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(04/21/94 9:00am)
The Student Activities Council allocated approximately 20 percent of its 1994-1995 contingency fund at last night's budget meeting after several SAC funded groups appealed their budgets. Ten organizations appealed their recommended budgets to the general body, and five of them received the extra money they requested. The budgetary process has been ongoing for the past two months. After receiving requests, conducting interviews and having discussions with each group's representatives, the SAC Finance Committee, chaired by College junior David West, produced recommended budgets, based on the information and SAC guidelines. According to policy, budgets go to the general body, made up of a student representative from each SAC recognized group, for approval. After appeals are decided, the body must pass each individual budget without any challenges. PENNpals, WQHS radio station, AIESEC, the Black Wharton Undergraduate Association and Counterparts were granted money in areas of office expenses, publicity, program costs and transportation. After appeals were completed, a motion was made by College junior Jeffrey Cohen to suspend SAC's constitution. Cohen represented Penn Transfers, an organization which holds activities during each semester for transfer students. Cohen said he had wanted to appeal his budget, but missed the deadline -- Monday at 5 p.m. -- because of "miscommunication." According to West, SAC's constitution says appeals must be in written form by deadline. The body voted to suspend SAC's constitution so Cohen could make his appeal. Cohen appealed for over $1,500 to be used for food during opening events which will be held in the fall, before Dining Services opens. SAC guidelines specifically do not allow for payment for food, West said. But the general body can overrule the Finance Committee, and they do not have to follow the guidelines. After much debate and discussion, one frustrated SAC representative finally said, "It's a shame we can't just give them the freakin' pizza!" The SAC general body then voted to give Penn Transfers the money they requested, bringing the total appeal money granted to $8,399. West said this is not the first time the Committee has made recommendations which initially followed the guidelines, but was overruled by the body. "In the past couple of years, the Finance Committee has always not recommended the money for food, but [groups] have always gotten [the money] on appeal from the general body," West said after the meeting. And outgoing Steering Committee member Brad Rosenberg, who served as liaison to the Finance Committee, said he was disappointed the body did not follow guidelines. "They did not follow guidelines as strictly as they could have," he said. "But I know people were restless towards the end." West said he is concerned about the amount of contingency money allocated by the body. "We went through a significant portion of it," he added. "We have run out in past years and that could happen next year too."
(04/20/94 9:00am)
Students expressed outrage, uncertainty and fright regarding five anti-Semitic incidents reported in Community House, a section of the Quadrangle, at an open forum last night in Ashurst Lounge. In the last six weeks, students living on the first floor of Cleemann found three swastikas and two signs, which read "The Jewish God Eats Human Shit," taped to the fire door in their hall. The forum was moderated by Senior Faculty-in-Residence Peter Conn, an English professor. In attendance were Penn Hillel Director Jeremy Brochin, Penn Newman Center Director Father Tom McGann, Director of Residential Living Gigi Simeone, Residential Living staff member Zoila Airall, University Counseling Director Ilene Rosenstein and Assistant Dean of Residence Judith Hillard. About 20 students showed up to discuss the events and the effect they have had on them and the entire community. Nursing freshman Bonnie Sherman, a hall resident who discovered four of the incidents, said they would be "less troubling if they were in five different places." "I see it as directed at someone on our hall," she added. Sherman's roommate, College freshman Jennifer Burke, a Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer, said everyone on the hall is "feeling jumpy." "We're really apprehensive right now," she said, adding that every time the fire door opens, she looks out the peephole of her door. "There's only four rooms on the hall and there is a room with two Orthodox Jews right across from the fire door [where everything was found]," Burke added. "[Therefore], it feels a lot more personal." Students also said the perpetrators' anonymity bothered them. But College freshman and Community House resident Harrlyn Bohensky said it might make the residents more frightened if the perpetrator was known. Hillard said everyone involved "experienced a sense of outrage that this could happen in 1994 at the University of Pennsylvania." Students and staff also discussed the police reports which were filed and the publicity of the incidents. Students said they are now worried about publicizing the incident. "I don't want death threats or things like what happened at [W.E.B.] DuBois House in the fall to happen to me," Sherman said. But McGann advocated telling the community about all incidents, including anti-Semitic ones. And Simeone said University Police should be called in every case. University Police officer Gary Heller, who came in mid-way through the meeting, said he was doing "special checks" of Cleemann. "Whenever we hear about racist incidents at DuBois or here, we take it personally," he said. "It's our job to make you feel safe and to try to catch whoever is doing this. We're going to do whatever we can." According to University Police Sergeant Keith Christian, the surveillance, which officers conducted yesterday, will continue on each shift today and in the near future. A Cleemann resident, who does not live in the wing and wished to remain anonymous for fear of being harassed, said the police presence bothered her. But, Rosenstein said police may "make the perpetrators nervous too." Heller said the incidents may be a violation of Pennsylvania law and there has been talk that the incidents fall under the current Racial Harassment Policy. Judicial Inquiry Officer Steven Blum said it "would be too speculative" to determine whether the swastikas and signs would be considered racial harassment under the outline of the policy.
