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(06/01/99 9:00am)
I hid my copy of The Satanic Verses in my desk drawer where Arshad wouldn't see it. It was the second semester of my freshman year, and I didn't want my roommate to know that I had a copy of Salman Rushdie's book because Arshad was a Muslim. The middle of the second semester is the time when so many freshman roommates break up. Everything about your first semester at school seems new and exciting, but when second semester midterms roll around, any suppressed strains in roommate relationships ooze to the surface. Perhaps the story of how Arshad and I managed to survive a year living together in a 13' x 9' Hill College House room will give others incentive to stick it out, too. I didn't want Arshad to know I had a copy of The Satanic Verses because I didn't want to offend him. But at the same time, I was motivated to buy the book solely because I knew that if Arshad found out I owned a copy, he would be really mad. Arshad and I had dozens of intense but respectful debates about the issues on which we disagreed -- that is, all the issues. In one of these discussions, Arshad threw his hands in the air and told me that Rushdie deserved Ayatollah Khomeini's death threat for writing the book. He said that Rushdie should have known the consequences of publishing a book that was clearly blasphemy to Muslims. Frankly, I never read the book. And my former roommate only found out that I had a copy in my desk drawer just this last semester, two years after I bought the book and a year and a half after we packed up our things and left Hill House to go our separate ways. Incidentally, Arshad recently told me that he doesn't agree with the death threat against Rushdie anymore. In his own words, he's "mellowed out and grown up." The Rushdie incident is just one illustration of the strange love-hate relationship Arshad and I shared freshman year. But the biggest conflicts between us were over seemingly insignificant daily activities. Arshad had brought a TV with him all the way from Florida so that he wouldn't have to miss a single episode of The Wonder Years or The Cosby Show. I hated television. The one thing I did like to watch was Dan Rather, while he liked to watch Peter Jennings. I tried to go to sleep around midnight or 1 a.m. every night. But Arshad liked to leave his desk light on and study until the wee hours of the morning. Our Hill House room was constantly overheated. For the first semester I kept opening the window to let in a little air, but he kept closing it. Then something strange happened after winter break, when he started opening the window and I started closing it because I was too cold. So how did we do it? How did we manage to live together for a year without killing each other? Well, to begin with, we had the same bonding experiences that all freshmen roommates have. Take the first week of freshman year when we went carousing on the town. Both of us were well underage, but Arshad had the guts to go in and buy a six-pack from a local landmark greasy spoon, while I stood out on the street scared silly. And then there were all our debates. And although we were both as stubborn as donkeys (or should that be elephants?), we ended up making a lot of compromises. I'd let him play Madonna music on my stereo for a while if he'd promise to let me play Joe Jackson later. He started studying in the lounge late at night. I tried to control my urge to throttle him when I came into my room to take a nap only to find him lying on his bed, remote control in hand, watching Three's Company. But still there was constant conflict. At about the middle of the second semester -- around the time that I bought my copy of Satanic Verses -- things really started to deteriorate. Arshad had managed to get a hold of a video cassette recorder. "Oh no!" I thought. "That can only mean more TV watching!" We had a big fight about the VCR and in the end decided to go talk to our graduate fellow about our problems. The GF was ready to switch rooms, but neither of us was willing to leave the room. In the end we were forced to learn tolerance. "We were so much the same,"Arshad told me the other day. "You take all our differences that we had on paper and then you look at the way we responded to each other -- we hated the same way, we responded the same way, we got on each other's nerves the same way but neither one of us was willing to give it up." Although I disagreed with him on almost every issue, I always respected Arshad a great deal for the strength of his beliefs. And although we often could not stand to be in the same room together, I always felt that my roommate was a kind and thoughtful person. Whether it was due to God in the heavens or to the god in Residential Living, we were forced to spend a year together. And I think we learned a great deal about what "sensitivity" really means from our little experience in coexistence. I'm glad that we didn't give up. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I hope you won't give it up either.
