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(09/12/95 9:00am)
Will not occupy former campus site Three years ago, the national office of the Theta Xi fraternity revoked the University chapter's charter. Now officials are working with University students and administrators to bring the Omicron chapter back to the campus Greek scene. "Theta Xi has always felt that the University of Pennsylvania is a quality institution where we want to maintain a chapter presence," Theta Xi Executive Director James Vredenburgh said. The national office was contacted by 10 University students interested in re-colonizing, Vredenburgh said. Alumni of the former Omicron chapter have helped the students coordinate their effort to move back to University City. According to Vredenburgh, the national office hopes the group of students will grow to about 20 by late fall, at which point the group can become an official colony. From that point, it will take between one and three years for the colony to receive its charter and become a chapter. Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Acting Director Scott Reikofski said his office will work with the InterFraternity Council and the Greek Alumni Council to provide final approval of the recolonization. He added that any new Theta Xi chapter would not receive its old house, which is located at 37th Street and Locust Walk -- the new site of the Penn Women's Center. Local alumni groups would have to work with OFSA to help Theta Xi find new housing, Reikofski said. "[But] that depends on timing and politics," he added. The students working at bringing the Omicron chapter back to the University said they are enthusiastic about seeing Theta Xi return. They are currently working on ironing out the details of the recolonization program. But they declined to comment further until an official announcement regarding the status of Theta Xi is released in a few weeks. The Theta Xi fraternity was founded in 1864, and the Omicron chapter at the University was founded in 1912, Vredenburgh said. The chapter at the University was closed in November 1992 as a result physical damage caused to the University-owned fraternity house during a party in October of that year. At that point, the national chapter asked the University to withdraw the chapter's recognition, while the chapter withdrew the charter. Then-Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson cited "administrational, organizational and behavioral violations of the risk-management policy" in the decision to de-recognize the chapter. The VPUL report also stated that the national Theta Xi office was investigating the University chapter for two years prior to the incident. The chapter had also been the subject of a sexual harassment investigation in November 1991. The abandoned property on Locust Walk was the subject of much debate in the following years, as the University explored options for the facility. Last April, the building was officially designated as the Women's Center. According to Vredenburgh, the national office is currently working to colonize at three other locations. "We are actively looking to expand our roll," he said.
(09/01/95 9:00am)
The case is not expected to go to trial for some time. Alimohamed, a fifth-year Mathematics graduate student, was murdered last August near his home at 47th and Pine streets during a robbery. Anthony Archer, Khaalis Edmondson, Gregory Pennington, Antoine Saunders and Ollie Taylor were arrested for the homicide. · The trial of Wharton evening student Douglas Murphy -- the student caught carrying a loaded 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol into class in April -- was called for a continuance last month. The trial was originally scheduled to begin August 7. "In other words the trial was postponed indefinitely," a spokesperson for the Philadelphia district attorney's office said. Charges against Murphy include stalking, carrying firearms in a public place, carrying firearms without a license, harassment and terrorist threats. All of these charges are misdemeanor offenses, according to a law enforcement source. Assistant District Attorney Richard Maloumiam is handling the case. · The criminal trial of Marketing Professor Scott Ward, which had been scheduled to begin July 7, was delayed once again this summer, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. No date has been set for the trial, because the Commonwealth is waiting for Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Bernard Moore to rule on the suppression of evidence. Ward was arrested in the fall of 1993 for allegedly soliciting sex from minors. Ward is charged with statutory rape, indecent assault, indecent exposure, corruption of minors and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. The evidence in question consists of audio and visual interviews that the defense conducted with "B.M.," the assumed name of a child who is the state's chief witness. The prosecution has motioned to prevent the use of the evidence, claiming the defense acted unethically in their interview. Following the completion of the criminal trial, Ward will also have to contend with a pending civil suit. -- Amy Lipman and Josh Fineman Man convicted of assaulting student Keith Vivett, the man accused of carjacking, robbing, raping and shooting a College of General Studies student in the face in October 1993, was convicted by a jury in June. Vivett was found guilty of aggravated indecent assault, kidnapping, a weapons offense and two counts of robbery. The 26-year-old victim was walking to her car in the public parking lot at 34th and Chestnut streets October 20, 1993 at 9:30 p.m. when Vivett kidnapped her, according to Assistant District Attorney Curtis Douglas. Vivett forced the student into the backseat of her car at gunpoint and robbed her of $7. He drove her to North Philadelphia, and forced her to remove her clothing in the car. He then sexually molested her. After driving around for 20 minutes, Vivett stopped the car and molested the student again. He then gagged her with her bra and forced the nude student into a house, where he shot her in the face. Common Pleas Judge Arnold New sent Vivett to prison to await sentencing in September. -- Josh Fineman
(09/01/95 9:00am)
By mail ballot this summer, Faculty Senate members approved new policies on consensual sex between students and professors and on just cause for sanctions against faculty members. The policies have been recommended to University President Judith Rodin and Provost Stanley Chodorow, who have not yet acted on them. The first new proposed policy would bar all consensual sexual relations between professors and their students, and would strongly discourage all relations between a student and a faculty member -- even when the student is not in the professor's class. The policy was developed in the wake of a number of cases at the University, including former student Lisa Topol's filing of sexual harassment charges last year against former Assistant English Professor Malcolm Woodfield, with whom she had a three-month affair. And last year, Economics Professor David Cass alleged that he had been denied the graduate group chairmanship in his department because of his on-going relationship with Claudia Stachel, a former Economics doctoral student. The just cause policy governs the way in which the University must proceed when deciding whether to fire or demote a professor. The new just cause policy, which took years to formulate, would give a faculty member or the University president the right to appeal a sanction issued by the Senate Executive Committee if either party objected to the way SEC reached its decision. It would also allow the president to reduceE-- but not increase -- the severity of any disciplinary action SEC takes. Emeritus Finance Professor Morris Mendelson, who began working on the new just cause policy in the fall of 1991, said he is "delighted" that both new policies were approved by his peers. "It takes [punishment] out of the hands of the schools, and puts it in the hands of the university, and that is a major improvement," he said. Mendelson added that when disciplinary action was kept within a school, it tended to be "prejudiced for or prejudiced against the respondent." Law Professor Stephen Burbank, who chaired the subcommittee that developed the new consensual sex policy, said he expects faculty members to approve it. "I've always regarded this as a clarification of existing University policy, and one that is designed in part to protect their interests," he said. Although some faculty members voiced objections to both new sets of rules when they were under discussion last spring, Chodorow said he is in favor of them. "I think that the professional relationship between a faculty member and a student under his or her supervision requires great care in managing, and that excludes certain other kinds of relationships," he said. The vote on the sexual relations policy was 401 to 267, while the vote on the just cause policy was 419 to 79, according to Almanac. Voting closed on June 30; all 2,049 members of the standing faculty received ballots.
