counsel Neil Hamburg. Hamburg said at the time that the University continued to deny Farrington's allegations and that no admission of guilt was made in the settlement. In court documents, the University acknowledged that a person named McBride worked for the University in 1967, while firmly denying he had any involvement in the kinds of experiments Farrington alleged the University performed. Solomon McBride, a former University professor, was medical administrator for Kligman's Ivy Research group in 1967, at the height of its Army-contracted chemical warfare experiments, according to the 1975 Army Inspector General's report. McBride left the University and founded McWill Research Laboratories in Atlanta in 1985. He did not return several phone calls placed to his home last week. Farrington, who has been in and out of prison for a variety of crimes over the past two decades, has moved out of the Philadelphia area and also could not be reached for comment. One month before Farrington settled his suit against the University, the University reached a compromise in a two-year court battle with Johnson & Johnson and Kligman over the rights to sell the popular acne medication Retin-A as an anti-wrinkle cream. Under contract with Johnson & Johnson, Kligman developed and patented Retina-A in 1967 -- at the height of his chemical warfare experimentation with the University and Ivy Research. It is still unclear what relation, if any, Kligman's research at Holmesburg had in the development of Retina-A or in the University's development of other skin care products.
(04/17/95 9:00am)
The study of the Holocaust at the university level is increasingly becoming more than a blurb on a page of a Modern European History textbook. But the question of how best to approach this emotional topic in more depth has sparked debate among academics. According to a recent New York Times article, there are two primary opposing views on teaching the Holocaust: while some universities have considered endowing their own Holocaust chairs or hiring independently funded professors to teach Holocaust courses, others have moved to integrate the Holocaust into a broader European history curriculum. A few colleges and universities have also included the study of the Holocaust in their respective Jewish Studies departments. Undergraduate English Chairperson Alan Filreis teaches a Holocaust-related course at the University. The class, "The Literature of the Holocaust," is instructed "in such a way that the very issue of how one teaches the Holocaust is itself an important part of the course," he said. College senior Tracy Layland, who was in Filreis' class last semester, believes the Holocaust should be approached from various perspectives. "Our approach was a literary one," she said. "But I don't think that any one [approach] is better than another. [The Holocaust] needs to be taught as far and wide as possible." As an example, Layland mentioned another student in her class, who was also enrolled in History Professor Thomas Childers' class "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich." While Filreis' course approached the Holocaust from a literary perspective, Childers' class approached it historically. But regardless of the approach taken, "no class taught on the Holocaust should indoctrinate students with facts or ideas about the subject," she said, "because the Holocaust occurred partly because people became indoctrinated in the 1930s." Academics who advocate the creation of endowed chairs to teach the Holocaust feel that this is the best way to give the subject its due attention. But proponents of integrating the Holocaust into modern European history curricula suggest that relegating the subject to its own department would further marginalize it. Many oppose its being affiliated with Jewish Studies departments in fear that the Holocaust would be presented as strictly a Jewish issue, according to the Times article. While some attribute the Holocaust-teaching impetus to the success of Stephen Spielberg's Schindler's List, Filreis disagrees. "Spielberg's Hollywoodized Holocaust bears little relation to that which is taught at universities and, let's hope, in high schools," he said. While people study the Holocaust for various reasons, Layland said people must continually ask themselves, "Why are we studying this?" "It must be studied in the hope that it will never happen again," she said. "Although we have no way of knowing whether it will, studying it is a good start. We need more classes like [Filreis'] at Penn."
