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(03/22/01 10:00am)
Professor Shiyu Zhou's father was detained in China last year for practicing an exercise that promotes truth, compassion and forbearance.
And now, that same exercise and meditation practice and its principles -- known as Falun Gong -- have spread to America and Penn's campus.
Zhou's father is one of thousands of followers of the non-violent lifestyle who have been persecuted by the Chinese government.
To date, more than 140 people have been killed and thousands arrested or tortured for their faith in Falun Gong. Non-violent rallies have been held in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and various locations throughout the world protesting the Chinese government's actions.
Chinese practitioners have been increasing exponentially in number, leaving the Communist Party feeling threatened.
However, in the United States, the practice continues to grow through the help of volunteers across the country, including in Philadelphia.
Zhou, a computer and information sciences professor, and first-year Wharton graduate student Liangyue Zhang recently organized a nine-part introductory seminar on campus, which attracted both Penn and Philadelphia community members.
On Sunday mornings, practitioners spread out on College Green and downtown in Rittenhouse Square, where a regular group holds sessions.
"This practice is so popular because it is very flexible," Zhou said. "You can do it at any time, anywhere and with anybody. There [is] no membership, no obligation."
Unlike the recent controversy in China over human rights violations, the Falun Gong movement in the United States has been well received as a trendy, new-age alternative exercise.
"It teaches me how to deal with personal conflicts, to be kind to other people and look inward," Zhou said.
Though the exercises are low-impact and relatively simple, many students claim drastic improvements in their mental and physical health.
"Before I practiced Falun, I had one ear going deaf," Zhang said. "It cured automatically by itself." After practicing Falun Gong for almost two years, Zhang says his health is vastly improved.
Practitioners attribute this healing process to the dual cultivation of mind and body. Followers are encouraged to give up material desires and eliminate negative emotions like greed and jealousy.
"The five exercises help translate spiritual well-being into physical well-being," Zhou said. "You gain balance, relaxation and more peace in life."
The names of Falun Gong exercises reflect their Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian influences -- "Golden Monkey Splitting his Body," "Two Dragons Diving into the Sea" and "Bodhisattva Placing Hands on Lotus."
Penn seminar participants praised Falun Gong most for its mental and spiritual perks.
The practice "talked about honesty," said Ingrid Jackson, a Penn staff member in the Romance Languages Department. "That really touched my heart. It's very different. After I go to the gym I can feel it on my body, on my muscle mass, whereas here -- it's different -- it's addressing something else in my body, something spiritual."
Jackson initially attended the seminar out of curiosity after hearing of the persecution in China.
Teaching materials -- from texts on the philosophies to video clips demonstrating exercises -- are available for free on the Internet.
Like most students, Delaware County retiree Luc Trocme stumbled upon the practice by accident.
"I was looking for stuff on the Internet," said Trocme, 40, who also participated in the seminar. "What really attracted me was the principle. It's how people should treat each other. I think it's what the Western religion got away from -- Western religion is more political now. And some people going to church every Sunday are the absolute worst people I know."
"It's like a road map to how people should be behaving with each other," Trocme added. "All people should get an introduction to it. Maybe it would change their behavior in the long term, change the world."
(02/02/01 10:00am)
Like most student groups, they host movie nights and plan dinner events.
But the members of Rangoli and the South Asia Society also have a more altruistic goal.
In the spirit of volunteerism, the organizations have raised over $2,000 in the past week to support survivors of last Friday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake, which struck Gujarat, India and already has killed an estimated 14,000 people. The death toll is expected to climb closer to 30,000.
More than 10 Penn organizations have contributed to the cause by collecting donations, planning a film festival and agreeing to perform at a dinner to raise money for various charities and aid organizations.
"People have been very forthcoming, very generous," Fine Arts graduate student Pushkar Sohoni said.
Volunteers from Rangoli -- the Indian graduate student association -- and the Hindu Student Council have staffed a table on Locust Walk since the beginning of the week, accepting donations from passing students and faculty.
According to Sohoni, a Rangoli board member, most donate small change or a dollar bill, but some have contributed as much as $20, $50 and even $100.
"Some people don't ask questions," Sohoni said. "People give us checks without filling in who [the money will go] to."