(08/10/95 9:00am)
The trial of Joyce Schofield, a University employee who is suing the University for racial discrimination and sexual harassment, began Tuesday in federal court. Schofield, an administrative assistant in the compensation office of the division of human resources, filed the lawsuit last September seeking more than $100,000 in damages. But William Ewing and Deborah Weinstein, Schofields' attorneys, say she is asking for more than $1.5 million in damages. The trial began Tuesday in front of U.S. District Judge Curtis Joyner, with an all white jury of six women and two men. Schofield, who has worked at the University since 1991 claims that her supervisor, former Human Resources Communications Manager J. Bradley Williams , "used his authority as her supervisor to make her life miserable." She asserts that he constantly asked her on dates and he warned her to adopt a plantation mentality because a smart black woman would be too much of a threat and would never get ahead. And the suit says that Williams told Schofield that his boss, Adrienne Riley, vice president of human resources, "had racist attitudes" and "hated" her because she was a "strong black woman." Between January 1993 and July 1993 Schofield said she was subjected to sexual harassment, according to a court document. She alleges that Williams made several sexual explicit comments to her that made her feel uncomfortable. She also alleges that she felt constantly threatened and was afraid to complain because of fear of retaliation. "Bradley Williams talked dirty ... that's not in dispute," University outside counsel Neil Hamburg said yesterday. "He acted inappropriately. The question is what the University of Pennsylvania did wrong in this case, if anything." When Schofield filed an internal grievance concerning Williams, her complaint was ignored by the University, the suit charges. After filing her complaint, Schofield claims she was continually discriminated against, and became the subject of retaliation. She also filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in February 1994. Hamburg said that Williams supervisors gave him a disciplinary memo that warned him of dire consequences if he were to continue his inappropriate conduct. And he added that sexual and racist talked seized after the letter. According to an article in The Legal Intelligencer Schofield as been unable to work since January 1995 due to psychological stress and she expects to be hospitalized an average of 21 days until the year 2000. Hamburg told The Legal Intelligencer in July that he will prove that Schofield engaged in a "pattern of on-the-job dishonest and fraudulent conduct" beginning in 1973 when she was fired from Fidelity Mutual Bank for stealing. She later pleaded guilty to theft charges, according to Hamburg. Schofield, 43, graduated from the Wharton School with a marketing degree two years after she was has hired by the University.
(06/30/95 9:00am)
Richard Montgomery High School '93 Rockville, Md. Consensual sexual relations between faculty members and their students will be specifically prohibited by University policy, if a proposal drafted by a subcommittee of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee is enacted. If passed, this proposal would make the University one of only a few academic institutions in the country to have such a strict policy. Standing faculty voted on the proposal this month by a mail ballot. Consensual sexual relations deserve separate attention from sexual harassment, the subcommittee concluded, because "other students, in particular, may doubt whether evaluations can be fair when a teacher is sexually involved with a student." Acknowledging that sexual relations between teachers and students can impair professors' judgement regarding academic matters, the proposed policy states that "any sexual relations between a teacher and a student during the period of the teacher/student relationship are prohibited." Applying to faculty, graduate and professional students, academic advisors and program directors the subcommittee's proposal includes "all others who have supervisory academic responsibility for a student." The subcommittee also considered extending the rules to forbid relations between professors and all undergraduates. "Undergraduates may be inexperienced and impressionable," the subcommittee explained in its report that accompanied the proposal. "Moreover, although it is often said that in loco parentis is a thing of the past, we are not sure that undergraduates' parents would, or that they should, agree, when told that their sons or daughters were sleeping with their professors." Because a rule prohibiting relations between professors and all undergraduates would delve too far into people's private lives, the subcommittee concluded, the proposal only strongly discourages such relationships. Recent attempts to clarify the University's Sexual Harassment Policy have come in the wake of two unrelated controversies concerning Economics Professor David Cass and former Assistant English Professor Malcolm Woodfield. In September, University administrators declined a departmental recommendation that Cass be appointed acting economics graduate chairperson, citing a "difference in understanding of important issues." Those issues stem from his sexual relationship with former University student Claudia Stachel, a former economics graduate student. Though Stachel was not in Cass' class and the relationship was consensual, Vice Provost for Graduate Education Janice Madden said his actions were "not consistent with the policy of the University." "I would not appoint a head of any graduate group who thought it was OK to date graduate students," she said in September. Cass, a world-renowned economist who had held the position of graduate chair of the Economics Department from 1981 to 1986, is now leaving the University after 20 years of scholarship. Both students and faculty in the department have written letters on Cass' behalf, claiming he was a capable and well-respected administrator. "He had done this in the past and done an outstanding job," Economics Department Chairperson Andrew Postlewaite said. "We continue to believe that he would have done an outstanding job." But Cass claimed that Madden's questions about his relationship with Stachel and her inquiries into whether he dated any other graduate students was a violation of his privacy. "No way am I going to tell them about my private life, flat out," he said. "They slurred the department and slandered me." In early May, the Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility concluded that administrators acted improperly when they questioned Cass about past relationships. But the Committee also concluded that administrators acted within their rights in denying Cass the graduate chairmanship. In an unrelated incident, former University student Lisa Topol accused Woodfield of sexual harassment after their three-month affair ended in the spring of 1993. In March 1994, Topol filed suit against the University, charging that administrators had failed to resolve her harassment complaint in a timely manner. Topol also had suits pending against Woodfield in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court and against Bates College in Maine, where Woodfield taught for two years before coming to the University. Although he admitted to having had a sexual encounter with Topol on one occasion, Woodfield vehemently denied all allegations of sexual harassment. Settlements were reached in all three cases in May. The settlements' terms are confidential, according to University General Counsel Shelley Green. "The parties have agreed to resolve their differences," Green said. "This ends the process -- all of the litigation." Topol's attorney, Alice Ballard, confirmed that no further action is expected on any of her client's complaints. Woodfield resigned from the University on April 26, 1994. Staff writer Tammy Polonsky, University of Chicago Lab Schools '92, Chicago, Illinois, contributed to this story.