(04/14/95 9:00am)
Last year, the University became the first school on the East Coast with a Kappa Delta Phi colony. And now, members of the only Asian sorority on campus are striving to become an associate chapter -- and hopefully in the future, a full-fledged chapter. "Asian women on campus did not have a voice," Engineering junior and sorority President Charissa Huan said. "We founded a sorority that would be a different kind of organization for women to join. It's much more closely knit than a regular [Greek] organization." She added that their main objectives include performing community service and giving Asian women on campus a political presence. Alison Chen, a Wharton sophomore and KDP spokesperson, said the sorority has already organized several activities, although others are still in the formative stages. For Asian Pacific American Heritage Week they organized a forum in which Asian businesswomen spoke about "cultural pressures, career decisions, and the difficulty of balancing the two," she said. Huan said the sorority also sponsored a raffle with the Korean Students Association. The proceeds went to Women Against Abuse. The sorority has also been working with Intercultural Family Services, an independent West Philadelphia organization, on various projects. They have worked as translators for IFS's Asian clients, and organize Asian cultural events there. Sisters have also been helping to compile surveys about Asian women's health needs, as many pregnant Asians in West Philadelphia tend not to seek medical assistance. IFS is trying to start a health clinic for them, according to Chen. Huan said the sorority is also trying to organize "an after school program for Asian high school and middle school-aged girls in West Philadelphia, in which sorority sisters would act as their tutors and mentors." She hopes to begin this program next semester. Chen said the sorority, which currently has 14 members at the University, hopes to join the BiCultural InterGreek Council after they revamp their constitution. "All women, of any ancestry, who are committed to Asian-American awareness and who feel comfortable in a sorority setting are welcome to join," Huan added.
(04/14/95 9:00am)
Last year, the University became the first school on the East Coast with a Kappa Delta Phi colony. And now, members of the only Asian sorority on campus are striving to become an associate chapter -- and hopefully in the future, a full-fledged chapter. "Asian women on campus did not have a voice," Engineering junior and sorority President Charissa Huan said. "We founded a sorority that would be a different kind of organization for women to join. It's much more closely knit than a regular [Greek] organization." She added that their main objectives include performing community service and giving Asian women on campus a political presence. Alison Chen, a Wharton sophomore and KDP spokesperson, said the sorority has already organized several activities, although others are still in the formative stages. For Asian Pacific American Heritage Week they organized a forum in which Asian businesswomen spoke about "cultural pressures, career decisions, and the difficulty of balancing the two," she said. Huan said the sorority also sponsored a raffle with the Korean Students Association. The proceeds went to Women Against Abuse. The sorority has also been working with Intercultural Family Services, an independent West Philadelphia organization, on various projects. They have worked as translators for IFS's Asian clients, and organize Asian cultural events there. Sisters have also been helping to compile surveys about Asian women's health needs, as many pregnant Asians in West Philadelphia tend not to seek medical assistance. IFS is trying to start a health clinic for them, according to Chen. Huan said the sorority is also trying to organize "an after school program for Asian high school and middle school-aged girls in West Philadelphia, in which sorority sisters would act as their tutors and mentors." She hopes to begin this program next semester. Chen said the sorority, which currently has 14 members at the University, hopes to join the BiCultural InterGreek Council after they revamp their constitution. "All women, of any ancestry, who are committed to Asian-American awareness and who feel comfortable in a sorority setting are welcome to join," Huan added.
(04/11/95 9:00am)
Striving to foster communication with Greek leaders, University President Judith Rodin addressed approximately 60 presidents of fraternities and sororities last night at a panel discussion in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house. College junior and InterFraternity Council President David Treat, Wharton junior and BiCultural InterGreek Council President Trista Bridges, and Wharton junior and Panhellenic Council President Lissette Calderon joined Rodin on the panel. In her brief address, Rodin said the administration recognizes that fraternities and sororities are involved in community activities at the University as well as in West Philadelphia. They are not solely social institutions -- as they were when she was in a sorority as a student at the University, Rodin said. Yet questions about social activities abounded at the meeting. In response to a question about the IFC's recently adopted "Bring Your Own Beer" alcohol policy, Rodin alluded to a Harvard University study that found binge drinking to be increasing among college students -- especially freshmen. She added that the University "doesn't wish to be the police in enforcing the policy, so it must be something that is enforced -- like an honor code -- by the students." Rodin also said she acknowledges that the Greek system has a significant history at the University. She said the idea of fraternities and sororities having open events at which everyone is welcome appeals to her. However, she said it is not something she would like to see institutionalized throughout the University. Bridges asked whether the University will provide Big-C organizations with office space and an area to store their records -- since most Big-C organizations do not have their own houses. Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Tricia Phaup, who was also present at the meeting, responded that the administration is working to accommodate this request. Rodin also discussed what she described as strained racial relations on campus, acknowledging that the Big-C has encountered hostility from other students. When asked what the University has done to compensate for the Greeks' reduced role in campus social life, Rodin replied that "if you come up with ideas, as long as they're not illegal or immoral, we will try to help." She also reassured her audience that the boarded-up fraternity house at 37th and Locust streets, which formerly housed Theta Xi, will eventually become the Penn Women's Center. But she added that because the building is in such disrepair, it will take more time and cost more money to complete the project. Treat complained to Rodin that The Daily Pennsylvanian does not have adequate competition in its coverage of campus news. Rodin responded that it would be "inappropriate" for the University to choose to support another news source, such as UTV13, in order to check the DP's virtual monopoly on campus news. She added that the merger of the Almanac and The Compass is significant, as people may begin to look to the University publications for campus news. When asked whether she saw the University's fraternity system as a "problem or an opportunity," she said the "Greek system is an integral part of campus life," and assured the presidents that neither she nor the administration "has any plan to reduce the size of the Greek system." While Rodin did not guarantee that the fraternity houses would all remain in their present locations, she said "no discussion about changing any [fraternity house] locations is presently being had." Rodin concluded the meeting by explaining to the Greek presidents that the University is very supportive of their organizations. She also thanked them for their willingness to comply with the administration's suggested changes.
(04/10/95 9:00am)
Wednesday marked the centennial of the founding of the Chi Omega sorority and the 75th anniversary of Beta Alpha, the University's chapter. Founded at the University of Arkansas in 1885, Chi Omega has more than 215,000 initiated members and 175 chapters, making it the largest sorority in the United States. To celebrate, University Chi Omega sisters gave out cake on Locust Walk. "Giving out cake was so much fun," Wharton Junior and Chi Omega President Nicole Adler said. "People were surprised. They didn't know what we were doing." Wednesday evening the University's Chi Omega chapter held a reception in conjunction with the Villanova University chapter at the University City Sheraton. The dinner was attended by approximately 500 people, including campus leaders, faculty and sorority alumnae. People traveled to the event from as far as Wisconsin, according to Adler. College sophomore and Chi Omega sister Katie Leeson said that a time capsule from 100 years ago was opened and read at the reception last night. Various honorariums were also presented. College freshman and Chi Omega Pledge Class President Meka Millstone said she and her pledge sisters were particularly excited to become a part of the sorority on its 100th anniversary. "It's special that our first year is so important in the history of Chi Omega," she said. "We are all very excited and honored to be a part of it." She added that their last week of pledging coincides with the sorority's centennial. "That's pretty neat," she said. Adler said she and her sisters anticipate a strong future for their sorority. "We're looking forward to 100 more years of sisterhood," she said.
(04/04/95 9:00am)
Bernice Dowdy, BiCultural InterGreek Council advisor and program coordinator for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, announced yesterday that the Big-C will be holding its annual Penn Relays step show in Irvine Auditorium at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29. The step show is just one of several contributions the Big-C traditionally makes to the annual Penn Relay Carnival. This year's Carnival, the 101st running of the event, will be held April 28, 29 and 30. Big-C President Trista Bridges, a Wharton junior, added that all proceeds from the step show will go to various Big-C organizations. These organizations will in turn donate the money to area college-bound youths. The funds will help pay their college tuitions. She also said that the Big-C hopes to have a barbeque Saturday afternoon in Superblock for all high and low rise residents, during which rap, hip-hop and R-and-B music will be played. As many students may remember, last year's Penn Relays were scheduled during the weekend before final exams, and a number of Superblock residents complained that the loud music disturbed their studying. Dowdy blamed the disturbance on a local radio station that set up speakers and broadcast live from the corner of 39th and Chestnut streets, attracting many West Philadelphia residents to campus. These people, not those participating in the Penn Relays, were responsible for many of last year's problems, Dowdy said. Much crime and violence also accompanied last year's Penn Relays -- there were several reports of gunshots, and three students were pulled out of a car and beaten by a group of men. Dowdy pointed out, however, that like Penn Relays, Spring Fling causes tremendous noise and occasionally violence. Although Big-C organizes daytime festivities on Superblock and a step show at night, "Big-C has no official affiliation with Penn Relays," she explained.
