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(04/20/00 9:00am)
Tuesday night's debate on the death penalty included a mascot -- but not a traditional mascot. This one was an audience member dressed up as an executioner and wielding a paper scythe. He chose to remain anonymous and referred to himself only as Judith Rodin. The executioner was one of about 30 students who attended an informal debate on the death penalty and the justification for imposing a moratorium on all executions. Held in Meyerson Hall, the event was sponsored by Penn Forum, Penn chapter of Amnesty International and the Penn chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "The point was to educate us in a fun manner," said Penn Forum Chair man Ethan Laub, a Wharton sophomore. The sides debated the flaws and benefits of the death penalty. For instance, College freshman Anna Roberts said she believed that execution does not always succeed in promoting justice. "Twenty-three people have been mistakenly executed," she said. Roberts also claimed that the death penalty is racist and that, contrary to what the death penalty's supporters say, it fails to deter crime. But Wharton sophomore Julio Vasconcellos, president of the Parliamentary Debate Team, said he thought that it is unfair to blame the entire system for what he considers to be aberrant mistakes. He also said he thought that better DNA testing would increase the likelihood of convicting the guilty. "Simply because there are errors, we shouldn't throw out the whole principle," he said. Vasconcellos was followed by Douglas Robbins, a second-year Penn Law student, who echoed some of Vasconcellos' sentiments. "Retributive justice is the principle under which this discussion should be had," Robbins said. "People want to punish people because it is the right thing to do." The Rev. Jeff Garis, executive director of the Pennsylvania Abolitionists United Against the Death Penalty, disagreed. "That is not doing anything to improve society. Simply offering [victims] another person's life is really not going to help them." The debate was organized by College sophomore Jeanne Zelnick and College freshman Adam Lubow. "I was very pleased with the opinions and the turnout," Lubow said after the debate. "The strong turnout was encouraging." The audience consisted mostly of College and Wharton undergraduates, and most students there identified themselves as opponents of the death penalty. "The pro-death penalty side was too philosophical and didn't raise good points," said Wharton junior Bryan Bachrad, who opposes the institution. "I thought it was good to hear both sides," said Eileen Bunn, an intern with the American Friends Service Committee and a member of the Pennsylvania Abolitionists United Against the Death Penalty. "The audience was very responsive."
(02/24/00 10:00am)
Hoping to reduce their collective stress levels, increase their energy and improve their health, more than 50 Penn students headed into Logan Hall last night to explore the world of alternative healing. Sponsored by campus groups ranging from Student Health Services to the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life to the Yan Xin Qigong Club, the students were treated to an introductory class in Qigong Tai Chi -- a traditional form of Chinese exercises. According to Barry Kenneally, a worker in Student Health Services and the coordinator for the event, Qigong is "part of a comprehensive health and wellness program." Yu Chen, a Penn graduate student and president of the Yan Xin Qigong Club, explained that Qigong Tai Chi is different from regular Tai chi in that it emphasizes the cultivation of Qigong, or "vital energy." Chinese Qigong master Yan Xin was the first to combine Qigong with science in 1980. Dora Horbachevsky, a staff assistant in the Neurology and Oncology departments, addressed the participants in the beginning of the class. She is one of the two Qigong students who attested to its healthful effects. "[Qigong was] one of the best things that I ever did in my life," she said. "Now I can smile at my boss and be sincere about it." And Will Tayor, a teacher for the Fairmount Park Commission, had similar feelings. "Qigong has enabled me to be drug free," he said. The assets of Qigong include stress reduction, mental health improvement, physical health improvement, energy enhancement, concentration improvement and even weight-loss. "For chronic problems, [modern] medicine is now accepting that Qigong is a valid complementary treatment," said Kirsten Erwin, a biochemist at nearby Hahnemann University and four-year practitioner of Yan Xin Qigong. Near the end of the seminar, Long Gao, president of the International Yan Xin Qigong Health Institute of Martial Arts, showed a video of himself in action. "[Qigong is] being in harmony with the universe," he said. At the end of the seminar, University faculty and students were invited to participate in a nine-week program -- whose location has yet to be selected -- which will teach the movements of Yan Xin Qigong Tai Chi. The sessions, which will meet on Tuesday nights, will also focus on the cultivation of inner energy. Extra admission forms had to be photocopied, meaning that more people showed up for the seminar than had been expected. Most attendees were Penn students who had little or no experience with Qigong Tai Chi. "It was encouraging for me to hear of the health benefits," said Crystal Epps, a graduate student in Social Work who still suffers from a back injury sustained in a car accident two years ago. "It's nice that the University can provide students with alternative techniques," said Gabriel Ramos-Fernandez, a graduate student in Biology who practices Tai Chi.