(05/19/95 9:00am)
The Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility has concluded that administrators acted improperly last fall when they questioned Economics Professor David Cass about any past sexual relationships with graduate students in evaluating his fitness to serve as acting Economics graduate chairperson. In August 1994, despite support from Economics Department Chairperson Andrew Postlewaite, Cass was denied the position of acting economics graduate chairperson because of his ongoing relationship with Claudia Stachel, a former Economics graduate student. Stachel and Cass discussed the University's sexual harassment policy when they began dating in 1989, but decided that because their relationship was consensual and Stachel was not in Cass's class, the guidelines did not apply to them. Stachel received her doctorate from the University in August 1994, just weeks before Cass's proposed appointment was rejected. According to Cass, Vice Provost for Graduate Education Janice Madden was the first to raise concerns about his proposed appointment, when she told him about rumors that he "had a pattern of dating graduate students." Madden said last fall she felt Cass's appointment as graduate chairperson would have perpetuated hostility toward women in the Economics department, and that his relationship with Stachel -- and his views on the University's sexual harassment policy -- would have made it difficult for her and other administrators to work with him. In its report, dated May 3, the Senate Committee characterizes administrators' prying into Cass's personal life as "unwise and objectionable." However, the report recommends no sanctions because the Committee did not find evidence that Cass's academic freedom had been abridged. Cass characterized the report as "too subservient to the administration" because it does not offer any suggestions that would prevent what has happened to him from recurring. University Provost Stanley Chodorow said while he was "pleased" that the Committee found the administration acted within the bounds of its authority and responsibility, he was "not happy" with its conclusion that questions about Cass's past behavior were inappropriate. "In my view, the Committee's conclusion on that point rests on a misunderstanding of the events," he said. "We are talking about the administration's right to decide who should hold an administrative position." The Committee's report was to be published in this week's Almanac, but outgoing Committee Chairperson and Political Science Professor Jack Nagel said Madden and Chodorow asked him to delay publication so that they could meet with the Committee to discuss the group's findings. "The report is a final report, and we're just delaying publication as a courtesy," Nagel said last week. "It's not that we're contemplating changing it or rescinding it." However, he added that the Committee would consider adding "an addendum or a footnote" to the report as a result of conversations with administrators because of Almanac's "right-of-reply" rule. Cass said last week he will spend the 1995-96 academic year at the European Economic Community–funded European University Institute in Florence, Italy, working on research with graduate students. He added that he had hoped the events of last fall would have been resolved by now, but believes administrators are trying to deliberately postpone publication of the report to again avoid dealing with his demands of University President Judith Rodin. Reiterated in a May 8 letter from Cass to the University's Board of Trustees, these demands are: reprimanding all administrators involved in the denial of Cass's proposed appointment, including Chodorow and Madden; removing Madden from her post as Vice Provost for Graduate Education; and apologizing and compensating Cass and Stachel for damage to their "personal and professional" reputations. "I consider the PC climate here to be incredible," Cass said. "When I come into Penn now, unlike in previous years, my stomach turns. At this point, I have absolutely no intention of ever coming back to the University to teach or do research."
(05/03/95 9:00am)
Terms are confidential A settlement was reached last week in three sexual harassment suits filed by a former University student who was romantically involved with one of her professors. The student, Lisa Topol, accused former Assistant English Professor Malcolm Woodfield of harassment after their three-month affair ended in the spring of 1993. Terms of the settlement are confidential, according to University General Counsel Shelley Green. "The parties have agreed to resolve their differences," Green said. "This ends the process -- all of the litigation." Topol's attorney, Alice Ballard, confirmed that no further action is expected on any of her client's complaints. In March 1994, Topol filed suit against the University, charging that administrators had failed to resolve her harassment complaint in a timely manner. Proceedings in that case were expected to begin in federal district court last month. Topol also had suits pending against Woodfield in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court and against Bates College in Maine, where Woodfield taught for two years before coming to the University. She contended that Bates withheld information about Woodfield's conduct there -- including allegations of sexual harassment leveled by students there. Woodfield resigned in April 1994, after admitting that he had had sex with Topol while she was a student in his class, making their relationship in violation of the University's sexual harassment policy. In March of this year, U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody ruled during the pre-trial discovery period that Topol would have to turn over as evidence the diary she kept during her involvement with Woodfield. The University believed the contents of Topol's diary would discredit her claims of harassment and prove that her relationship with Woodfield had been consensual. During the spring of 1993, Topol had shared some of the diary with then-Ombudsman Daniel Perlmutter and Assistant Ombudsman Gulbun O'Connor. Ballard contested the University's motion to gain access to the diary, claiming that since Topol had been advised to record her thoughts by Penn Women's Center personnel, the patient-psychotherapist privilege protected any information the book contained. But Ballard said earlier this week that the University did not get to view the diary after all. The Woodfield-Topol case, with its conflicting allegations of illicit sex and abuse of power, has become somewhat of a cause cZlebrZ in the media. It spawned a lengthy feature in Philadelphia magazine last fall and was one of the focal stories in a Time magazine piece about student-professor relationships last month. Additionally, as a result of fallout from the case, the University's Faculty Senate recently approved a draft policy forbidding all sexual relationships between students and faculty members.
(04/28/95 9:00am)
Housekeeping manager Paul Ross has been accused by three of his employees of sexual harassment, verbal abuse and theft. And while some housekeepers have supported Ross's accusers, two Physical Plant workers defended him yesterday. Earlier this week, Brian Hunt, Ann Lee and Tyrone Best came forward to accuse Ross of behaving inappropriately and making unwanted, often sexual comments about them and members of their families. Lee also said Ross may have taken money from her wallet. Hunt and Lee, who formerly asked to be identified as "Spencer" and "Pita" in order to protect their jobs, have filed charges with the University's Division of Human Resources and Office of Affirmative Action. But others who work for Ross said he is a "perfect gentleman" and a "fair boss." "Not only did they hurt Paul Ross with these statements but also his family," housekeeper Mary Slater said. "They partially ruined this man's reputation." Slater, who works under Ross in the Biomedical Research Building where Lee works and where Hunt formerly worked, said supervisors are sometimes charged with harassment "because they're simply doing their job." "In one short article, he's been accused of being mentally unstable, a pervert and a thief," she said. "I was wondering what psychiatric training [Hunt] has to be able to make such a statement." And Slater said she thinks Hunt and Lee should be fired if the charges are proven to be untrue. But others said they believed the accusations, adding that the problems with Ross are even more serious than those discussed this week. According to housekeeper Charles King, one of Teamster Local 115's shop stewards, Ross first worked the day shift in the high rises and was later transferred to the Quadrangle. He then moved to the night shift and the medical buildings where he now works. "Wherever this guy goes, he manages to bring a lot of trouble with him," King said. "I always hear about Paul Ross." King said housekeepers will often come to him before taking a grievance to a more serious, official level. But he said that despite the ongoing complaints he has received about Ross, the University has not made the situation a high priority. "They shift him around campus like a checker on a checker board," King said. A housekeeper who asked to be identified as "Julie," worked under Ross in the high rises and said he would make "off-the-wall comments" that offended some employees. "He's not exactly the most liked person on campus," she said. "He really could be a pain in the butt." Julie said some who worked for Ross had a more positive impression of him, adding that she herself was never harassed by Ross. And a Physical Plant employee who requested anonymity because she is "really terrified of the unions" said Best, Hunt and Lee have only levied the accusations in order to get revenge against Ross because he reprimanded them for unsatisfactory job performances. "I know they're devious people," she said. "They're trying to murder him through the media." The housekeeper also called her three co-workers "bums who don't want to do their work." And she said Best is "psychotic," citing examples in which he "terrorized other employees" who offended him. Best said he did not want to comment on those statements, noting that his problem is with Ross and not his fellow employees. But Hunt and Lee did respond, defending their decisions to come forward. "My record stands for itself," Hunt said. "Anyone on campus who knows me knows [such accusations] are false." And Lee said revenge has never been an issue. "I had nothing against him when I first started here," she added. "If I didn't do my work, I would be written up -- and I don't get complaints or write-ups." The union and the University are in the process of investigating the charges against Ross. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writers Jorie Green and Tammy Polonsky contributed to this article.