(06/01/98 9:00am)
I hid my copy of The Satanic Verses in my desk drawer where Arshad wouldn't see it. It was the second semester of my freshman year, and I didn't want my roommate to know that I had a copy of Salman Rushdie's book because Arshad was a Muslim. The middle of the second semester is the time when so many freshman roommates break up. Everything about your first semester at school seems new and exciting, but when second-semester midterms roll around, any suppressed strains in roommate relationships ooze to the surface. Perhaps the story of how Arshad and I managed to survive a year living together in a 13x9 Hill House room will give others the incentive to stick it out, too. I didn't want Arshad to know I had a copy of The Satanic Verses because I didn't want to offend him. But at the same time, I was motivated to buy the book solely because I knew that if Arshad found out I owned a copy, he would be really mad. Arshad and I had dozens of intense but respectful debates about the issues on which we disagreed -- that is, all the issues. In one of these discussions, Arshad threw his hands in the air and told me that Rushdie deserved Ayatollah Khomeini's death threat for writing the book. He said Rushdie should have known the consequences of publishing a book that was clearly blasphemy to Muslims. Frankly, I never read the book. And my former roommate only found out that I had kept a copy in my desk drawer just this last semester, two years after I bought the book and a year and a half after we packed up our things and left Hill House to go our separate ways. Incidentally, Arshad recently told me that he doesn't agree with the death threat against Rushdie anymore. In his own words, he's "mellowed out and grown up." The Rushdie incident is just one illustration of the strange love-hate relationship Arshad and I shared freshman year. But the biggest conflicts between us were over seemingly insignificant daily activities. Arshad had brought a TV with him all the way from Florida so that he wouldn't have to miss a single episode of The Wonder Years or The Cosby Show. I hated television. The one thing I did like to watch was Dan Rather, while he liked to watch Peter Jennings. I tried to go to sleep around midnight or 1 a.m. every night. But Arshad liked to leave his desk light on and study until the wee hours of the morning. Our Hill House room was constantly overheated. For the first semester, I kept opening the window to let in a little air, but he kept closing it. Then something strange happened after winter break, when he started opening the window and I started closing it because I thought the room was getting too cold. So how did we do it? How did we manage to live together for a year without killing each other? Well to begin with, we had the same bonding experiences that all freshmen roommates have. Take the first week of freshman year when we went carousing on the town. Both of us were well under age, but Arshad had the guts to go in and buy a six-pack of beer from a local landmark greasy spoon, while I stood outside on the street scared silly. And then there were all our debates. And although we were both stubborn as donkeys (or should that be elephants?), we ended up making a lot of compromise. I'd let him play Madonna music on my stereo for a while if he'd promise to let me play Joe Jackson later. He started studying in the lounge late at night. I tried to control my urge to throttle him when I came into the room to take a nap only to find him lying on his bed, remote control in hand, watching Three's Company. But still there was constant conflict. At about the middle of the second semester around the time that I bought my copy of The Satanic Verses things really started to deteriorate. Arshad had managed to get ahold of a video cassette recorder. "Oh no!" I thought. "That can only mean more TV watching!" We had a big fight about the VCR and in the end decided to go and talk to our graduate fellow about our problems. The GF was ready to switch rooms, but neither of us was willing to leave the room. In the end, we were forced to learn tolerance. "We were so much the same," Arshad told me the other day. "You take all our differences that we had on paper and then you look at the way we responded to each other -- we hated each other the same way, we got on each other's nerves the same way, but neither of us was ever willing to give it up." Although I disagreed with him on almost every issue, I always respected Arshad a great deal for the strength of his beliefs. And although we often could not stand to be in the same room together, I always felt that my roommate was a kind and thoughtful person. Whether it was due to God in the heavens or to the god in Residential Living, we were forced to spend a year living together. And I think we both learned a great deal about what "sensitivity" really means from our little experience in coexistence. I'm glad that we didn't give up. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I hope you won't give it up either.