(02/07/00 10:00am)
With just a vegetable and a carving knife, local restaurateur Joseph Poon attracted the attention of about 30 wide-eyed young children in the Upper Egypt Gallery of the University Museum on Saturday afternoon. In the Lower Egypt Gallery, meanwhile, students and instructors from Siu Lum Kung Fu Academy gave a Tai Chi demonstration. With the promise of free food, lessons in martial arts and displays of traditional Chinese dances, about several hundred local Philadelphians packed all three floors of the museum as part of the annual Chinese New Year celebration at Penn. Some of the cultural events that took place throughout the day included dance performances by the Yardley Chinese Language School and the Jade River Dancers. Among the all-day activities in which the attendees participated were I Ching fortune telling, vegetable carvings and Chinese painting and calligraphy. In addition, the Penn Chinese Student Association -- a campus organization with approximately 300 student members -- hosted activities ranging from Chinese games to information tables to arts and crafts for children. On the first floor, between the Islam and Archaeology exhibits, about 50 participants received a free demonstration of Tai Chi -- a popular Chinese form of exercise. "This was the first time we were invited," said Shahab Minassian, the associate instructor for Siu Lum. "We've practiced many times together." The Tai Chi presentation was followed with a Qi Gong demonstration led by local martial arts guru Master Hou and a Kung Fu lesson taught by Kung Fu Academy One. And in terms of food, representatives from Beijing Restaurant dished out free samples and offered cooking lessons, while Poon's edible vegetable carvings -- which included dragons, rats and birds -- proved particularly popular among the children. Throughout the events, several of the museum-goers -- among them only a handful of Penn students unaffiliated with the Chinese Student Association -- expressed their different reasons for attending. "We wanted [our daughter] to keep her heritage," said Bill Mooney, father of an adopted daughter. "Even though she lives in the U.S., she's still Chinese." "It made us feel like we were back [in China]," his wife Lynn explained. Added eight-year-old Raven Williams, "I liked the arts and crafts. I learned how to make one of these [Chinese lanterns], but mine's ripped." The day's festivities were capped off with a traditional Lion Dance, which was so popular that it had to be performed twice. The Harrison Auditorium was filled to capacity both times. "It was very successful," CSA President Trudy Chan, a College sophomore, said. "A lot of people could learn about Chinese culture." Chan speculated that the low Penn student turnout could be attributed to a lack of advertising, though the CSA did distribute flyers on Locust Walk on Friday. "It's sad," Chan said. "Four years ago, it was a much bigger thing around the Penn campus."
(02/07/00 10:00am)
With just a vegetable and a carving knife, local restaurateur Joseph Poon attracted the attention of about 30 wide-eyed young children in the Upper Egypt Gallery of the University Museum on Saturday afternoon. In the Lower Egypt Gallery, meanwhile, students and instructors from Siu Lum Kung Fu Academy gave a Tai Chi demonstration. With the promise of free food, lessons in martial arts and displays of traditional Chinese dances, about several hundred local Philadelphians packed all three floors of the museum as part of the annual Chinese New Year celebration at Penn. Some of the cultural events that took place throughout the day included dance performances by the Yardley Chinese Language School and the Jade River Dancers. Among the all-day activities in which the attendees participated were I Ching fortune telling, vegetable carvings and Chinese painting and calligraphy. In addition, the Penn Chinese Student Association -- a campus organization with approximately 300 student members -- hosted activities ranging from Chinese games to information tables to arts and crafts for children. On the first floor, between the Islam and Archaeology exhibits, about 50 participants received a free demonstration of Tai Chi -- a popular Chinese form of exercise. "This was the first time we were invited," said Shahab Minassian, the associate instructor for Siu Lum. "We've practiced many times together." The Tai Chi presentation was followed with a Qi Gong demonstration led by local martial arts guru Master Hou and a Kung Fu lesson taught by Kung Fu Academy One. And in terms of food, representatives from Beijing Restaurant dished out free samples and offered cooking lessons, while Poon's edible vegetable carvings -- which included dragons, rats and birds -- proved particularly popular among the children. Throughout the events, several of the museum-goers -- among them only a handful of Penn students unaffiliated with the Chinese Student Association -- expressed their different reasons for attending. "We wanted [our daughter] to keep her heritage," said Bill Mooney, father of an adopted daughter. "Even though she lives in the U.S., she's still Chinese." "It made us feel like we were back [in China]," his wife Lynn explained. Added eight-year-old Raven Williams, "I liked the arts and crafts. I learned how to make one of these [Chinese lanterns], but mine's ripped." The day's festivities were capped off with a traditional Lion Dance, which was so popular that it had to be performed twice. The Harrison Auditorium was filled to capacity both times. "It was very successful," CSA President Trudy Chan, a College sophomore, said. "A lot of people could learn about Chinese culture." Chan speculated that the low Penn student turnout could be attributed to a lack of advertising, though the CSA did distribute flyers on Locust Walk on Friday. "It's sad," Chan said. "Four years ago, it was a much bigger thing around the Penn campus."