(04/27/95 9:00am)
To The Editor: All investigations are held in strict confidence. In the case of the two employees mentioned in the The Daily Pennsylvanian ("Two employees claim U. ignored sexual harassment complaints," DP 4/25/95), the complainants have elected to make a public statement. Consequently, in this case only we will state that there is an ongoing fact-finding investigation. Representatives of the Office of Affirmative Action and the Division of Human Resources are serving as neutral fact-finders in the on-going investigation, and are moving as expeditiously as possible. In response to the comments by Mr. Tyrone Best, as reported in the The Daily Pennsylvanian ("Third U. employee alleges sexual harassment," DP 4/26/95), we are not aware that a complaint has been filed with the Division of Human Resources and/or the Office of Affirmative Action. The University cautions that until such allegations are completely investigated there should not be a presumption of guilt or innocence. This position is to protect the complainant, the respondent and potential witnesses. John Fry University Executive Vice President n To the Editor: Earlier this week, you ran an article regarding the sexual harassment of two employees by a supervisor ("Two employees claim U. ignored sexual harassment complaints," DP 4/25/95). I am the woman you referred to as "Pita." Contrary to your article, Teamsters Local 115 gave me and continues to give me every assistance possible in pursuing my claims against this supervisor. John P. Morris, the business agents and the shop stewards gave me direction and advice for charging the supervisor with sexual harassment. They even came with me to the affirmative action office to file the complaint. I think you should run a correction immediately to indicate that Teamsters Local 115 has been a tremendous support and guide in pressing my claim. Ann Lee Physical Plant housekeeper n To the Editor: I am the employee named "Spencer" in your front-page article regarding sexual harassment from a supervisor ("Two employees claim U. ignored sexual harassment complaints," DP 4/25/95). I write to correct one glaring error in the article. The article implied that my union, Teamsters Local 115, did nothing to support my claims against the supervisor. Nothing could be further from the truth. The union was supportive of me from the start. At the direction of the business agents, the shop stewards guided me through the University's complaint process. They personally escorted me to the affirmative action office and arranged meetings with management personnel. The union continues to help me pursue my charges against the supervisor in question. I ask that you run this letter before your last issue on Friday to correct this error about the union. I am proud to be a member of Local 115 and am thankful for their support during this difficult time for me. Brian Hunt Physical Plant housekeeper Respect Our Home To the Editor: I am deeply saddened by the recent defacement of University property in High Rise South and Nichols which violates all standards of civilized behavior. The Code of Student Conduct, Section IIIe (PENNBOOK p.16) specifically prohibits students from damaging and defacing the property or facilities of the University or of other community members. In addition, Section IIId "condemns hate speech, epithets and racial, ethnic, sexual, and religion slurs." The Department of Residential Living, at my request, has asked the University of Pennsylvania Police and the Philadelphia Police to conduct criminal and civil investigations regarding the defacement, through racial/ethnic epithets, of University residential property each and every time such an event has occurred. I have, again, asked for this cooperation and Commissioner Kuprevich has already pledged the full resources of his department to this effect. Our University is a microcosm of a society that is facing a number of troubling challenges, but, this is our home, and all Penn people deserve to live in a climate in which racial, ethnic and religious intimidation is absent. I condemn the cowardice of those few people who are perpetrating these acts, and I ask for your assistance in their identification. I urge any community members who have information relevant to this vandalism to immediately contact the Penn Police Department's Victim Support and Special Services Office, at 898-4481. All information will be kept confidential. Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum Acting Vice Provost for University Life
(04/26/95 9:00am)
And Tammy Polonsky A third University employee came forward to accuse housekeeping manager Paul Ross of sexual harassment last night. Housekeeper Tyrone Best, who works in the Dental School, said Ross has verbally abused him, calling him "handsome" on several different occasions. He also described an incident in which Ross made derogatory statements about Best's mother. According to Best, this harassment has been going on for almost a year. Ross refused to comment last night. Two Physical Plant employees, who asked to be referred to as "Spencer" and "Pita" to protect their identities and jobs, made similar allegations earlier this week. Both workers accused Ross of verbally and sexually harassing them. They also said the University has not responded to their complaints. Pita said last night that she was "shocked" to learn that another employee has claimed to have experienced the same treatment from Ross. "I just feel sorry for people who have the problem with Paul [Ross] -- I know what they're going through and it shouldn't happen to anybody," she said. "It shows there really is a problem with Paul Ross." Best said he was accused of pushing Ross on March 23. Best said he was told that the act was caught on surveillance cameras, and was suspended without pay for more than one week. But Best denied ever pushing Ross, adding that he has yet to see a tape of the alleged incident and that nobody has come forward to back up Ross' claims. He added that University officials never gave him the opportunity to present his side of the story. "It was just his word and my word and I am the one that suffered and my family still suffers," Best said. "They took food out of my baby's mouth." Best said he attempted to ignore Ross' actions and words, adding that he was trying to "keep a low profile." "I am just a working person trying to earn a living," he said. "I ignored it, but since he does hold a certain position, he ought to know better. "We come here to work, not to be abused," Best added. He said he has chosen not to file charges or attempt to change buildings. Both Pita and Spencer filed grievances with the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Affirmative Action, along with their Teamsters Union Local 115. When Spencer complained to Affirmative Action officials, they were able to transfer him to another building, away from Ross' jurisdiction. But Best said he "should not have to leave," adding that the University should take action on the situation immediately. "[Ross] just can't keep getting away with it," he said. "I'd like to see these situations addressed through the proper channels."