The January 26 earthquake has left more than 100,000 homeless, and resulted in roughly $5.5 billion in damages.
"I can't really even comprehend 25,000 dead," said College and Wharton freshman Vijay Mehta, who volunteered to collect donations. "But we do what we can to help. No man is an island."
Donation boxes for money, clothing and supplies have been set up in the lobbies of various dorms and school buildings, such as the Pan-Asian American Community House and Williams Hall, home of the South Asia Regional Studies department.
A prayer event was held Tuesday night, while the South Asia Society and Sangam are sponsoring an earthquake relief dinner event Sunday in the ARCH building.
All of the proceeds from the dinner will go directly to KOJAIN, a charity organization. Local restaurants Tandoor, Sitar and New Delhi have all agreed to donate food.
According to College sophomore Ketan Gala, the earthquake literally hit close to home, as many students are from the affected areas.
"We decided we needed to do something immediately," Gala said. "A lot of us have family out there and we just wanted to help in any way possible."
For all students, including College sophomore An Lam, the desire to help is instinctual.
"I've heard about it on the news and saw the images," said Lam, who donated money twice. "I figured if I can help in any way, why not?"
(12/07/00 10:00am)
Three-year old Caelan Purvy was at Houston Hall to help out, as was 70-year-old Philadelphia resident Henry Roberson.
With over 150 people in the audience for the finale of the Kwanzaa 2000 celebration last night, all ages turned out for the ceremony and feast.
UMOJA and the Greenfield Intercultural Center sponsored this year's week-long Kwanzaa activities.
"We love doing it," GIC Associate Director Karlene Burrell-McRae said. "We get to educate folks who don't know that much about Kwanzaa, and we get to celebrate with folks who do know something."
The size of the audience, as well as its diversity, demonstrated the strength of community at Penn, according to organizers.
With traditional ceremonies, speeches, artistic performances and -- of course -- food, the purpose of the night was to rejoice in the festivities, but also to teach.
Kwanzaa, which means "the first fruit of the harvest" in the Kiswahili language, is normally celebrated from December 26 to January 1. The non-religious holiday emphasizes the values of unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.
According to Wharton sophomore and event coordinator Nicole Andrewin, this year's celebration was the first to span an entire week, with various activities such as performing arts shows and workshops.
"I'm very excited that this year there was a whole week," said Andrewin, who was also the opening speaker. "It allowed everyone to really concentrate on one principle a day."
Andrewin said that one of the purposes of Kwanzaa is to emphasize the importance of elders in the community, who have "seen and been through it all."
"They are the cornerstones of the African-American community," Andrewin added.
Six elders, chosen from both the Penn campus and the surrounding community, presided over the celebration.
A community leader performed a libation, while children ceremonially set the table and other participants lit the kinara, or candelabra.
Penn students from a variety of African-American student groups formally described each of the seven principles.
For example, Wharton junior Randall Sawyer talked about the value of ujamaa, or cooperative economics.
"It's not about someone else failing [in business] for you to be successful," Sawyer said. "True happiness is about coming together and celebrating together."
Although traditionally an African-American celebration, students of all races were encouraged to attend.
College senior Michael Hartwyk was one of those in attendance who was not a member of the African-American community.
"I came to be educated, and to have fun," he said. "It's amazing, the energy and creativity of [the celebration] every year."
(11/22/00 10:00am)
Though over 6 million people have bought into the idea that "men are from mars, women are from venus," Michael Kaufman is definitely one who has not.
"My point, very contrary from the bestselling book [by author John Gray], is that we are not from different planets," Kaufman said. "We are not different species."
In a lecture last night in Logan Hall, Kaufman, an author, educator and activist from Toronto discussed how to change societal expectations of the sexes in order to promote healthier relationships.
Before an intimate audience of about 25 people, Kaufman presented his views on stereotyped gender roles and why they often lead to violence.
"We live in a society based on an inequality between the sexes," Kaufman said. "Men are trained to wield power and be dominant, yet at the same time, they have insecurities about never feeling that [they] can live up to expectations."
Analyzing men and masculinity, Kaufman said that males have traditionally been forced into a "suit of armor" that does not allow for public expression of emotions such as empathy and love.
"This isn't a males-are-bad bit of analysis," Kaufman said. "The good thing about armor is that you can take it off."