(04/19/94 9:00am)
Students and administrators immediately responded yesterday to the five incidents of anti-Semitism reported in Community House, a section of the Quadrangle. The most recent incident, which occurred over the weekend, was one in a string of incidents reported in the past six weeks. Interim Director of Victim Support Services Barbara Cassel called a meeting of University staff and administrators yesterday morning to discuss the University's general response as well as individual department's actions. Community House Senior Faculty-in-Residence, English Professor Peter Conn sent a letter to all residents of the dorm regarding the incidents, saying "they threaten the integrity of our entire community." And the Penn Hillel Executive Va'ad, the elected student government of Hillel, issued a statement yesterday evening condemning the vandalism. "We are disturbed, angered and saddened that incidents of such blatant hatred against the Jewish community have occurred again on the Penn campus," the statement said, encouraging the University community to "demonstrate that such actions of hate against Jews or any other community will not be tolerated to any degree." Six weeks ago, the first act of vandalism -- a sign saying, "The Jewish God Eats Human Shit" -- appeared on a fire door on the first floor of Cleemann. A week later, an identical sign was discovered. Less than two weeks ago, Nursing freshman Bonnie Sherman, who found the first two signs, saw a neatly cut, paper swastika on the same door. Identical swastikas were found last Friday and Sunday mornings. Although the three latest incidents were immediately reported to University Police, the first two occurrences were not. According to Director of Public Safety George Clisby, the first two incidents were reported, along with the third, on March 28. Before yesterday, students in the dormitory were encouraged not to publicize the incidents by University officials. The floor's resident advisor, graduate student Michelle Friel, told residents she did not believe "it was going to do any good to publicize this graffiti." "I didn't want this person to be proud of it and see what he did mentioned all over the front page of the paper," she said. "I also didn't want anyone else to get ideas." Each department involved in the response was represented at Cassel's meeting, so an "institutional response" can be made, she said. Clisby said he is analyzing the information to determine the exact timetable of events and the correlations between them. He added that there may be a connection between the incidents and several Jewish holidays, including Passover, Holocaust Remembrance Day and Israel Independence Day, which occurred in close time proximity to the incidents. Clisby said it is "extremely important" to report all "incidents of this type" to University Police and the community as a whole. "I think the community should know about these intolerable incidents and the fact that they are occurring," he added. "If the community is alerted, they can become eyes and ears as well." His department plans to take action to "alert the community to the fact that they should report incidents like these," he added. Clisby said University Police is "actively" investigating the case, which has been assigned to officer Laura Schmerfeld. He would not release any other information about the investigation. Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone said her department has planned a meeting for Community House students for today at 6:45 p.m. in Ashhurst Lounge. Representatives from Residential Living, Penn Hillel, the Penn Newman Center and University Counseling will be in attendance, Simeone said. "It's our hope that the students will come together and talk about how they feel about the incidents," she said. "[They can tell us] if there are any ideas as to how we can go about finding out who [is responsible]." Friel said she held a floor meeting to address the first two incidents after they occurred. Associate Vice Provost for University Life Larry Moneta said he plans to meet with Undergraduate Assembly chairperson and Wharton sophomore Dan Debicella this morning to discuss the incidents. And Cassel said she plans to contact the Interfaith Council "so they can look at long term issues to develop a coordinated response to issues of bigotry and hate violence that are related to religion and intimidation." Rabbi Howard Alpert, executive director of Penn Hillel, said Hillel will participate in the planning of forums, discussions and programs about the incidents. "We will also be here to help those students who were affronted by the issue," he said. "Hillel will work with Jewish students to develop other student-based responses." Alpert said acting Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain Cade McCoullum also plans to talk with students at Hillel before the end of the semester. "The best response possible was the Israel Day celebration [which occurred yesterday]," he said. "[As] a celebration of our Jewish lives, that is ultimately our victory over those who hate us."
(04/19/94 9:00am)
The Undergraduate Assembly voted last night to recommend postponing the implementation of the Commission on Strengthening the Community's recommendation on Greek rush until the 1995-1996 school year. The Commission's final report, released earlier this month, recommended that Greek rush be delayed until second semester of freshman year. UA member and Engineering sophomore Steven Hong, along with InterFraternity Council President Hayden Horowitz, presented the proposal to the UA. "The IFC wants to work with the University and the community to implement a rush that is beneficial to both," said Horowitz, a College junior. "We need the extra year to prepare because?we don't want to put our chapters into chaos. "These are uncharted waters for us," he added, saying that the IFC has to prepare both financially and practically. Despite this, Horowitz said the IFC will not contest the Commission's decision. The new UA used parliamentary procedure for the first time during this discussion. After some confusion developed, UA Chairperson Dan Debicella "fudged" procedure and allowed the body to vote more quickly. "To fudge parliamentary procedure was worth it," the Wharton sophomore said after the meeting. "We have 17 new members who were unfamiliar with parliamentary procedure." The motion then passed by a large majority. The UA also approved an evaluation of the Department of Residential Living's budget last night, which began during the previous UA's term and completed during the new one. The review called for four main changes in Residential Living's budget, the first of which asked for an enhanced "competitive bidding process," where all outside contractors not be renewed without a complete evaluation of their services. They mentioned McGinn Security Services as an example of an outside contractor who has not had a complete evaluation. The second recommendation asked Residential Living to look into "purchasing new elevators for the high rises instead of paying for the current elevators' maintenance." Ending the cycle of students moving off-campus and prices increasing for on-campus housing was the third recommendation. The report suggested lowering on-campus living prices. The possibility of using rooms for students' storage space was the fourth recommendation. "I think this report shows that the UA is working on concrete issues that affect student life," UA Treasurer and College freshman Sabrina Gottlieb said. The UA also discussed the Student Judicial Committee's recommendations on the Code of Academic Integrity, the Code of Student Conduct, and the Student Judicial Charter. It also agreed to use over $360 of the UA Contingency Fund to pay for a trip taken to Cornell University last weekend for an Ivy Council meeting of student leaders from all Ivy League universities UA member and College sophomore Lance Rogers, who was elected Ivy Council Vice President of External Relations, attended the meeting. Rogers ran for president of the Council at the meeting.
(04/18/94 9:00am)
Students, administrators and staff members reacted strongly yesterday to the rash of anti-Semitic incidents which have been occurring in Community House, a section of the Quadrangle. Over the last six weeks, two signs saying "The Jewish God Eats Human Shit," and three swastikas have appeared on a fire door on the first floor of Cleemann. Nursing freshman Bonnie Sherman, who discovered four of the five incidents, said the occurrences have been "nauseating." "I am speechless and deeply hurt," she said. "I thought the environment here was accepting and I'm realizing that it's not." Sherman's hallmate, College freshman David Siegel, said he thinks the incidents are disturbing. "It's unfortunately impossible to stop anti-Semitism," he said. "What we must always strive for is to build Judaism." Siegel's roommate, College freshman Nick Merkin, agreed, saying that he is not worried about revenge because "the best revenge is to lead Jewish lives." Wharton senior Dave Schlosser, the residential advisor on duty during yesterday morning's most recent incident, said he is "disgusted and offended." "You should be able to feel safe where you live and [the hall's residents] can't," he added. Wharton freshman Fred Yee said it is disturbing that the perpetrators "are scared to reveal themselves." "I find it really appalling that people would bring this into the residences," added Yee, also a resident of the hall. "There exists a growing tendency towards the condoning of such actions and comments concerning anti-Semitism," said Engineering junior Marc Johnson, chairperson of the Hillel Executive Va'ad, Hillel's student government. "This amounts to nothing more than racism regardless of the source or nature of the action or behavior." Sherman said the lack of previous public discussion about the incidents is unfortunate. "We have to speak about it," she said. "I am a firm believer that if people had stood up during the Holocaust, it never would have happened for as long as it did." Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone said she is "outraged that students would do something like this." And Penn Hillel Director Jeremy Brochin said the "harassing, anti-Semitic behavior should not be tolerated under any circumstances."