(04/25/95 9:00am)
Two University employees have accused their supervisor of sexual and verbal harassment -- and now they say the University has not responded to their complaints. Both Physical Plant housekeepers -- who have requested that they be referred to as "Spencer" and "Pita" in order to protect their identities and their jobs-- described incidents in vivid detail implicating their housekeeping manager, Paul Ross, in various examples of harassment. Ross refused to comment on any of the accusations made against him. Spencer, who began working for Ross in late August, said his problems began almost immediately. "Paul seems to single out people," Spencer said. He said the first hint of trouble came in September, when Ross made sexual remarks about Spencer's wife. "He said 'All I have to do is stick my 12-inch tongue down your wife's throat and she would never come home,' " Spencer said. "Paul doesn't have the right to degrade my wife in front of total strangers." Spencer added that Ross once came up behind him while he was cleaning and breathed on his neck, in a possible homosexual advance. Both Spencer and Pita complained that Ross would come up behind them without saying anything and stare at them intently until they turned around. "Especially when you're the opposite sex of the supervisor and you're in the bathroom, they're supposed to announce that they're coming in," Pita said. "He didn't." Pita said there have been several times when she would be bending down, cleaning a bathroom stall, and Ross would come up behind her and stand there until she turned around, only to find him staring at her. In addition, Pita said she has been the victim of verbal sexual harassment. Pita said Ross commented on the size of her breasts, saying that it was inappropriate for her to wear her housekeeping jacket open, despite the T-shirt she wore underneath. "He would tell me to button up my uniform and I asked him why once," she said. "He goes 'well, you could hurt somebody by looking like that' --Eand I got really upset." Pita also said she suspects Ross once stole money from her wallet when it was in her locker. And Spencer and Pita said these are only a few examples of what has become an on-going problem with Ross. Pita and Spencer went to their Teamsters Union Local 115 in February with grievances regarding Ross' behavior. "Nothing happened," Spencer said. "I was anxious to know why it is still being investigated [since] they interviewed everybody -- I wondered 'what more do they need?' " But the union's business agent, Ernie Harris, said the union is investigating the grievances but has no jurisdiction over Physical Plant management. He also said the investigation process takes time although it "usually gets done." With the help of their union shop stewards, Pita and Spencer also went to the University's Division of Human Resources and the Office of Affirmative Action. They said Human Resources has not responded to their complaints, although Affirmative Action officials were able to transfer Spencer to a different building in January. Representatives from both departments refused to comment on the allegations against Ross. They also would not confirm or deny that complaints had been filed. "The process takes time and it depends on a particular case," said Jeanne Howley, a University labor relations specialist. "The University takes any charge very seriously." Spencer said he fears that Ross is mentally unstable and could do something worse to those still working under him. And Pita, who still works for Ross, said she is "petrified," adding that the rape alarms on her floor do not work. "I dread coming to work because I never know what he's going to do next," she said. "Something should be done with him." Although Physical Plant Director James Wargo had not been notified about Spencer and Pita's situations, he said he would only have heard of them if the cases could not be worked out on a lower level. Wargo said a supervisor who harasses his employees faces a variety of punitive measures. "It could happen that the supervisor involved would have to apologize, they could be hurt financially, disciplined, given time off, up to and including discharge," he said. And Rick Buckley, building supervisor for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, said he thought Ross should be fired if the charges are proven true. "He's supposed to show an example by being a manager," Buckley added. Spencer formerly worked the day shift for Buckley before personal matters forced him to switch to the night shift --Eand to the building where Ross works. He said he is much more relieved and relaxed now that he works in another campus building, far away from Ross. But Pita said she did not want to leave her current station, despite Ross' continual presence, because she "didn't do anything wrong." "And I am not going to quit because of some jerk," she said. Wargo said determining harassment is difficult because employees sometimes complain when a supervisor is "only making them do the work." Spencer's supervisors and those employed in the Towne Building where he formerly worked praised him. "He was the best worker and best housekeeper I ever saw," Buckley said. And Shelley Brown, assistant to the graduate chairperson of Systems Engineering, said Spencer did work beyond what his position required and was always honest, friendly and up-front.
(04/17/95 9:00am)
No judicial hearings held Undergraduates accounted for more than 98 percent of violations of University policies during the fall semester, according to statistics recently released by the Student Dispute Resolution Center. The Judicial Inquiry Officer, working inside the SDRC, handles complaints made by students, faculty and staff against University students for violating the Codes of Student Conduct or Academic Integrity. Of the 119 charges last term, 117 were against undergraduates, while only two were filed against graduate students. Most of these charges were dismissed after an investigation or settled by an agreement. None of the incidents required a hearing -- which, according to JIO Steven Blum, is the way it should be. "We try to reach a resolution by agreement whenever possible," he said. Most of the 119 cases were violations of the Code of Student Conduct. There were 21 cases of disorderly conduct, 17 reports of assault, 14 charges of attempted theft, 13 charges of vandalism and 11 cases of alcohol violations. There were only two reports of cheating and one violation of the Sexual Harassment Policy that were reported to the JIO. According to Blum, after the JIO receives a complaint against a student, it investigates the matter and tries to reach a settlement. It is only if both parties fail to reach an agreement or if the accused pleads innocent that a hearing is arranged. After the hearing or resolution, a sanction is given to the student. Blum said there were four purposes to the sanction: to insure the student will not make the same mistake again, to attempt to reconcile the student and any injured party, to insure that the charges are consistent with prior cases and to help the student learn and grow from the experience. "The sanction should fit the kid," he said. "We try to move the student along in his or her development." Blum said the reason for the difference between reports against graduates and undergraduates is that not every graduate school is under the JIO system. For example, the Law and Medical Schools handle the charges within their own jurisdiction. But Blum admitted that the undergraduates seemed to violate University policies more frequently. "We simply get more reports of alleged undergraduate misconduct," he said.