According to Kaufman, the idea that males are not supposed to cry or show fear leads to a repression of feelings. In turn, males tend to compensate by resorting to violence against women, through date rape, domestic abuse and sexual harassment.
"The truth is that inside the suit, [males] are just flesh and blood," he said. "We are terrified that other men will see our vulnerability, that we will be discovered as not being 'real men.'"
In order to combat this "epidemic," Kaufman urged a restructuring of today's patriarchal society -- for women to continue their already-started fight, and for men to join them.
"This is about men taking responsibility for the privileges and power given to them," he said. "I don't have to feel guilty about being a man, but I do have to be responsible."
Kaufman, an expert in gender issues, is also the founder and international director of the White Ribbon Campaign, an organization of men helping to end men's violence against women.
Though Kaufman urged cooperation on the part of both sexes, most of Kaufman's speech was directed toward males being more active in changing the stereotype. He challenged males to talk about their feelings and to question why they are often forced to act a certain way.
Those in attendance were generally pleased with Kaufman's assessment.
"Gender and power issues can definitely be improved if we work together," said Mary D'Aiuto, a College of General Studies senior.
And though only five men were present in the audience, they accepted Kaufman's suggestions.
"I definitely agree with the idea that being a dominant, strong, insensitive male is not something to embrace," College and Engineering sophomore Zach Smith said. "Everyone should make an effort to make the world a more equal place."
(11/14/00 10:00am)
There's no doubt that this year's presidential election has become one of the most bizarre political spectacles in decades.
But lest newspaper headlines get too carried away with the melodrama of the situation, there are at least a few Penn professors who want to remind Americans that the election, though unbelievably drawn out, has not violated a single aspect of the Constitution.
"I called it a 'Constitutional Crisis' to bring you folks here, but I put a question mark after it," Political Science Professor Marie Gottschalk said.
A roundtable discussion held yesterday afternoon in Stiteler Hall joined together Political Science Professors Will Harris, Ellen Kennedy, Jerome Maddox, Anne Norton and Gottschalk -- each of whom agreed that the election and its ensuing controversy hardly constitutes a Constitutional crisis.
The election now looks to be perhaps the most disputed in American history. A full week after the election, the winner is still unknown, as Florida's 25 electoral votes -- which will likely decide the election -- are still being counted and recounted.
Florida's secretary of state said yesterday that today would be the deadline for certifying election results. Four largely Democratic counties are still in the process of having their votes recounted by hand as George W. Bush's campaign fights against a manual recount. The state's absentee ballots are expected to be counted by Saturday.
Yesterday afternoon, Harris, Penn's foremost expert on the Constitution, said the situation should be branded a "Constitutional coup" -- and not a crisis.
"Our Constitution was not made for a stupid people," Harris said. "On the other hand, the media was made for very simplistic people."
Calling the present state of politics "media-crazy," Harris and the other panelists blamed the media for essentially taking over the election process. He cited CNN's quick recall of the winner of Florida's electoral vote on Election Night, and criticized the media for trying to provide up-to-the-minute election news instead of accurate coverage.
"The media is running its own election," Kennedy said. "There was very stupid reporting on the election [last] Tuesday."
Objections to the use of the Electoral College as being an indirect means of voting that does not mirror the will of the people were also addressed.
"The problem that we have here is the 12th Amendment is in fact a limitation on popular democracy," Kennedy said.
Gottschalk briefly described the four previous presidential elections in which the Electoral College winner failed to win the popular vote.
According to Gottschalk, both Bush and Al Gore are similar to John Quincy Adams, who won the election in 1824 despite losing the popular vote to Andrew Jackson.
"[Adams] came in very much associated with his predecessors... and he had a terrible four years," Gottschalk said. "Now, we could say that Gore is so identified with Clinton. And Bush Jr., the shrub, hides himself in the big trees of the earlier administration of Bush Sr. "
Several of the 60 or so students and faculty members in attendance said they appreciated the academic viewpoint that was presented.
"I don't really think there's a 'crisis' or that there's going to be a collapse in the government, but a rare event like this might never happen again in my lifetime," College junior Adam Michaels said.
Still, though the five professors all predicted an eventual win for Bush, they agreed that the outcome can never really be satisfactory.