(03/06/98 10:00am)
Added to the still-empty former Sam Goody site just around the corner, the decision to get rid of the stores simply does not make sense, as no replacements have yet signed on to take their places. These empty storefronts cannot languish. Instead, administrators must make sure the stores they emptied are quickly occupied. In fact, local retailers have been pointing out for months that rent in the complex is prohibitively high -- often running at least double the cost of alternative stores in Center City. With Sansom Common opening soon, Walnut Street retail will likely experience a rebirth. The current market, however, does not support such high rent. Officials said the University's decision reflects Penn's desire to get the right mix of retail on campus. Yet the stores that have left the complex -- especially Software Etc. and Sam Goody -- provided services to community members not available from many other local vendors. And because most of the stores told to leave were earning enough money to pay their bills, it makes even less sense that they are not allowed to remain open. When the University took over management of the 3401 Walnut Street complex, it did so to ensure that appropriate retailers had the opportunity to open stores. That responsibility still exists, and it is more important now than ever. Charging too much for space and then kicking out the stores that can pay is not sound policy.
(06/01/97 9:00am)
I hid my copy of The Satanic Verses in my desk drawer where Arshad wouldn't see it. It was the second semester of my freshman year, and I didn't want my roommate to know that I had a copy of Salman Rushdie's book because Arshad was a Muslim. The middle of the second semester is the time when so many freshman roommates break up. Everything about your first semester at school seems new and exciting, but when second-semester midterms roll around, any suppressed strains in roommate relationships ooze to the surface. Perhaps the story of how Arshad and I managed to survive a year living together in a 13x9 Hill House room will give others the incentive to stick it out, too. I didn't want Arshad to know I had a copy of The Satanic Verses because I didn't want to offend him. But at the same time, I was motivated to buy the book solely because I knew that if Arshad found out I owned a copy, he would be really mad. Arshad and I had dozens of intense, but respectful debates about the issues on which we disagreed -- that is, all the issues. In one of these discussions, Arshad threw his hands in e air and told me that Rushdie deserved Ayatollah Khomeini's death threat for writing the book. He said Rushdie should have know the consequences of publishing a book that was clearly blasphemy to Muslims. Frankly, I never read the book. And my former roommate only found out that I had kept a copy in my desk drawer just this last semester -- two years after I bought the book and a year-and-a-half after we packed up our things and left HIll House to go our separate ways. Incidentally, Arshad recently told me that he doesn't agree with the death threat against Rushdie anymore. In his own words, he's "mellowed out and grown up." The Rushdie incident is just one illustration of the strange love.hate relationship Arshad and I shared freshman year. But the biggest conflicts between us were over seemingly insignificant daily activities. Arshad had brought a TV with him all the way from Florida so that he wouldn't have to miss a single episode of The Wonder Years of The Cosby Show. I hated television. The one thing I did like to watch was Dan Rather, while he liked to watch Peter Jennings. I tried to go to sleep around midnight or 1 a.m. every night. But Arshad liked to leave his desk light on and study until the wee hours of the morning. Our Hill House room was constantly overheated. For the first semester, I kept opening the window to let in a little air, but he kept closing it. Then something strange happened after winter break, when he started opening the window and I started closing it because I thought the room was getting too cold. So how did we do it? How did we manage to live together for a year without killing each other? Well to begin with, we had the same bonding experiences that all freshmen roommates have. Take the first week of freshman year when we went carousing on the town. Both of us were well under age, but Arshad had the guts to go in and buy a six-pack of beer from a local landmark greasy spoon, while I stood outside on the street scared silly. And then there were all our debates. And although we were both stubborn as donkeys (or should that be elephants?), we ended up making a lot of compromise. I'd let him play Madonna music on my stereo for a while, if he'd promise to let me play Joe Jackson later. He started studying in the lounge late at night. I tried to control my urge to throttle him when I came into the room to take a nap only to find him lying on his bed, remote control in hand, watching Three's Company. But still there was constant conflict. At about the middle of the second semester -- around the time that I bought my copy of The Satanic Verses -- things really started to deteriorate. Arshad had managed to get ahold of a video cassette recorder. "Oh no!" I thought. "That can only mean more TV watching!" We had a big fight about the VCR and in the end decided to go and talk to our Graduate Fellow about our problems. The GF was ready to switch rooms, but neither of us was willing to leave the room. In the end, we were forced to learn tolerance. "We were so much the same," ARshad told me the other day. "You take all our differences that we had on paper and then you look at the way we responded to each other --Ewe hated each other the same way, we got on each other's nerves the same way, but neither of us was ever willing to give it up." Although I disagreed with him on almost every issue, I always respected Arshad a great deal for the strength of his beliefs. And although we often could not stand to be in the same room together, I always felt that my roommate was a kind and thoughtful person. Whether it was due to God in the heavens of to the god in Residential LIving, we were forced to spend a year living together. And I think we both learned a great deal about what "sensitivity" really means from our little experience in coexistence. I'm glad that we didn't give up. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I hope you won't give it up either. Steven Ochs is a former Editorial Page Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. This is reprinted from one of his 1991 columns.