(03/31/95 10:00am)
To the disappointment of many University residents, campus events -- and not pornography -- are scheduled to air on Resnet channel 24 from now on. Students may have thought Debbie was doing Resnet -- and not Dallas -- when a pornographic movie was broadcast on the channel earlier this week. But Resnet Video Programming and Academic Video Network Coordinator Chris Cook said that various measures have been taken to ensure that such material is never aired again. The unexpected broadcast is currently under investigation, he added. "We're revisiting security issues, changing locks and that kind of thing," said Cook, who was on vacation when the pornographic film aired between 6:30 and 8 p.m. Monday night. In the future, when channel 24 is not broadcasting campus events, color bars will appear on the screen. This prevents the channel from being available to pirate broadcasts, Cook said. He added that both the administration and Wade Cablevision -- the cable company contracted by the University -- are investigating Monday evening's botched programming. "It doesn't seem likely that anyone will be caught, though," Cook said. "But there will not be a future reoccurrence. "We're confident and satisfied that no one associated with Resnet or Annenberg was responsible [for the broadcast]," Cook said. Although many students were amused by the mishap, Cook said that he and the administration deeply regret that such material was aired on Resnet. "This is something that we take very seriously," he said. "Some people may have been made uncomfortable by this, and it was completely unauthorized. We're very serious about investigating how it happened."
(03/15/95 10:00am)
Ten games, three conferences, six days. That's right, folks, while you were away over Spring Break getting a tan in Mexico or drinking margaritas in the Keys, yours truly was holed up in beachless Philadelphia getting his fill of college basketball's finest. Drexel's first-round conference tournament game. Penn's last Ivy weekend. The Atlantic 10 Tourney at the Palestra. The Quakers' annual trip to the worst college arena in the country -- Princeton's Jadwin Gym. Who could ask for anything more? Well, after my whirlwind tour of the hardwood I can't tell you the play-by-play from every game, nor can I produce every box score. Instead I offer you a a brief list of the week's hoop highlights. And if you think I'm crazy because of my choice of Spring Break locale, even Mayor Rendell knows that March Madness starts in Philadelphia -- "The Capital of College Basketball." Senior Night. I really wanted to make a sign for this game to show my appreciation, but I couldn't fit "The best single class of Ivy League hoopsters to ever grace the floor of college basketball's most historic gym" on one piece of oaktag, so I screamed throughout the game instead. Emotions were high for my last time in the Palestra, but it was hard to remain upset with Jerome driving the lane, Maloney and Kegler swishing treys from downtown, and Eric and Shawn battling in the paint. The Class of 1995. Dynasty. You won't ever see anything like this again in West Philly. The Shaq of the NAC. That's the North Atlantic Conference for those who haven't happened upon Philadelphia's most unheralded college basketball player -- Drexel's 6-foot-7 center Malik Rose. He dominated inside the paint, tallying 30 points and 15 boards in a first round tournament game versus Hofstra. He's big, quick, has great hands and can dunk with the best of them. Some say Barkley-esque, but I'll wait until his matchup with Big Country to decide. St. Joseph's. Shafted. That's exactly what happened to the folks on Hawk Hill. Are you kidding me? No NCAA bid for the comeback kids. Down 17 with six minutes left against St. Bonaventure and they win in double overtime. Tough showing against UMass in the semis and killer out-of-conference schedule. Wins over every Division I team in Philly. Manhattan? Santa Clara? Please. Carlin Warley and Bernard Blunt deserved better than the NIT. Christopher. Who let this wacko on the Palestra floor? No lie, this man makes a living dancing to Village People tunes with four mannequins attached to his body. Whatever motion Christopher does, so goes the cop, the construction worker, the biker?you get the picture. More entertaining than Temple's Huey Futch playing without a shoe? Yes. But Macho Man? Hardly. Rick Hielscher. It was Senior Night for the Princeton center/stiff and the sign said it all -- "Hey Rick, it's been great watching you suck." He played only 17 minutes as the Quakers wrapped up another perfect Ivy season, but