"I actually wish we had a bigger controversy," Norton said. "But this election matters most to the candidates. None of us really care who wins as much as they do... and that should trouble all of us."
(11/02/00 10:00am)
Times have changed since Judith Rodin started her career in academia as a Penn student in the 1960s.
"Those were the days when women had an 11 p.m. curfew and had to wear skirts to dinner," Penn's president said. "But we have come a very, very long way."
At a dinner for freshman women interested in leadership Tuesday night, Rodin discussed the challenges women face in the workplace.
Sponsored by the Women in Leadership Series, the second annual Freshman Women's Dinner brought together about 30 female leaders from a variety of campus organizations to mingle with about 120 freshmen.
"You need to overcome the challenges of being in an environment where there are still many preconceptions about women," Rodin said in her keynote address. "It is indeed hard for a woman to become a successful leader."
As the first female Ivy League president, Rodin said she has had to fight the traditional stereotypes of women in leadership positions.
"My own journey has been pretty amazing to me," Rodin said. "There are a lot of firsts that didn't feel like triumphs, but felt kind of depressing because there were so few women doing these types of things."
Rodin noted that gender disparity is still a very real problem in our society.
"When I became president of Penn, it was listed as another first," Rodin said. "When the New York Times wrote it up, they commented on what I wore. I was not pleased."
Rodin said she was happy to see how far women have come at Penn since her student days here.
The freshman women said it was good to see the different positions that their peers across campus hold.
"It was really encouraging to see all these leaders from all these different groups," College freshman Julie Hanlon said. "And what's more, they're all in multiple groups, and honor societies and sororities -- it was very inspiring."
According to College junior Jessica Linden, a member of the WILS Planning Committee, the turnout for the event was much better than expected.
"We were so nervous to have this event on Halloween, but I'm so happy to see so many freshmen wanting to get involved," Linden said.
The Women in Leadership Series was founded in 1998 as a forum for discussing opportunities available for females.
College freshman Jessica Kennedy attended after her experiences at a summer business internship led her to realize that women were often stereotyped.
"I thought it'd be a good opportunity to see how other people faced the same obstacles," Kennedy said. "Judy Rodin is such an exceptional leader, and it's just good to hear another's experience."
And the upperclassmen also appreciated the chance to hear Rodin's speech.
College senior Meredith Chiaccio was one woman invited to the program on the basis of her leadership experience.
"We were just saying that we wished we had this our freshman year," Chiaccio said. "And if there were any person to speak about pioneering, it would be [Rodin]."
(10/06/00 9:00am)
The fans were screaming.
The cameras were flashing.
And when the red carpet was rolled out, approximately 40 members of the Penn Choir made their way down the velvet runway alongside the likes of Rosie O'Donnell and Billy Crystal.
Walking into a sold-out Madison Square Garden last week, the choir wasn't just there to see what was billed as Barbra Streisand's final performance -- they were a part of it.
Selected students, faculty, alumni and Philadelphia community members that comprise the choir had the opportunity to sing with the ageless diva during her final two performances on September 27 and 28.
"I was just thrilled," College sophomore Mary Cramer said. "You can sing in a lot of places with a lot of people, but I think Madison Square Garden with Barbra Streisand is about as big as it gets."
The opportunity arose last August when Streisand's program director contacted Penn Choir Director William Parberry, specifically requesting that the choir do the show.
"I was just personally taken away by it," College senior Steven Gearhart said. "I didn't know that much about Barbra Streisand beforehand, but it was incredible."
For four songs, the choir members remained in a room backstage. They used television monitors to coordinate with Streisand, while their voices were piped through the sound system to the audience.
The most exciting moment of the show, however, came during the second act, when the choir sang "Happy Days Are Here Again" onstage before the audience of 12,500, who in some cases forked over thousands of dollars for a ticket.
"It was pretty overwhelming," said choir member Nancy Hornberger, a professor in the Graduate School of Education. "It gave me a real appreciation of what it must be like for [Streisand] as an individual performer in front of all those people."
Interestingly, the choir's expertise is not in popular music, but rather choral arrangements of classical music. So, through a series of 14 rehearsals since early last month, the group had to learn six of Streisand's songs. Both the Penn Choir and the Choral Society perform once each semester.