(04/13/95 9:00am)
College junior Joey Gelbard sat dejected with a partially eaten Abner's cheesesteak before him. "I got to the third one and I got stuffed -- I didn't know what to do," he said. "I had to eat half of it just for pride." Eight hungry students, each representing a team of eight to 15 students participating in Sigma Chi's Derby Days, indulged in a showdown of sorts at Abner's at 38th and Chestnut streets last night, vying for a year's worth of the Belly Buster Special. The contest required eating as many cheesesteaks as possible in 30 minutes. College senior and Sigma Chi brother Corin Brown downed six cheesesteaks to win the contest and take home the coveted prize. Ironically, Brown was persuaded by his team to enter the contest only minutes before it began. The only female of the eight participants was College freshman Christina Alban. Before the clock started, she declared, "Slow and steady wins the prize!" Alban, however, ate only three and a half cheesesteaks. "I got a free t-shirt and 10 pounds," she said afterward, before heading to Baskin Robbins for some chocolate chip ice cream. Derby Days is a week-long series of fundraisers for the Children's Crisis Treatment Center of Philadelphia sponsored by Sigma Chi. Abner's owner Gus Raptis donated use of his restaurant and food for the event. In addition, Abner's will donate 10 percent of yesterday's profits to the charity. Derby Days was boycotted last April by the Panhellenic Council in response to concerns of sexual harassment and excessive drinking associated with the activities, according to Sigma Chi president and College senior Todd Johnson. Panhel is currently addressing whether to re-recognize Derby Days. However, a conclusion has not yet been reached, according to Panhel executive vice president and College junior Laurie Curtin. "We voted to take a look at all the changes that [Sigma Chi] made," Curtin said, adding that she expects each chapter will be given the individual option of whether to boycott Derby Days. "We've realized that Sigma Chi has made a lot of good changes," Curtin added. In addition to the Abner's eat-down, Sigma Chi sponsored a foosball tournament at Smokey Joe's Tuesday night. Derby Days continues with its fundraising efforts Thursday with a Casino Night at Sigma Chi and Friday with a Wiffleball tournament and party. Sigma Chi brothers also are volunteering this week at the Children's Crisis Treatment Center downtown. Johnson anticipates raising between $3,000 and $4,000 for the Center by the end of the week.
(04/11/95 9:00am)
Every Friday night, College junior Jennifer Loh attends services at the Chinese Christian Church Center in downtown Philadelphia. Instead of having to take a taxi or public transportation, Loh relies on rides from several graduate student friends she has made through the religious organization. The church center has set up a program in which graduate fellows and young working people advise and provide a support structure for undergraduates. The graduate students even make care packages for the undergraduates during finals. "They're always available to give us advice," Loh said. But, this kind of interaction between undergraduate and graduate students is not common at the University. Not only is there a lack of social interaction between the two groups, but students said they are not interested in having more opportunities to interact with each other. According to a survey of 30 undergraduate and 30 graduate students conducted by The Daily Pennsylvanian, 61 percent of students said they either did not want more interaction, or did not have an opinion on the issue. Communication tends to be limited to the teaching assistant-student relationship. And relations that develop outside of the classroom are usually based on similar academic interests. Graduate students who are not TAs are able to meet undergraduates through various organizations on campus that provide social activities for both sets of students. But only a small percentage of the student population participates in these groups. "Because I don't teach yet, my interaction as a first-year student is confined to that which I have while participating in extracurriculars such as music and dance," first-year Music graduate student Elyse Carter said. Kirk Wattles, a Sociology doctoral student, said he has met many undergraduates through the Democratic Socialists of America -- another relatively marginal campus group. Through campus organizations, Wattles said he has had the opportunity to discuss ideas and theories with undergraduates that transcend the academic setting. Like Loh, many undergraduates have said they meet graduate students through religious organizations such as the Campus Crusade for Christ, the Hindu Discussion Group and the Newman Center. And although Hillel holds open services for all students, most social events, such as dances and dinners, are planned by separate graduate and undergraduate committees, College junior Tina Namdar said. According to Carter, most graduate students do not necessarily have the time to go to such events even if they are open to all students. "They usually encounter undergraduates while teaching and since the main source of social structure for undergraduates, as far as I can tell, is the Greek system -- which most graduate students I know happen to detest -- these two factors lead to very little interaction between students of any level," she said. Undergraduate and graduate students often have the opportunity to interact in upper-level courses. For example, the Nursing School has a double-degree program that allows Nursing graduate students to take courses with their undergraduate counterparts. Some undergraduates said that outside of the classroom, they dined and went to the movies, bars and attended parties with graduate-level friends. Yet 50 percent of the undergraduate student body reported they had no graduate student friends. Despite this limited social interaction, dating between levels does occur. Ninety percent of students said they would definitely date the other if the opportunity presented itself. But graduates and undergraduates rarely enter intimate relations because both sets of students fear the charge of sexual harassment -- especially in the case of a relationship between a TA and a student. "Anyone entering a relationship who has an official role that carries some authority it seems would carry with the relationship some tension," Wattles said. It is not only professional responsibilities, but an overall incompatibility between the students' lifestyles which deters graduate students from wanting to date undergraduates. "The experience I'm having as a graduate student is completely removed and different from one which any undergraduate could possibly have on this campus. I would definitely not date an undergraduate," Carter said. "It would make for a very difficult relationship." Undergraduates, however, have the opposite viewpoint and have said they would definitely date a graduate student if the opportunity presented itself. "Dating a graduate student isn't much of a difference from dating an undergraduate student," College sophomore Jin Lee said. "Age shouldn't matter." But for many undergraduates, there is a gap between the two levels. "Once a student is in graduate school, they're not in the same college scene," Namdar said. The administration addresses graduate student needs differently from undergraduates'. Graduate students said they thought they were treated better than undergraduates by the University administration. A few undergraduates agreed, primarily because they feel the University is research-oriented. One graduate student who was surveyed, however, said the University seems to operate on the undergraduate calendar with no consideration to the graduate students who are attending classes all year round. Earlier this year, Graduate and Professional Student Association members spoke to University President Judith Rodin and Provost Stanley Chodorow about being ignored in administrative plans that focused on undergraduates. Both Rodin and Chodorow said at the time that they feel interaction needs to be encouraged and that they are aware of the problem. According to the survey, many students are apathetic about a lack of interaction -- mainly because the issue has not been addressed by the administration. Graduate students also said the branches of administration that they are in contact with are completely separate from the undergraduates. Yet 38 percent did not have an opinion on how undergraduates were treated because they were only aware of how the administration responded to graduate students. Another factor that inhibits interaction between graduates and undergraduates is the University's geography. The Law School buildings are located on 34th Street between Sansom and Chestnut away from the central campus. Therefore, Law students that live in the Graduate Towers, also located on Chestnut Street, have no reason to venture past Walnut Street to Locust Walk, where most undergraduates congregate. Medical, Veterinary, and Dental students also have the same geographical challenge since their buildings are located on or south of Spruce Street. Regardless of these inhibiting factors, there should be more interaction between different level students and it should be a point of concern, said one College senior surveyed.