(04/18/94 9:00am)
Yesterday morning marked the fifth time anti-Semitic vandalism appeared in Community House in the past six weeks. Nursing freshman Bonnie Sherman found a paper swastika taped to a fire door on the first floor of Cleemann, a section of the Quadrangle dormitory, at approximately 12:30 p.m. yesterday. This was the second time this weekend that a swastika was taped on the door. Sherman's roommate, College freshman Jennifer Burke, found a swastika in the same place Friday morning. Another swastika, taking the same form as the two which appeared this weekend, was discovered by Sherman less than two weeks ago. Each was fairly small, "perfectly" constructed from graph paper, neatly cut and fastened with duct tape on the same fire door, Sherman said yesterday. Sherman said a sign appeared on the door six weeks ago which said in neatly printed block letters, "The Jewish God Eats Human Shit." The same sign appeared again a week later, two weeks before the first swastika was found. Though University Police were not called after the first two incidents, Sherman did go to Assistant Director of Residence for Community House Judith Hillard when the second sign was discovered. Hillard told her to call the police if it happened again. The three incidents which followed were reported. Sherman said the floor's residential advisor, graduate student Michelle Friel, "didn't want me to go to the DP or publicize [what happened] at all." "She said it would just inspire them to do it again," Sherman said. "I don't understand the rationale behind that at all." Penn Hillel Director Jeremy Brochin said it was "irresponsible" not to tell University officials or himself. "People should have known about it," he added. Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone said her department would "not try to stop students from discussing incidents like these publically." And officials said the first two incidents should have been reported to University Police. "Clearly, when anything happens that is disturbing or disrupting to the community, the facts of the incident should be documented with Public Safety," University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said last night. "The more we know what is going on, what trends are occurring or if it's a continuing act, the more our attention can be brought to it." Simeone voiced similar sentiments. "Our policy would be to report that kind of incident to the police," she said. "It's important that we are able to document and keep track of incidents of this kind so we know how many times and how they occurred." Neither the police department nor the students themselves have any leads on who the perpetrators may be. The first two swastikas were removed with tweezers, placed in plastic bags and given to the officer on the scene in the hopes of finding fingerprints, Sherman said. But University Police decided that the matching technique would not be useful since the department could not fingerprint every Quad resident, she added. "The community [should work] together to quell these kinds of incidents," Kuprevich said. "The students have to let others know that they do not appreciate these incidents and they have to be on the watch," he added. Kuprevich also said University Police will work with Victim Support Services and Residential Living to help the victims and find the perpetrators. "I am going to work with some people to do some kind of presentation for the students," said Interim Director of Victim Support Barbara Cassel, adding that University Counseling will help students incensed by the vandalism. "We have to pull a team of people together to strategize on how to respond best since there have been so many incidents," she added. And Brochin said the University is obligated to "educate people in knowing the power of these symbols to the students on the floor, and to all Jewish students." Hillard and Friel were unavailable for comment.
(04/15/94 9:00am)
Living in the Quadrangle has taught Executive Director of the President's Office Linda Hyatt a great deal about people and campus issues. One morning on her way out of her Quad apartment, which she shares with her husband, Political Science Professor Will Harris, she spoke with a housekeeper in her building about a student who made negative and hurtful remarks to the housekeeper. Hyatt said conversations like that let her understand complexities of free speech and civility. "Having the issue of free speech occupy such a prominent place in the campus dialogue over the last year has been one of the most constructive things I've witnessed during my eight years at Penn," she said. Hyatt said debate and discussion over the issue "challenges our fundamental beliefs and the way we act towards each other." In addition, she said, people evaluating these issues must "go beyond" themselves and the groups to which they belong. Freedom of speech, if used properly and fully, "is the most important device we have to break down the barriers that separate us, to connect us to one another and to define us as individuals," Hyatt said. "We have a tremendous individual responsibility to protect ourselves and work through exercise of free speech to protect our fellow community members," she added. Hyatt said it is difficult to draw a line, or even define a zone, illustrating where freedom of speech stops and the freedom not to be harassed begins. "There are legal definitions we can use as markers, but they are only marks on the landscape," she added. "They don't define our individual course of action." Hyatt said some people embrace freedom of speech without understanding and taking responsibilities involved with it. "If the student who spoke rudely to the housekeeper had imagined what it felt like to be on the receiving end, that unkindness might never have occurred," she added. These responsibilities, she added, apply to the freedom of press and that to protest as well. "I was a newspaper reporter [in college] and I've been an editor," she said. "I have had to recognize that with the almost monopolistic control of information to a community comes the flip side of a tremendous amount of responsibility to be fair and even- handed." Hyatt said she hopes the issue and the debate surrounding it "will go in a very constructive direction," saying she thinks "we have already made a good beginning." She added that as one who grew up with the idealism of the 1970s' "protest generation," she feels idealistic visions can produce "positive societal changes," which can endure into the future. The challenge for the future, Hyatt said, is to "focus our passions, which are sometimes very different, in ways that result in real and long lasting change."