(03/26/97 10:00am)
This article appeared in the joke issue. This article appeared in the joke issue.To the Editor: With your reporters checking in to my hotels before I do, I've enjoyed having something more than just the usual mint on my pillow waiting for me to arrive. And I would particularly like to thank Dina Bass for letting United Airlines know what hotel I was staying in in West Palm Beach, Fla., after they lost my luggage. I understand some former DP staffers do not yet have a full-time job lined up for after graduation. If any of them would like to handle my travel reservations, that would be fine with me. I need to book a trip soon to Providence, R.I., so get in touch ASAP. Stanley Chodorow Provost Won't you be my neighbor To the Editor: I'm just write-diddily-iting to let all you happy folks know that I'm beginning a new campus crusade next month! That's right: I've bought that Fels shack at 39th and Walnut, and I'll be living and operating my new, upscale Leftorium there! How do ya diddily do, neighbor Judy? My two boys, Rod and Todd, just can't wait to sing Bible songs with your son Alex! And I'm sure you and Maude will get along just swell (just don't underline passages in her Bible -- she can't stand that). I'm even renovating a part of the building into a bomb shelter -- just in case another comet comes. And since I was a frat boy myself in college, the guys across the street will be more than welcome in my humble abode! Just remember: The handle's Flanders, but the friends call me Ned! Until next time, have an absitively posolutely terrific day! Ned Flanders Judy Rodin's New Neighbor More Women's Track! To the Editor: I would like to thank The Daily Pennsylvanian's sports department for its consistent and fair coverage of the Penn women's track team this past winter. Although our meets are all unscored and take place in every city on the East Coast but Philadelphia, the DP has never failed to make space for the accomplishments of these wonderful athletes. Keep up the good work, DP! Tony Tenisci Penn Asst. Women's Track Coach P.S. Great job on the Mr. and Ms. Penn contests, too. 'Get thee behind me' To the Editor: Imagine my surprise when I picked up today's Daily Pennsylvanian and saw the hidden message contained on the front page. "Satan is the true God. Surrender to his awful power. You will all rot in hell for eternity." Now, many have accused your paper of biases -- the Greek system, anti-Greeks, conservatives, liberals, members of minority groups, white supremacists, etc. -- but this takes the cake. Little do your myriad critics know that every editor at the DP is secretly pledged to serve Lucifer. In researching your demonic connections a little further, I discovered something everyone should know: Managing Editor Mike Madden has horns, cloven hoofs and a big red tail. If that doesn't prove the DP's evil, I don't know what does. So next time true Christian students go to read the paper, I hope they say, "Get thee behind me, Satan," and leave it on the newsstand. Rabbi Jeremy Brochin The conservative side Dear Sirs: What a relief it was to discover your magnificent publication during my latest visit to the Penn campus. It is encouraging to find such an articulate, thoughtful group of young conservatives on Penn's otherwise liberal wasteland. I was particularly smitten by Marc Leader's piece, "Marge Schott: Not Such a Bad Broad." I agree with the assessment that Ms. Schott's pro-Hitler comments were taken completely out of context. It is such a travesty when the liberal media abuses its ill-gotten power. I have enclosed a $500 donation in the hopes that your fine publication can continue bringing the truth to light amid so much darkness. F. Maxwell Sterling College '44 P.S. This is The Red and Blue, isn't it? 27-across, 5-down To the Editor: I just wanted to tell the DP how much I appreciate the great service they provide to all students every day of their publication. That service is: the crossword puzzle. Just think about it. Where would we all be if we actually had to participate in class or take notes if we didn't have a crossword puzzle to do? We might all get As! I especially enjoy the challenging aspect of the puzzles as they get harder as the week progresses. And that satisfied feeling I get when I've completed all of Monday's crossword cannot be compared to anything. This is just my small way of saying how much I appreciate the DP offering this valuable product that adds tremendously to student life. Valerie Swain Cade McCollum Vice Provost for University Life TA defends language skills To the Editor: Me write letter to tell how I teach good. Why students not like how me speak, I try hard. I come not from U.A.S. but go far from there. It nice country where I born, here everyone not so nice. I think me talk in good, clear English, but class my half don't up show each day. Class I teach called "English as Second Language," I think I do real good job doing it as teacher, and I learn much good way you all here at school speak. I feel I understand lot more now that I been here for two month, and I think other TAs like I can speak good language too. You all give us all chance to prove wrong you. Next semester I teach lots more and then become professor in Economics department. John Smith SAS doctoral student