(04/03/95 9:00am)
Hundreds of women activists from a variety of fields and academic backgrounds came from as far away as Chile, Italy, India and the Netherlands to take part in a four-day conference this weekend about "Women, Sexuality and Violence." More than 100 public activists, lawyers, journalists and policy planners from nonprofit organizations were asked to speak about their experiences dealing with women's issues. The speakers participated in 39 discussion panels which covered a range of issues confronting women -- including their role in the workplace, the family, the courts and society at large. The conference was sponsored by the Annenberg Public Policy Center. And according to Wharton senior Catherine Henry, who helped organize the conference, the weekend was a solid success. "I thought the conference went really well," she said. "We got great attendance and lots of positive feedback about it. Everything seemed to run smoothly." Nirva Kudyan, vice president of the University's chapter of the National Organization for Women, said she thought the conference's speakers helped make the conference an enjoyable experience. "I thought the conference was filled with very gifted, very talented panelists," she said. "I think they really mobilized the audience to look into the problems affecting women." College senior Alisha Berry, president of the University's NOW chapter, agreed. "It was a really good thing that the conference had so many people who were discussing women's issues and giving them weight," she said. Discussions identified social problems that participants said need more public policy intervention -- such as rape, domestic abuse, homophobia and sexual harassment. The conference's agenda also included poetry readings and a visit to a feminist museum exhibit. Besides theoretical discussions on the issues, the conference also explored practical ways for audience members to become activists and create change in the political arena. On Saturday night, two workshops were conducted to show how activists and academics can form relationships and pursue new strategies to improve the cause of women's issues. Kudyan said she thought the practical slant of the conference was useful to her in her work as a female activist. "I made a lot of good contacts, even with people who live across the country," she said. However, Graduate Student Association President Bronwyn Beistle was not impressed with the conference's attempts to encourage activism. "The problem with the conference was that it was long on talk, short on strategic planning," said the English graduate student. "I would prefer a conference that had provided more concrete political strategies. Still, it was a good-faith effort that allowed me to find out about resources and make connections." But Berry gave the University credit for holding the conference. "For too long, women's issues were seen as domestic problems that were not worthy of public discourse," she said. "It's great that now that so many people are now giving these issues the open discussion that they deserve."
(03/23/95 10:00am)
"AIDS is the cure, not the disease," an angry hand scrawled in white chalk letters in the entrance to the Quadrangle's Speakman section. In the same chalk writing, other sections of the Quad were also vandalized with anti-gay graffiti, including the archways near Thomas Penn and Ward. Written in large letters, some of the graffiti stated "It's great to be straight," and "Keep ROTC, lose the queers." Wharton freshman Lee Anchin, a Speakman resident, said he first saw the graffiti in the Speakman entrance early Wednesday morning. Anchin said that he tried to erase the graffiti the next day, first with his foot, and then by pouring water on it. "I think an attack on any group is disgraceful, and it has no place in public," he said. College freshman Rob Fechner, who also attempted to erase the graffiti, said he felt the chalk inscriptions showed the vandal's ignorance. "If ignorant assholes like this are going to take the time to insult people, they should at least get their facts straight -- AIDS is not a gay disease," said the Speakman resident. Nursing sophomore Ashley Paine, a Facilitating Learning About Sexual Harassment Steering Committee member, said she is not surprised the angry messages coincided with Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Days. "I think it is a backlash against BGLAD week," she said. "Heterosexual youth are one of the fastest growing groups of HIV infected people in America," she added. "As a bisexual woman, each time I hear a homophobic comment, I just shake my head. It offends me deeply, and I wonder how people who are intelligent enough to get into a University like Penn can be so ignorant and narrow-minded." College freshman Rachel Murphy, also Speakman resident, said "it is embarrassing that visitors had to witness such intolerance," referring to prospective students who were in the Quad at the time. According to Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone, in such cases of discriminatory graffiti, both the University Police and the Philadelphia Police are called in to investigate.
(03/23/95 10:00am)
In front of the peace sign on College Green yesterday, more than 30 students gathered to celebrate, learn and increase the University community's awareness of homosexuality as part of the week-long Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Days. "We are here today to celebrate ourselves," said Scott Reikofski, assistant director of Student Life Activities and Facilities, in a statement read at the rally. "BGLAD is not about flaunting our sexuality on Locust Walk, nor is it about attacking those who are unable to be tolerant. BGLAD is about affirming ourselves and educating others." More than 10 speakers came to lend their support, including Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum. "We are here to celebrate all of us and all of you here," she said. And some speakers came to share their own personal experiences about "coming out." Nursing sophomore Ashley Paine, a Facilitating Learning About Sexual Health representative, described how difficult it was to find a homosexual with whom she could comfortably discuss her feelings during a transitional time in her life. Other speakers came to educate the University community about homosexuality. "Homophobia is not just a matter of verbally harassing or physically harming," said Kurt Conklin, a health educator at Student Health Services. "Homophobia is also a matter of closing our lives off to the possibility of loving and caring for many more people in the world. "When a father stops hugging his son beyond the age of five because he is afraid it will teach the wrong message to his son -- the dad and son both are living the reality of homophobia," he said. The rally was a time for sharing and mingling. Some came to support friends who were speaking. Others stopped on Locust Walk to listen to what was being said. But most came to show that they are not ashamed to be lesbian, gay or bisexual. "These types of events are really important for the educational community," School of Education graduate student Philip Tromovitch said. "Prejudice and the problems that exist in society are primarily due to ignorance. BGLAD and similar events help to educate the community about issues they may not have a full knowledge of." Bob Schoenberg, coordinator of the Program for the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community at Penn, said BGLAD is intended to "give gays, lesbians [and] bisexuals at Penn a chance to be proud." It also "helps make the general Penn community aware that the LGB people are here at Penn and educate them about our needs and concerns," he said.