(04/14/94 9:00am)
Three Undergraduate Assembly members attended a one-day conference discussing free speech on college campuses Monday at Harvard University. College junior Dan Schorr, College sophomore Eden Jacobowitz and College freshman Laurie Moldawer attended the conference, which was sponsored by the First Amendment Coalition, a national organization which promotes First Amendment freedoms. The Coalition has chapters throughout the country, Schorr said, including the First Amendment Task Force, a University organization initiated by Schorr in September. Schorr serves as Undergraduate Council chairperson of the Coalition. The day-long activities included speeches and panel discussions about campus reactions to codes and policies which deal with the politically correct movement and "infringements on freedom of speech," Schorr said. "We discussed our plans for the next year," he said. "We want to bring about open debate on campus policies and we want the public at large to know what is happening behind closed doors at American universities." The conference was attended by approximately 120 people from campuses across the country, Moldawer said. "We listened to stories from other schools and what is going on there," she said. "Even in the most conservative of universities, there are problems with PC." Schorr said censorship comes from both "the right and the left" and the Coalition only hopes to "promote open expression and remain non-ideological." Moldawer said the University contingency stressed that "things have changed and the students don't support the administration." The keynote speaker was David Horowitz, a publisher and "1960's radical leftist," Schorr said. Both Schorr and Jacobowitz spoke at the conference, which was attended by students, publishers, lawyers and the media. "I told my story and I pointed out the hypocrisy of the administration," said Jacobowitz, who received a round of applause upon introduction. "You can learn valuable information on how to deal with the ridiculous garbage we deal with here every day," he added. "I thought [the conference] was very good but I don't know how effective it will be." Schorr said it was important for University representatives to attend the conference so they could "publicize what has been happening at the University and discuss with other members of other universities what is going on there." "Communication and open expression are the keys to defeating censorship," he said, adding that the schools in attendance now plan to work together to share information and take action when necessary.
(04/14/94 9:00am)
Controversy surrounds elections for three of the four Class Boards for next year which were held over the past two weeks. In total, four grievances were filed against candidates. And in each case, the charges were dismissed and the accused candidate was elected to office. During Senior Class Board elections, presidential candidate Jason Diaz's campaign filed a complaint against fellow candidate Loren Mendell. Diaz, a Wharton junior, accused Mendell of distributing flyers illegally, according to the Class Boards Election Code. The Senior Class Board decided, after almost two hours of debate, that Mendell, a College junior, did not violate the code, and he was elected president by majority vote. This Monday, run-offs were held for the Sophomore and Junior Class Board elections. Two of the three run-offs were plagued by grievance charges which referred to section 2.e. of the code, preventing candidates from campaigning or leaving campaign material within 75 feet of the polling area. Current Junior Class Election Chairperson Leonard Cooperman said Tuesday night that the candidates were "in violation of the code but they did not bias the code." Although the elections are now over, many are pointing to flaws in the system and hoping changes will be made. One such flaw concerns candidates manning the polling stations. The polling places at the Class of 1996 Board election were controlled by candidates of the Class of 1997, while Class of 1996 candidates controlled the polls for the Class of 1997, Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Dan Debicella said last night. "I saw candidates who were manning the polls of the other classes," the Wharton sophomore said. "You can't have candidates running elections even if it isn't their own elections." He added that this was the "main problem" of the elections and led to "a lot of the grievances." Senior Class Vice President Robbyn Leventhal said she had not known about the polling problem, but disapproved of the way polling was handled. "They probably should have had the newly-elected Senior Class Board run the [Sophomore and Junior] elections," the College senior said. "They could have had one table and one set of people doing it -- so there wouldn't have been a bias." Debicella said the decisions made regarding the grievances, which were considered technical violations and still dismissed, were "absolutely proper." "It's the spirit of the law, rather the letter of the law which has to be maintained," he said. "If someone is making a mild violation, you shouldn't disqualify someone. "But if someone is sitting at the polls actively campaigning, that's something that will grossly bias the election," Debicella added. But Leventhal said it was "contradictory" to say the candidates were in violation of the code while dismissing the charges at the same time. "If they did not agree that a grievance should be filed for that part of the code, then they shouldn't have had it in the election code at all," she said. "If they are going to make the rules, they should follow them." Debicella said the Nominations and Elections Committee, which currently runs the UA elections, should "take a role" in the Class Boards elections in the future. Another issue the election raises is whether grievance hearings should be closed or open to the public. NEC Fair Practice Code hearings, which are held to discuss grievances in the UA election, are open to the public. Debicella said the UA was "representative student government," making it "crucial that every single event that the UA does which will significantly effect the students is open to the public." Debicella said he is not familiar with the reasons behind the Class Board's closed hearings, but said the two situations might be different because "the Class Boards are a social organization and the UA is student government." Leventhal said the Class Board's closed door hearings was "something we never talked about." "I guess it would be better to have an open hearing so no one would think that anything was being done illegally or anyone was being discriminated against," she said. But, she added, "it was something that had been there before and we weren't really worrying about the grievance situation until it really happened."
(04/13/94 9:00am)
The final results of the election for next year's Sophomore and Junior Class Boards were announced last night, after three grievances in connection with Monday's run-off elections were filed Monday night. The Class of 1997 elected Engineering freshman Neil Sheth as its sophomore class president after a grievance against him was dismissed. The grievance was filed against him by the opposing candidate and College freshman Alan Waxman, Junior Class Boards Chairperson of Elections Leonard Cooperman said last night. Two grievances were filed against College sophomore Caroline Waldman, who ran for the office of College of Arts and Sciences representative. After the grievances were dismissed, Waldman and Lauren Lazare were elected to the representative positions. Michael Chin, another candidate for the College representative position, filed one of the grievances against Waldman. The other was filed by newly-elected Junior Class Board Treasurer Elliot Hyun, a College sophomore. All three grievances were filed in reference to the same section of the Class Boards' policy. "There will be absolutely no campaigning nor availability of campaign literature by the candidate or anyone associated with the candidate within 75 feet of the polling location," section 2.e. of the Class Boards election code states. Cooperman said the current Junior Class Board, who runs the Sophomore and Junior Class Board elections, decided "[the candidates] were in violation of the code, but they did not bias the election." "The Class of 1995 Board interviewed the complainants, the candidates and those who campaigned on their behalf," Cooperman added. "[We] decided that although there were technical violations neither incident was significant to bias an election." Cooperman said it was a "shame" that grievances "have to occur." "But it's a process that should happen and must happen," he added. On Monday, Cooperman announced that College sophomore Melissa Chang defeated College sophomore Liz Kane for the position of Junior Class secretary in the other run-off contest that day.