Tim Krug found time to humiliate him once again. It all started long ago in 1993 with The Block, but Krug's ability to make Hielscher look pathetic has become as traditional as toast and highballs are to the Penn faithful. The rejection on one end was bad enough, but the in-your-face three on the other end added at least three more u's to Kruuuug! Thank God Rick is finished, because it hurts watching him play. Shawn Trice. Wow. Who lit the fire under this guy? Arguably his best three-game performance as a Quaker. He singlehandedly kept Penn in the lead versus the Tigers with a career-high 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field. Trice's resurgence couldn't have come at a better time -- the Quakers will need a solid effort in the post against Alabama in the Big Dance. The Hawk. The best mascot in the nation. No contest. You try flapping your arms for two hours straight. He even went the distance in double OT, but he paid the price. He couldn't raise his arms at all the next day. A true symbol for the tenacious, scrappy squad from St. Joe's. They might not be in the Tourney this year, but don't worry -- The Hawk Never Dies. Adam Kaye is a College and Wharton senior from Freehold, N.J., and a sports writer for The Daily Pennsylvanian.
(03/15/95 10:00am)
More than 40 members of the University community demonstrated in front of Van Pelt Library yesterday to protest last month's decision of the University's Personnel Committee to deny full professorship to Associate English Professor Vicki Mahaffey, graduate chairperson of the English Department. School of Arts and Sciences graduate student Mike Strong spoke at the demonstration about Mahaffey's accomplishments and her ability as a professor. "Dr. Mahaffey clearly deserves to be recognized as a leader here at Penn for her 15 years of excellent service," he said. In an interview last night, Mahaffey attributed her denied appointment to the equal balance that she maintains between the three criteria considered by the committee -- teaching, service and scholarship. "I think that I've kept my teaching, scholarship and service equal across the board," she said. "But [the Committee's] decision suggests to me that they shouldn't be equal." Rather, the Committee feels "professors should be 'Tuesday/Thursday' professors, and not concern themselves with teaching or service," she added. Mahaffey said her situation also subtly raises a question of gender equality in the promotion process. "For men, [the University] counts teaching and service, but for women they expect it," she said. "For men, they don't expect it." She also criticized the University's promotion system for its lack of accountability. "They didn't give me reasons -- no letters, nothing in writing," she said. "They only suggested that my second book should already have been sent to the press, not only completed, before I am promoted." At yesterday's demonstration, SAS graduate student Matthew Ruben read a letter written by Graduate English Association members which was later delivered to Provost Stanley Chodorow. It requested his office's "support [for] the promotion of Dr. Mahaffey." Chodorow said yesterday that "there are things that [the GEA is] asking me to do that I cannot do, because it wouldn't be appropriate to the [tenure] process." But GEA President Katie Conrad said he and SAS Dean Rosemary Stevens have the power to reverse the Personnel Committee's decision. In an interview yesterday, English Department Chairperson John Richetti said Mahaffey had his support and that of his department. "She's a very smart, brilliant person -- a great person and a great scholar," he said. "She had the nearly unanimous support of the English Department." But upon approval by her department, Mahaffey's promotion was rejected by the Personnel Committee -- which is responsible for all appointments, tenures and promotions. Conrad said the promotion system is "mystified," and added that "you can't pin anyone down." English graduate student Daniel Simpson, who attended the demonstration, voiced the same suspicions as Mahaffey. "There's a clear perception that while the University has the right rhetoric on teaching excellence, publications are given much more weight in the tenure process," he said. Although Mahaffey said she prides herself on her ability to balance the three criteria, she added that she "stands behind the quality and quantity of her publications fully." SAS Associate Dean Richard Beeman said "this case and others raise questions about the criteria for promotion and tenure." Yesterday's demonstration was organized by the GEA.