While onstage, the choir not only stood directly in front of Streisand, but arranged themselves less than 20 feet from the front row of celebrity attendees.
"We saw Madeleine Albright, Glenn Close, Sarah Jessica Parker," Gearhart said. "That in itself was pretty exciting."
But Streisand's show isn't even the first time the Penn Choir has performed with a famous singer.
In 1998, the choir sang with Michael Crawford, best known for his role as the original Phantom of the Opera.
Their impressive performance with Crawford led to the recent invitation to sing with Streisand.
Committing to the show involved signing a lengthy contract with Streisand's company containing specific rules about their behavior.
For instance, the contract legally bars the choir from saying anything unflattering about the star. And, in keeping with the terms of the pact -- whether intentionally or not -- several choir members gushed when asked about "Babs."
"It's a pretty incredible experience to say that I sang with someone who's been so large a part of American music culture," Cramer said.
Though the choir did not actually meet Streisand, they did get to take home souvenirs such as T-shirts, their backstage passes and music from the show.
And while some fans paid as much as $2,500 for a ticket -- the highest price ever charged for an event at Madison Square Garden -- the choir members had the best seats in the house for free.
Aside from these material bonuses, however, most agreed that their short time in the spotlight was the highlight of the event, whether onstage or off.
"I had to exit on the red carpet," Parberry recalled. "One of the practical jokers in the group yelled out OThere's Bill Parberry!' and [the cameras] started flashing."
(09/27/00 9:00am)
Only King Midas, with his golden touch, could turn some 2,700-year-old remains into a feast fit for a king.
And indeed, at the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology on Saturday night, about 150 guests were treated to a royal dinner -- the exact dinner mourners at the Phrygian king's funerary feast ate in 700 B.C.
The "Feast Fit for King Midas" dinner event was recreated from findings at the site of the "Midas Mound" tomb in Gordion in central Turkey.
The historically accurate menu was based on evidence from Midas' banquet remains and consisted of a spicy fire-roasted lamb and lentil stew, as well as a specially brewed "King Midas Golden Elixir" wine, barley beer and honey mead.
The black-tie optional dinner was a fundraiser for the Museum's Applied Science Center for Archaeology. Tickets cost $150 for non-members and $135 for members. Invitations went out to museum members and those associated with the chemical analysis of the remains. No Penn students were in attendance.
"This is the first time such an ancient feast has been recreated primarily from chemical evidence," said Patrick McGovern, senior research scientist in the Museum's Applied Science Center for Archaeology.
"To have been associated with Midas -- who is associated with legend, but was also actually an historic figure -- makes it all the more remarkable."
The archaeological site, first discovered in 1957, revealed a well-preserved tomb, elaborately inlaid wooden furniture and hundreds of bronze serving vessels and drinking bowls.
Over five pounds of ancient remains were left inside the vessels according to McGovern, who specializes in molecular archaeology. Lab analysis of these "leftovers" concluded that the king ate either lamb or goat.
"You will be the first to taste the results and judge just how well the ancient Phrygians ate and dined," McGovern told the guests.
Museum Catering Company Executive Chef Pamela Horowitz was responsible for the evening's meal, which was thoroughly researched for accuracy.
"Although it's a seemingly simple task -- OOh, I'll just make some stew' -- I [couldn't] use potatoes. They weren't around then," Horowitz said. "I [couldn't] use tomatoes. They weren't around then. We had to research the indigenous ingredients."
The three-course meal featured specialties from the region such as stuffed grape leaves and sun-dried fruits, a Turkish Mezze with goat cheese and olive and garbanzo spread and a dessert of a honey-carmelized fennel tarte with pekmez, a traditional raisin and honey sauce. The chocolate truffle was gold-plated.
Also speaking at the dinner fundraiser was Elizabeth Simpson, director of the Gordion Furniture Project, who described the excavation and subsequent restoration processes of the tomb. Simpson's research on the furniture enabled her to reconstruct the course of events at the funeral and ritual banquet and led to her suggestion of analyzing the organic material found.
As the speakers discussed their experiences, guests viewed slides of the excavation site. Each table was graced with a basket of golden apples and a blown-up copy of the 1957 New York Times article describing the initial finding.
The event also featured the unveiling of the "King Midas" display, which will be featured in the main entrance of the museum beginning September 26.