(04/12/94 9:00am)
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution reads, "Congress shall make no law?abridging freedom of speech or of the press." Across the country, access to this right is considered fundamental, whether in a personal or professional capacity. But at the same time, the controversy over the right to freedom of expression when it may be offensive to others rages not only here at the University, but at college campuses across the country. Other controversial incidents include the "water buffalo" racial harassment case last spring, instances of anti-Semitic graffiti, racially-motivated harassing phone calls and negative reaction to Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Days programming this fall. These incidents have turned the issue of free speech rights into a heated debate on campus. And the nation has seen the waging of similar battles. A sit-in by Latino students demanding greater representation at Cornell University, protests against an officially-sanctioned speech by Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam at New Jersey's Kean College, and the confiscation of newspapers at campuses across the country have garnered national media attention because of their close connection to the issue of freedom of speech. Free speech is a hot topic which consistently makes headlines. This week, The Daily Pennsylvanian and The Vision collaborate on a series this week to explore the issues of free speech and civility and to shed light on a debate often left unresolved. During the week, the series will explore the history of free speech at the University, the issue of defining civility, free speech and political correctness, and the implications of ongoing free speech debates for future policies, here at the University and at college campuses around the country. Today, a look at free speech in academia: courses offered in the field of free expression and faculty perspectives on freedom of speech, inside and outside of the classroom.
(04/11/94 9:00am)
The 1994-1995 Undergraduate Assembly held its first general meeting last night and discussed plans for the end of the semester and for next year. And the UA broke away from tradition by not using parliamentary procedure at all during the meeting. The procedures, adapted from Robert's Rules of Order, were used in the past during almost every meeting to debate topics and approve resolutions. But the UA treated last night's meeting as an "informal" one, not requiring parliamentary procedure. And members of this UA said they plan to have the majority of its meetings run without the official procedures. "We're only going to have formal meetings once a month," UA Chairperson Dan Debicella said after the meeting. "Parliamentary procedure makes people want to grandstand rather than really work on the issues. "Rather than having nebulous debates we are doing work that will affect the students' lives," the Wharton sophomore added. During the meeting, Debicella presented a report on the UA's bullseye campaign, a direct mail solicitation of alumni who could choose a campus organization to which they wanted to give their money. The UA worked with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations in this project, and over 100 alumni contributed to the fund. The General Fund received $2,227, which will go into the UA Contingency Fund this year. The money will eventually be used for a new campus Escort Service route to South Street, Debicella said. "This is a tangible service the student body can use," he said, adding that the money will go towards the payment of a driver. No new Escort vans will be purchased for this project. Five other organizations, including the Student Activities Council and the United Minorities Council, also received "bullseye money." Other issues included the Revlon Center, improvement of Residential Living and the possibility of having smoke-free dining halls. UA member and College sophomore Lance Rogers brought up the idea of the smoke-free areas, saying that the UA would need to find out student opinion before going ahead with anything. Concern about the UA's ability to enforce this concept were also discussed. "Do we have the power to make the head of Dining Services listen to us?" said UA member and College freshman Seth Gribetz. But other UA members said the Dining Services administration would follow through on a UA proposal. "If we make them, they'll take our ideas and implement them," said UA member and College freshman Josh Gottheimer. But UA member and Wharton freshman Manuel Calero mentioned Dining Services Director Bill Canney's rejection last week of a main section of the UA's proposal to make changes in the Dining Services budget. The section suggested that union workers be replaced by work-study students. Calero said he is not sure if Rogers' idea will be accepted by Canney, given his decision on the budget issue.
(04/11/94 9:00am)
The "shock" was tremendous at a party given by students who attended the Penn Student Summit on Race Relations last Thursday night. The social gathering, which was dubbed "Culture Shock," took place at Chestnut Cabaret, at 38th and Chestnut streets. Although only 20 people graced the bar stools and dance floor at 11 p.m., more than 500 people had come to dance, eat and "have fun" by the 3 a.m. ending time, co-organizer and Engineering junior Ha Nguyen said last night. "I thought it was a smashing success," she said. "The turnout was more than we expected for a non-alcoholic event and everybody had a great time." Nguyen said the goal of the event was to "give people an opportunity to mix with other ethnicities, races and groups." She added that there was "a lot of mixing" between different groups at the "Culture Shock" event. The party, which cost $2,500, was sponsored by the Undergraduate Assembly, the Provost's Office and the Vice Provost for University Life. It stemmed from the Race Relations Summit, a gathering of 60 student leaders in January who wanted to formulate a plan to improve campus race relations. The summit, which was held at the Temple University-owned Sugarloaf Compound, located in northern Philadelphia, cost the University $24,000 for lodging and facilitators. While the group did not come up with a one-year plan for race relations, two summit participants, Nguyen and Senior Class President Matthew Canner, spearheaded the idea of the party. Undergraduate Assembly member and Wharton sophomore Vincent Scarfaria said the party was "one of the better social gatherings I've seen on campus." "Different types of people got together and an awful lot of people were there," he said. "It was a great feeling to see so many people from different campus organizations all hanging out together under one roof." Thuy Vu, executive vice president of the Vietnamese Student Association, said she decided to go to the party out of "curiosity." "I ended up staying longer than I thought I was going to because it was a lot of fun," the College sophomore said. "There were enough people there to make it fun but it wasn't to the point where you couldn't move around and see everybody who was there."
(04/07/94 9:00am)
After two days of campaigning on Locust Walk, the Class Boards for the Classes of 1996 and 1997 were announced last night by Junior and Senior Class Boards advisor Scott Reikofski. And runoff elections will be held Monday for three positions on the two boards, said Reikofski, who also serves as assistant director of the Office of Student Life, Activities and Facilities. Wharton sophomore Lenny Chang, who is the current sophomore class president, was re-elected as Junior Class Boards president. College sophomore Justin Feil will serve as vice president, after receiving more than 50 percent of the vote in the three-person race. College sophomore Michael Nadel will serve as vice president for corporate sponsorship and College sophomore Elliot Hyun will be the Junior Class Board treasurer. A run-off will be held for the secretary position between College sophomores Liz Kane and Melissa Chang. Matthew Gilroy will serve as the Wharton School representative, Denis Chognon will be the representative for the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Deborah Cooper will represent the Nursing School on the Junior Class Board. Four students will participate in the run-off election for the two open representative spots for the College of Arts and Sciences: Michael Chin, Lauren Lazare, Linh Bguyen and Caroline Waldman. The position of Sophomore Class Board president is the third spot which will have a run-off Monday. College freshman Alan Waxman and Engineering freshman Neil Sheth are the two finalists for that position. College freshman Chris Casamassima will serve as Sophomore Class vice president and College freshman Jason Brenner will be vice president for corporate sponsorship. Engineering freshman John Boyle will serve as secretary and the treasurer will be College freshman Craig Schickler. Kevin Gifford will be Wharton representative on the board, but no freshmen ran for the representative positions in the College, Engineering and Nursing schools. Junior Class Board Elections Chairperson Leonard Cooperman said Tuesday night the positions will either be left vacant or elections may be held in the fall to fill the slots. But Reikofski, who said the lack of candidates was "kind of a disappointment," said he would like to see these positions filled. "We will meet with the Boards and decide how they want to fill those slots," he said. " But I think it's really important to have that representation of all four schools." Reikofski said the voter turnout was much higher than the 700 juniors who voted for the Senior Class Board last week. He did not know the exact figures, though. "Voter turnout was a lot higher than it was with the Senior Class Board elections, he said. "Probably, both classes had more voter turnout on their first day [Tuesday] than the senior elections had the whole time." Run-offs will take place Monday in front of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In case of rain, the voting booth will be placed in Houston Hall.