(02/27/95 10:00am)
As part of HIV/AIDS Awareness Month, triathlete Jim Howley spoke Thursday about the benefits of fitness, athletics and a positive attitude for people with HIV and AIDS. He explained that despite always practicing safe sex as a teenager, he contracted AIDS later in his life. "In high school, my friends and I all slept around a lot, but none of us would have ever thought of having sex without a condom," he said. "But later in my life, I was at a party in L.A. and had sex without a condom." Howley later learned that his sexual partner from that evening was HIV-positive -- only after seeing him on the cover of a publication in a convenience store. Howley further explained that he spent the first seven years after learning he was HIV-positive as a depressed cocaine addict. But this changed one day, when he resolved to live out the remainder of his life as productively as possible. "I remember looking out the window with my mother one day, drinking orange juice -- I thought orange juice would somehow keep me alive -- and thinking that if I could compete in a triathlon, I could stay alive forever," Howley recalled. He said AIDS has given him an entirely new and positive outlook on life. "One of the best things that has happened to me in my life is getting AIDS," he said. "It changed my life for the better. I'm not dying of AIDS, I'm living of AIDS." Howley, who presently takes about 60 pills each day, said that athletics have been a very effective therapy for him. "I remember being on my bike during a triathlon, with tears on my eyes, thinking, I'm not going to die, I'm going to live," he said. Howley's discussion of AIDS and athletics was of particular relevance in light of Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis' revelation last week that he has AIDS, according to Kurt Conklin, health educator for Student Health Services. "It's unfortunate that the media is focusing not on the fact that one of the best athletes of our time has AIDS," he said. "But on the fact that he bled into the swimming pool in the '88 Olympics." Howley said it amazed him how few precautions some people take with sex, despite the presence of the AIDS epidemic. "Even my straight friends, who live with me, train with me, [and] see what I go through don't practice safe sex," he said. "Their idea of safe sex is staying with one man or one woman for more than a month at a time." Howley explained that he wants no sympathy, but rather wants people to learn from his experiences. "People don't pity me, and thank God for that, because I'd rather they hate me than pity me," he said. "I don't think of myself as someone who is dying of AIDS, but as Jim -- a triathlete with no T-cells." He added that he wished his message were not coming from a gay man, because so many people wrongly believe that only gays can get AIDS. He said he plans to compete in the Hawaii Ironman triathlon in a couple of weeks. Howley, who grew up just outside of Philadelphia in Upper Darby, PA, has since moved to California.
(02/08/95 10:00am)
James Ingo Freed said that when he designed the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum in Washington, his intent was to make visitors feel the anxiety of an actual concentration camp. In a thick German accent, Freed delivered his "Memory and History: a discussion of the United States Holocaust Museum," to a packed house in Meyerson Hall last night. The principal architect for the museum, Freed focused his speech on his objectives while designing the building. In 1939, at the age of nine, Freed and his four-year-old sister fled Nazi Germany and moved to Chicago with relatives. "When my family and I came to the United States, we never spoke German again, and we never spoke of the Holocaust," Freed said. He viewed his commission to design the museum as an opportunity to explore many of his childhood memories of Nazi Germany. Initially, Freed tried to research the Holocaust from his New York City office, but eventually realized that he had to see the concentration camps first hand. For three months, Freed traveled to Germany twice a month. "When I went to Auschwitz, I felt it in my body, I felt in in my stomach, I felt it in my legs," Freed said. But he added that he had to distance himself from the camps, and "take refuge in architecture" when visiting them. "I wanted to do something visceral with the museum. I wanted the experience to go through your body, through your pores," he said. "I had one overriding goal. I didn't want it to be a theme park or a replication. It had to have the flesh and blood of the Holocaust, somehow, somewhere --but not directly visible. "We could never design anything as symbolic as the Holocaust," he added. "It was like a red plague." Freed also spoke of a courtyard at Auschwitz that he could not forget. He said he felt one of the main corridors in the museum was influenced by this courtyard. When visitors arrive at the museum, they are taken via elevators -- which resemble the cattle cars in which prisoners were taken to the camps -- to the fourth floor. They must then walk all the way out, he explained. Freed added that this is meant to resemble the technology and efficiency with which prisoners were delivered to and killed in the camps. "You enter a universe that is not quite as civilized as the one you left," he said. "This building is meant to keep you inside. You're not supposed to be able to see outside." He also explained that he intentionally designed the museum to face Arlington National Cemetery. Freed, who explained that he has had Parkinson's disease for 20 years, used a slide show and motion picture projection for most of his lecture.