(12/14/96 10:00am)
Choosing Undergraduate AssemblyChoosing Undergraduate Assemblyrepresentatives via the WorldChoosing Undergraduate Assemblyrepresentatives via the WorldWide Web could increaseChoosing Undergraduate Assemblyrepresentatives via the WorldWide Web could increaseparticipation, improveChoosing Undergraduate Assemblyrepresentatives via the WorldWide Web could increaseparticipation, improverepresentation and decreaseChoosing Undergraduate Assemblyrepresentatives via the WorldWide Web could increaseparticipation, improverepresentation and decreasestudent apathy.Choosing Undergraduate Assemblyrepresentatives via the WorldWide Web could increaseparticipation, improverepresentation and decreasestudent apathy._____________________________ Rather than waiting in long lines to cast ballots at computers that often malfunction, students could make their voices heard virtually, using the World Wide Web browser Netscape from their homes or University computer labs. The system would be protected from voter fraud in a manner similar to that currently employed by Penn InTouch; students would enter their social security numbers and personal access codes before making their choices for the UA. After voting, students' names would be entered into a database that would prevent them from casting extra ballots -- much like the present system, which requires students to have their PennCards scanned before they can vote. According to UA Chairperson Lance Rogers, when Stanford University instituted a virtual voting system, participation in elections for student government jumped to an incredible 80 percent. Compare that to last spring at Penn, when two referenda for radical constitutional reform of student government were up for ratification. Both failed because only 13.6 percent of students bothered to cast ballots. Administrators often discount the pleas and proposals of the UA and other branches of student government because of the widespread -- and accurate -- perception that these "representatives" are not particularly representative of the student body as a whole.
(06/30/96 9:00am)
roommate with whom he never say eye-to-eye, but learned from - and learned to like - anyway. I hid my copy of The Satanic Verses in my desk drawer where Arshad wouldn't see it. It was the second semester of my freshman year, and I didn't want my roommate to know that I had a copy of Salman Rushdie's book because Arshad was a Muslim. The middle of the second semester is the time when so many freshmen roommates break up. Everything about your first semester at school seems new and exciting, but when second-semester midterms roll around, any suppressed strains in roommate relationships ooze to the surface. Perhaps the story of how Arshad and I managed to survive a year living together in a 13x9 Hill House room will give others the incentive to stick it out, too. I didn't want Arshad to know I had a copy of The Satanic Verses because I didn't want to offend him. But at the same time, I was motivated to buy the book solely because I knew that if Arshad found out I owned a copy, he would be really mad. Arshad and I had dozens of intense, but respectful debates about the issues on which we disagreed -- that is, all the issues. In one of these discussions, Arshad threw his hands in the air and told me that Rushdie deserved Ayatollah Khomeini's death threat for writing the book. He said Rushdie should have known the consequences of publishing a book that was clearly blasphemy to Muslims. Frankly, I never read the book. And my former roommate only found out that I had kept a copy of the book in my desk drawer just this last semester -- two years after I bought the book and a year-and-a-half after we packed up our things and left Hill House to go our separate ways. Incidentally, Arshad recently told me that he doesn't agree with the death threat against Rushdie anymore. In his own words, he's "mellowed out and grown up." The Rushdie incident is just one illustration of the strange love/hate relationship Arshad and I shared freshman year. But the biggest conflicts between us were over seemingly insignificant daily activities. Arshad had brought a TV with him all the way from Florida so that he wouldn't have to miss a single episode of The Wonder Years or The Cosby Show. I hated television. The one thing I did like to watch was Dan Rather, while he liked to watch Peter Jennings. I tried to go to sleep around midnight or 1 a.m. every night. But Arshad liked to leave his desk light on and study until the wee hours of the morning. Our Hill House room was constantly overheated. For the first semester, I kept opening the window to let in a little air, but he kept closing it. Then something strange