(04/06/94 9:00am)
Though three new plans designed to revamp the University's judicial system have several similarities, they differ significantly on the issue of who should administer the judicial system and make final decisions in individual cases. Many students and administrators said yesterday, though, that the three reports, released earlier this week, should be combined to achieve a final solution to the problems which have plagued the University's judicial system since last year's "water buffalo" incident. The Commission on Strengthening the Community supports increased faculty involvement and a more efficient level of discipline for minor offenses in its final report, printed in yesterday's Almanac. Unlike the Commission's proposal, the Student Judiciary Charter proposes major student involvement in committees, such as the Student Hearing Board and the Student Judicial Council. The council's chairperson might also be a student, but that is not yet definite. And the Abel Report -- the University Board of Inquiry formed to specifically deal with the "water buffalo" incident -- is the third report to confront the judicial system with recommendations and criticisms. It advocates increased mediation, expedited hearing processes and the opportunity to dismiss charges before they materialize. The three reports' basic disagreements center around the administrative issue of who will make up the judicial committees and who will participate in the process. The Student Judiciary Charter states that 17 out of the Student Judiciary Council's 21 members will be students, and four of the five members on the Student Hearing Board will also be students. College junior Beth Hirschfelder, chairperson of the oversight committee for the Student Judicial Charter, along with the Codes of Conduct and Academic Integrity, said the "biggest and most important change" from the original system is the amount of student participation advocated. Yet, in section A.1.h., the Commission says "faculty members should continue to play an important role in student disciplinary processes." The Commission makes no such recommendation for student involvement. In fact, the only mention of student participation in the judicial system is in section A.5, which discusses a crisis team which would "mobilize the campus to respond to crisis incidents." Commission Chairperson Gloria Chisum said the Commission "didn't focus on student involvement, but we assumed students should be involved." Current Judicial Administrator and Regional Science Department Chairperson Stephen Gale said "the two perspectives should be combined." "We have some very good people with different perspectives which, together, will do a lot more for us than saying one group, students or faculty, should have predominance," he said. The Abel report did not discuss this issue specifically. But College sophomore Eden Jacobowitz, the respondent in the "water buffalo" case, said he is not sure a student-run system is the answer to the problems which came from his case. "I think the judicial system should basically guide itself by the principle that the students of the University are mostly mature adults who do not require babysitting," Jacobowitz said. "[But] I don't know whether putting students in charge is going to solve all the problems. College senior Denita Thomas,one of the complainants in the case, would not comment last night. One similarity in the three reports is the support of increased mediation and alternatives to hearings in minor cases. The three reports all said that in more minor cases, mediation might allow those involved to avoid a hearing or further judicial processes. Vice Provost in the Provost's Office Kim Morrison said Monday the final draft of the Student Judicial Charter will not be ready until this fall.
(04/06/94 9:00am)
Candidates for Class Boards for the classes of 1996 and 1997 will be out again with placards on Locust Walk asking for student support from current freshmen and sophomores. And all this revolves around the elections for next year's Sophomore and Junior Class Boards, which are being held today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in front of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. The board elections began yesterday. The Class Boards' general goal is to promote class and school spirit and unity, Chair of Elections Leonard Cooperman said last night. "Election season is still in the air," Junior Class Board President Jason Diaz said. "I hope all freshmen and sophomores vote [today] since those elected officers are responsible for bringing the class together." The Sophomore Class Board will sponsor activities such as the Tiger Death Fest and a sophomore dance next year. Ski trips, class hats and community service events are other planned activities. Four candidates are running for Sophomore Class president: College freshmen Alan Waxman and Jill Alison Weiner, Engineering freshman Neil Sheth and Wharton freshman Clint Schmidt. Three freshmen are running for vice president, one for secretary, two for treasurer and two for Wharton representative. No candidates are running for the representative position from the other three schools. "Those empty positions may go unfilled and the board would remain as elected," said Cooperman, a College junior. "The Board might take people who want to help out and give them titles. "There could also be an election in the fall, perhaps held concurrently with freshman elections," he added, saying that all "creative ideas" on how to handle the vacant positions will be welcome. The Junior Class Board will co-sponsor Oktoberfest with the Social Planning and Events Committee. Oktoberfest is the same type of activity as Skimmer Day, and will occur over Homecoming Weekend next year. The board is also planning to sponsor a barbeque, sell hats and shirts, and hold community service activities. The Junior Class Board will also be responsible for Freshman thru Junior Class Board elections and general publicity for the Class Boards. Wharton sophomore Lenny Chang and College sophomore Jeff Hardy are running for president. There are three vice presidential candidates. The fourth candidate on the ballot, Andra Fogel, is not running because she is going abroad next spring. Two candidates are running for vice president of corporate sponsorship. Three students are running for secretary, two for treasurer, six for College representative, two for Engineering representative and one for each of the Wharton and Nursing schools. In case of rain, the voting area will be moved to Houston Hall. Any runoffs will be held Monday, April 11.