(12/05/94 10:00am)
Everyone knew the Penn men's basketball team's matchup against Ohio State would be important. But in spite of the recent exodus of almost all of the Buckeyes' talent due to various off-court events, the simple addition of Big 10 plus Big 5 plus ESPN2 equaled BIG TIME for the Quakers. With Penn's recent struggles against lesser opponents, the game took on an even greater significance. It was apparent to many of the Penn faithful that the Quakers needed to get their house in order -- and fast -- before struggling through games became the norm rather than an aberration. · At the 9:42 mark of the second half with the score 70-51 in Penn's favor, Ohio State coach Randy Ayers called a time-out in a desperate attempt to finally stop the onslaught. As the Quakers headed off the court to huddle with coach Fran Dunphy, I slumped back into my seat, let out a sigh of relief and reflected to myself that order was finally restored in the Penn basketball universe. At last, the 1994-1995 Quakers seemed like the team that beat Nebraska a year ago. With a patient, balanced offensive attack and relentless defense Penn quieted many recent doubts by capturing a 20-point victory in front of a frenzied and much relieved Palestra crowd. Dunphy would be the first to say that the Quakers' performance was far from perfect, but many bright spots did shine through. Also obvious were some lingering problems Penn still has not solved. · Ear to Ear. That's how big senior guard Matt Maloney's smile was as he trotted back down the court after he nailed yet another three-pointer. He tried to regain his game face, but his smile was still visible. And who could blame him? Maloney has been struggling from behind the 3-point line since last season, but he connected on four-of-six from downtown against Ohio State. He has consistently shown the ability to orchestrate the offense and drive the lane at ease, but his shot selection and accuracy have not been stellar. Maloney corrected both problems against the Buckeyes. Another solid effort will be needed when the Quakers face Michigan on December 13th. Senior guard Jerome Allen once again put up impressive numbers as he lived up to his ESPN2 billing of "Mr. Dream Guard." He tallied 15 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three steals while juking and driving all over the Palestra hardwood. He repeatedly combined with senior center Eric Moore on the most basic play in basketball -- the pick and roll. This was just one example of Penn's unselfish play on offense. All the Quakers worked the ball around the court numerous times before settling on a shot -- whether it was the guards on the perimeter or the big men down low. Continuity on offense was maintained as Penn once again kept its turnovers to a minimum. They tallied nine, while the Buckeyes turned the ball over 23 times. The offense was much more effective than in Penn's previous games this season, but corrections still need to implemented. Senior forward Shawn Trice started out strong, but disappeared on offense as the game wore on. And junior forward Tim Krug must learn not to shoot the ball just because it is in his hands. Penn started out slowly on the defensive end. Early on, the Quakers let up many easy baskets in the paint. They also struggled with preventing the three-point shot throughout the entire game, much like in their first two outings. However, the Quakers came away with 13 steals and junior forward Ira Bowman singlehandedly shut down Ohio State on numerous occasions. Bowman's defensive pressure forced the Buckeyes to run their offense from well behind the three-point arc. Kegler was also impressive on defense. He drew several charges and his "help" defense off the ball kept Ohio State in check. Surprisingly, Penn was able to put up its strong defensive stand while only being whistled for nine fouls the entire game. · While the Quakers seemed to regain their composure at both ends of the floor, beating a much-maligned Ohio State team by 20 points at home is not the type of victory of which seasons are made. The Quakers were in dire need of a decisive victory despite being only three games into the season, however. Toppling the Buckeyes hopefully exorcised the demons of Canisius, but whether or not Penn can repeat their solid performance in the future still remains to be seen. Adam Kaye is a Wharton and College senior from Freehold, N.J., and a sports writer for The Daily Pennsylvanian.