happened after winter break, when he started opening the window and I started closing it because I thought the room was getting too cold. So how did we do it? How did we manage to live together for a year without killing each other? Well, to begin with, we had the same bonding experiences that all freshmen roommates have. Take the first week of freshman year when we went carousing on the town. Both of us were well under age, but Arshad had the guts to go in and buy a six-pack of beer from a local landmark greasy spoon, while I stood outside on the street, scared silly. And then there were all our debates. And although we were both stubborn as donkeys (or should that be elephants?), we ended up making a lot of compromises. I'd let him play Madonna music on my stereo for a while, if he'd promise to let me play Joe Jackson later. He started studying in the lounge late at night. I tried to control my urge to throttle him when I came into the room to take a nap only to find him lying on his bed, remote control in hand, watching Three's Company. But still there was constant conflict. At about the middle of the second semester -- around the time that I bought my copy of The Satanic Verses -- things really started to deteriorate. Arshad had managed to get a hold of a video cassette recorder. "Oh no!" I thought. "That can only mean more TV watching!" We had a big fight about the VCR and in the end decided to go and talk to our Graduate Fellow about our problems. The GF was ready to switch rooms, but neither of us was willing to leave the room. In the end, we were forced to learn tolerance. "We were so much the same," Arshad told me the other day. "You take all our differences that we had on paper and then you look at the way we responded to each other -- we hated each other the same way, we got on each other's nerves the same way, but neither of us was ever willing to give it up." Although I disagreed with him on almost every issue, I always respected Arshad a great deal for the strength of his beliefs. And although we often could not stand to be in the same room together, I always felt that my roommate was a kind and thoughtful person. Whether it was due to God in the heavens or to the god in Residential Living, we were forced to spend a year living together. And I think we both learned a great deal about what "sensitivity" really means from our little experience in coexistence. I'm glad that we didn't give up. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I hope you won't give it up either.
(01/15/91 10:00am)
Smokers at the Nursing Education Building will have to butt-out in July, when the building officially becomes smoke-free. Nursing School officials have considered proposals to restrict smoking in the Nursing Education Building since September. In December, the Nursing School Council distributed surveys to the school's students, faculty, staff and other building residents outlining three proposed smoking regulations. The proposals asked whether occupants wanted to make the building completely smoke-free, allow smoking in a well-ventilated and isolated area, or continue with the current system. Smoking is currently allowed in restricted areas that are not isolated from non-smokers. Kristin Davidson, an assistant dean for the school, said respondents voted "overwhelmingly" to ban smoking. Vice President of Facilities Management Art Gravina said University Policy allows individuals to decide if they want to smoke in their own office. In open space, the entire group has the right to impose any restrictions, usually through a vote. Non-smokers' opinions, he said, are generally given greater weight. But he added that if the occupants of an entire building decide to ban smoking from the whole building, "so be it." Nursing senior Patti Pearson, an officer in the Nursing Student Forum, said students supported either ventilating the building's third floor, one of the main smoking areas, or making the building entirely smoke-free. "We, as health pre-professionals, should support a health issue," she said. Davidson said that the new policy will not go into effect until July 1 because faculty did not want to "abandon" smokers. The Council is encouraging building occupants who smoke to attend a training workshop to help them stop. "The school will pay the cost for the workshop," Davidson said. Associate Nursing Professor Ellen Baer advocated the proposal to restrict smokers to an isolated and well-ventilated area, noting that only approximately 25 percent of the surveys were returned. "I believe in freedom of choice of our bodies in all realms," Baer said. " In a well-ventilated and isolated space smokers would not have a negative impact on other people's health and they could continue their behaviors." Baer, who does not smoke, said that a space along an exterior wall could have fulfilled her suggestion. Nursing Education Building Administrator Ernest Beier said it is possible the restriction may be eased to allow smoking in the building's atrium.