(04/05/94 9:00am)
The preliminary draft of the Student Judicial Charter was released yesterday and advocated sweeping changes for the University's entire judicial system. Whereas the current system allows for no student involvement in the judicial process itself, the proposed changes will involve a Student Judicial Council, which will include 17 students and a hearing board with four students. Additional students will be involved in the process as well. Also included in the draft, released today in Almanac, is a draft of a revised Code of Conduct and a new Code of Academic Integrity. Three subcommittees, made up of faculty, administrators and at least four students each, constructed the three reports, Vice Provost in the Provost's Office Kim Morrisson said last night. An oversight committee oversaw the actions of the three subcommittees, she added. According to the draft, which will be presented at tomorrow's University Council meeting, the Student Judiciary System's intent is to "insure fair and efficient determinations on questions of possible student misconduct." College senior Kirsten Bartok, chairperson of the Student Judiciary Committee, said part of the problem with the current system is "minimal student involvement." "Administrators did not understand the demands placed on the student body in connection with the judicial system," she said. "It is about time that the University recognizes the intelligence of the students and trusts our judgement." Bartok said the amount of time students will have to devote to the council will "not even come close to" the time students put into other extra-curricular activities, such as student government. "There will be times when those roles will be demanding, but there is commitment amongst students who want to make this University a better place," she added. Bartok said the Commission on Strengthening the Community, which in its final report released today advocates faculty, but no student involvement in the judicial system, probably "did not know enough about whether students could handle it." But, she added, there was no doubt in her mind that "students could take that role." According to the draft, the Student Judiciary Council will consist of 13 undergraduates, four graduates and four faculty members, along with a "senior member" who will act as chairperson. The Student Hearing Board will have four students and one faculty member and will make decisions on all cases except "minor level" ones which have a hearing with the Judicial Advisor. The present Judicial Inquiry Officer will serve as JA, Bartok said. And this person will also oversee the Mediation Center, another large component of the new charter. "The outcome of mediation will influence if and how the case proceeds through the judicial system," College junior Beth Hirschfelder said. And Bartok said "mediation and resolution" was the "paramount" goal of the proposed charter, in order to make the system a "non-adversarial" one. The other non-student involved in the proposed system is the Judicial Officer who will serve as the "settlement officer" in minor cases, such as PENNcard usage by someone other than the holder, Bartok said. She emphasized that the committees which drafted the reports could not decide who this person should be. "This is an example of where community feedback comes in [because] it was a big question for us," Bartok said. "We really want everyone's input and feedback." Current JIO Steven Blum said he hopes for "healthy and thoughtful debate" in the coming months. "Student involvement in the judicial system is a very valuable thing," he said. "But the extent of that involvement which would be most effective must be discussed." Morrisson said the final Student Judicial Charter's drafting and implementation will not take place before the fall because it advocates the biggest changes out of the three documents. But, she added, the other two codes may be approved before then, with the Code of Conduct being addressed first. Hirschfelder, who served as chairperson of the Code of Conduct committee and worked on the other two documents as well, said the revised Code of Conduct was "going for simplicity" so students can understand it easily. She added that the main conflict her committee dealt with was between the right of freedom of speech and the right not to be discriminated against. An Honor Council will review individual cases to determine when an action is detrimental enough to "deprive a student of his or her rights," Hirschfelder said.
(04/05/94 9:00am)
After two months, the 60 student leaders who attended the $24,000 Penn Student Summit on Race Relations have not directly completed their main goal. Co-organizer and Wharton senior Lawrence Berger said last night that the leaders have not yet formulated a comprehensive one-year plan to deal with the problems of race relations at the University, as was their major goal for the weekend. The summit took place from January 28-30 at the Sugarloaf Executive Conference Center, a compound owned by Temple University. The Offices of the President and the Provost split the total cost of the weekend -- $24,000 -- which was used to pay for the use of Sugarloaf and the cost of facilitators who came from A World of Difference, a division of the Anti-Defamation League. Though some individual students have followed through on the ideas discussed at the summit, at least half have not done anything since the weekend, Berger said. "I've been surprised and disappointed in various student groups," he added. "We thought other people would spread the message, but that's been a lot smaller than we thought." Berger said it is "frustrating" because the group needed more time and more involvement on the part of some of the leaders in order to be completely successful. Though a "set-in-stone" plan has not been developed, nine working groups have been established to discuss and work on issues, co-organizer and College senior Jessica Mennella said. These issues range from the Revlon Center and social get-togethers to an increase in diversified group projects and a University 101 class. On Thursday night, a social party with the theme of "Culture Shock" will be sponsored by the forum participants. The event, which will take place at the Chestnut Cabaret, is intended to unite people of different cultures. "It will bring people from different cultures together as individuals, not as representatives from those cultures," said Undergraduate Assembly member and College junior Dan Schorr. College junior Stephen Houghton, co-chairperson of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance, called the conference a "partial success" and attributed many of its problems to a Daily Pennsylvanian column written by Schorr. Schorr wrote his column about the summit and one of its participants. "[The column] prevented meetings from happening because people had information they did not want to release because they knew confidentiality was non-existent," said Houghton, also a DP columnist. "[Schorr] basically betrayed his responsibility to the summit." He added that there has since been a lack of communication and a breakdown of continuous large group meetings. College senior Jun Bang, United Minorities Council chairperson, also cited Schorr's column as the main reason for the summit's problems, saying that as a result, the group as a whole did not have a "viable future." Schorr responded by arguing that the subject of his column showed the core of the summit's problems. "One of the participants disrupted and undermined the conference," he said. "A lot of people, including myself, felt that students had a right to know why the summit they had paid for was not as successful as it could have been. "To say that discussing the disruption of a race relations summit undermines future progress is inaccurate and false," Schorr added, in direct response to Bang's comments. Schorr said the summit was "not a success, but it was a good first step toward improving race relations." Participants and organizers disagree as to the worth of the summit, in time, effort and money. "This [summit] didn't pay off, but that's not a reason why we can't try again and make it work," Schorr said. "I think it was worth it in that student leaders couldn't really get together and talk before it," Bang said. "But I think the money fact has been overused and blown out of proportion." But Houghton said the summit was not worth the $24,000 price tag. "I question whether it was necessary to travel out to Sugarloaf to deal with these issues," he said. "I loved the food and my T-shirt, but I'd rather see something more come out of the money that was spent." Thursday's social will cost the University $2,500, with $500 coming from the UA, $1,000 from the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life and $1,000 from the Provost's Office, according to UA Chairperson and Wharton sophomore Dan Debicella and acting VPUL Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum.
(04/01/94 10:00am)
The results of Wednesday night's Undergraduate Assembly Steering Committee elections were surprising to some, disappointing to others and uplifting to many. With Wharton sophomore Dan Debicella as chairperson and College sophomore Tamara Dubowitz as vice chairperson, the leadership of the UA will be quite different from the expectations many held only last week. At that time, only College junior Dan Schorr had announced his candidacy for chair. And College sophomore Lance Rogers was the only declared candidate for vice-chair. But neither candidate ran unopposed and neither candidate was successful in his run for the two top positions on the UA. Schorr was selected as a finalist for the position of University Council Steering Committee representative, but Rogers, who also ran for the position, was unsuccessful in that bid as well. It was obvious last night that the new UA members were hoping for a clean slate, after a divided and problematic previous term, with fresh faces and a new agenda. But it was also evident that they were hoping for experienced and impartial leaders, with much of the questioning centering around those two issues. Schorr, for instance, was attacked several times about his views ranging from minorities on campus to his ability to be impartial. United Minorities Council Chairperson Jun Bang, a College senior, and Stephen Houghton, co-chairperson of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance, accused Schorr of referring to the UMC as the "balkanization of Penn." Schorr denied saying the comment. Houghton, a College junior and Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, strongly denounced Schorr's ability to "work with people" impartially. "I've only seen you talk at people," he said. " You don't listen and listening is a very important job of the UA chair." Schorr said his strong advocacy of free speech contradicted their ideas. "I believe that all ideas must be heard," he said. "How can you call me close minded? That's the antithesis of everything I've ever said." Schorr added that as a UA member, he was supposed to express his own views. As chair, however, he said he would remain objective and act simply as the body's leader and facilitator. College sophomore Eden Jacobowitz said the attack was inappropriate. "It's very ironic that the people who talk most about racial sensitivity have forgotten about basic human sensitivity when they attacked Dan on a personal basis," he said. The impartiality issue also filtered down to both Debicella and the third candidate for chair, Engineering freshman Manuel Calero. And the selection of Debicella indicates to many that UA members think he will be unbiased and fair as chair. Experience was another key factor in the decision making process. Calero ran for the positions of chairperson and treasurer and lost both due to his youth and inexperience on the UA. UA members also showed a desire to lessen bureaucratic red tape and philosophical debating, while increasing action and communication. Debicella and Dubowitz both stressed these ideas in their statements. At the same time, the winning candidates often did not outline concrete plans or specific goals, indicating that they hoped to accomplish what the general UA body hoped to accomplish. "I do think it's really unrealistic to put 20 issues in front of our faces and say we'll accomplish them," Dubowitz said, after Rogers had outlined his top 10 goals for the new year. Attendance was the final issue that proved to be a downfall for some candidates, especially Wharton sophomore Quang O, who ran for treasurer. Former UA Chairperson Seth Hamalian, a College junior, criticized O's failure to attend the body's March 20th budget meeting, along with his "very poor" attendance record at general meetings. "A person needs his sleep," O responded. "When meetings go until one or two in the morning, and I've left, that's why." Though definitive ideological and practical differences were apparent amongst the candidates, most appeared to be advocating the same goal of change and improvement. This same call for change happens year after year, and was especially prevalent last year when Hamalian, who was considered the darkhorse candidate, was elected chair because the body wanted a fresh start. Despite Hamalian's hopes, however, the term of the previous UA was marked with divisiveness and a lack of consensus on most issues. While the new UA voted with thoughtfulness and careful consideration, that does not mean it will successfully change into a forceful, instrumental, influential body within the University. If all works according to the new UA's plans, the body may be on the road to real improvements in communication, administration and action. But, when using past UAs as examples, it seems possible that a new UA may be installed a year from now advocating the same principles of change, advocacy, involvement and action.
(03/31/94 10:00am)
The Senior Class Board issued a statement Tuesday night to explain their decision not to disqualify College junior Loren Mendell from Monday's runoff elections for the Class of 1995's Senior Class Board. Mendell received enough votes in the runoff to defeat Wharton junior Jason Diaz, the current Junior Class Board president. Before the results were announced Monday night, the current Senior Class Board spent five hours debating a grievance filed against Mendell by Diaz's campaign manager. The charge was filed five minutes before the 7 p.m. deadline. The charge accused Mendell of violating section 2c of the Senior Class Board election code which states: "No other printed publicity is permitted regarding your candidacy in the election," besides those indicated in earlier sections of the code. Diaz said last night he did not file the grievance against his fellow Sigma Chi fraternity brother, adding that he was not in favor of filing the complaint, even after it was made official. "I want to clarify the fact that I didn't file the grievance," he said. "It was filed by a third party, a friend." According to the Senior Class Board's statement, the grievance charged Mendell with violating the code by leaving loose-leaf paper notes at "various fraternity, sorority and off-campus houses." "Under my interpretation of the code, [Mendell's actions] were against it," Diaz said. "But I was going by the code and Loren was going by what the advisor Scott Reikofski was saying. "There was no idea who had authority over the rules," he added. Mendell answered the complaint against him by saying that Senior Class Board members told him at the March 22 candidates' meeting that these notes were permissible, the statement said. "The Senior Class Board found that I didn't violate it," Mendell said last night. "The problem was that Jason interpreted it differently, and there were no clear-cut guidelines. I'm happy with the results and I think it was very fair." Senior Class Board President Matthew Canner said Monday night that the Board did not finish discussing the situation until midnight because "we wanted to deliberate it thoroughly since it was such an important decision." "Both sides presented their respective cases to the entire Senior Class Board of 1994," the statement states. "In a closed meeting, after much concerned deliberation, the Class Board of 1994 decided that the papers in question were not printed material available to the public, but reminders left by a campaigning candidate for the runoff election." The 10 board members who signed the statement also said they "regret that this election did not run as smoothly as [they] hoped it would." Mendell said he is "really excited" about winning the election. "I am happy to have the opportunity to serve the senior class this year," he said. "We've already started having meetings and planning events like Hey Day." Diaz said he advocated a "revamping" of the election code, especially since problems have occurred in the past. Last year, The Daily Pennsylvanian ran photographs of two of the Senior Class Board candidates. One was disqualified as a result, but the other was not.