(03/20/95 10:00am)
To the Editor: His long article condemns lesbian, gay and bisexual persons -- "sexual misfits" in his words, while not using any academic research to prove his thesis. I question why Mr. Teillon believes it necessary to write such a long diatribe against homosexuality and persons who are homosexual or lesbian. Shakespeare wrote well, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Mr. Teillon has decided that lesbian and gay persons have one purpose: "to legitimize their bedroom behavior." His understanding is limited to genital sexual expression. Intelligent humans realize, whether they be heterosexual or homosexual or bisexual, that human identity is not found in the groin. But yet, this is all that Mr. Teillon can conceive. All persons need and want the freedom to be their authentic selves. Lesbian and gay persons need and want to be who they are. People of color, Asian persons, Jews and women need to be free, to perceive this themselves and know that others affirm them as who they are. We cannot be defined by another person or group. Mr. Teillon tells us that "morality and civilized society has determined a set of cultural norms to gauge acceptable behavior." I believe that Mr. Hitler had the same concept. Who defines what is "civilized society?" Hitler, White America, Mr. Teillon? Mr. Teillon states that non-homosexuals "should be glad that their own sexuality has not reached such a preoccupying state that they feel a need to parade it around Locust Walk." I must ask Mr. Teillon to observe the young heterosexual couples daily expressing their affection on Locust Walk and everywhere else. They are not harassed, mocked, attacked. "The bizarre fetishes" that Mr. Teillon believes gays and lesbians want to legitimize is nothing other than the freedom to love another human just as Mr. Teillon is free to do. Finally, all people need to be affirmed in their humanity. However, the same "civilized society" that tried to destroy the Jews also tried to kill off the "Jewlovers." And those few courageous white people who marched with African-Americans for their right to be free were labeled "nigger-lovers." Are any of us courageous enough to be called "faggots" because we believe that gays and lesbians have a right to live free lives? Hopefully, we at this great University will encourage more weeks of celebrating each others' lives: African- American Awareness Days; Asian Awareness Days; Hispanic-Latino Awareness Days; Women Awareness Days, and yes, Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian Awareness Days. Kenneth-Kazimieras Stewart Social Work graduate student n To the Editor: Marc Teillon's reactionary column bashing gay pride is brutally self-righteous yet ironically ignorant. Teillon uses his column to legitimize his sexual Puritanism and strut his fancy rhetoric, but his conservative critique smacks of free speech censorship. Well done sir, we should all be homophobic! Teillon likes to think he stands on the moral highground with his vehement disapproval of homosexuality. From his soapbox, he equates diversity with deviance, while denouncing and accusing alternative views as an affront to the world's harmonious morality-very fascistic logic. Here Teillon's logic runs dry: The issue is not about morality but about equality and human rights. The homosexual community is tired of the rude epithets, job and housing discrimination, and smug conservatives that try to pacify them in spite of their oppression. They are not out to convert people sexually but to confront the blatantly and brutally myopic and insincere responses from the anti-gay garrison. Homosexuals have the right to walk down a street holding hands or kissing without being beaten. This call for respectability and justice has a long and noble history in America. Revolutionary documents such as the Constitution and Declaration of Independence seem to come to mind. Even more recently the women's liberation and civil rights movement echo the B-GLAD activism. Should we condemn all these movements on the grounds of immorality? If so, we better tear up the Declaration of Independence stating "all men are created equal" as well as that frustrating Bill of Rights. There is an obvious difference between the written law and the reality in the communities. For true equality, humanitarian movements need political validation and a change in the social consciousness that oppressed them in the first place. In addition, Kinsey's brilliant study was not to justify perversion as Tellion misreads it, but to point out the blatant hypocrisy between what was advocated publicly by the masses and what was actually performed privately. Despite the proclaimed Victorian purity, a lot of fine, healthy Americans were committing "deviant" acts such as sex before marriage (which women caught all the blame for -- not men). Teillon defines "natural" according to his own morality, but morals are constructed ideals that cannot have anything to do with the notion of naturalness. Did you know that after certain species of spiders mate, the female kills the male? Deviant behavior indeed, but perfectly "natural." While Teillon uses the safe platform of free speech for his conservative views, he denies that foundation for others. The B-GLAD activists deserve an open ear, eye and heart for respect, not an ignorant fist. Joshua Schuster College '98 (2 signatures follow) n To the Editor: I am writing in response to Marc Teillon's column. When I first read the article I was not only shocked, but disturbed by its implications. It was not just the fact that there was an ignorant, racist, homophobic student espousing his opinions and ideas to an impressionable readership that concerned me. Rather, it was the fact an Ivy League student and most of all a columnist on the DP, is unable to present a slightly accurate historical analysis of sexuality without relying on name calling to articulate his point. Teillon's attempts to be sensationalistic were boring and unsuccessful, quite frankly I expect more from such a cleaver, brilliant, not mention to adorable young man. However, the main focus of my criticism is not actually with Teillon, because there are only a few tricks that a dog can learn and if barking is all that this mutt can do then just maybe someone should put a muzzle on him. The problem stems from the DP editors, columnists, and writers refusal to publish articles that are as racist as Teillon was homophobic. Teillon's pedantic description of B-GLAD being compared to a "Hispanic "drag ball,' is evidence of the racism which exists among journalists. However, what I find so surprising is that during Latino awareness week in October not one article bashed any of the leaders of Hispanic organizations for their efforts, but during B-GLAD the organizers are ridiculed. The existence of this article far transcends issues of freedom of speech and deals with the violation of human rights. By stating the names of the organizers of B-Glad, and then calling all gay people sexual misfits directly referring to these two students is a tragedy. Have the editors considered the feelings of these students and the ramifications of opening an arena of discourse that's main function is to make Penn students feel unequal and different? Unfortunately, Tellion is unaware that this role includes more than just directing first year students to the best party or bar. Rather, it deals with understanding all aspects and development of college students which definitely includes notions and ideas of sexual identity. Before he calls gays, lesbians and bisexuals misfits, do not forget the effects that this could have on the "unwary freshmen." Coming out of the closet or just exploring ideas of sexuality can be extremely devastating to anyone, especially first year students at a University in which individuals who hold positions of influence are already labeling themselves as misfits. A point to consider before you indulge in calling anyone a sexual misfit is the fact that someone just might be listening. Considering the number one cause of suicide among young adults is the result of sexual identity crisis is an important to be careful of what you say. Even though it involves the freedom of speech, Teillon and the DP staff should not ignore the violation of human rights that is occurring and continue to be unaware of the ramifications of slandering sexual minorities. On a more personal note, Marc, on behalf of all the "fags" on campus, there is nothing sexier than a college guy wearing khakis, Happy Jeans Day, Markie-pooh. Jim Downs College '95
(03/15/95 10:00am)
From Sonja Stumacher's "Fragments of the Sun," Fall '95 From Sonja Stumacher's "Fragments of the Sun," Fall '95We crammed ourselves into the smoke-filled train like rows of tightly packed sardines, overflowing into passageways between cars and bursting out of open windows into the chilly night. This wasn't the first time I'd spent an endless ride pressed against strangers, it happened all the time in Italy. My friend and I had spent a cloudless day wandering in Florence and barely caught the six o'clock line headed north to Venice. We should have waited for a later train. Clutching our crumpled tickets, we hoisted our small packs and lifted ourselves aboard. I led the way as we passed a cluster of people lining the passageway between cars and blowing curling smoke into the still air. We decided to stay between cars where we could at least rest our backs against the wall for support. From where I stood I could see out the train door into the station where people sat on benches or double-checked schedules. Then I saw a very small man reeling toward the door. I couldn't tell if he stumbled in a drunken stupor or from a physical handicap. As he heaved himself up the iron stairs, I could see it was a combination of both. He must have sensed something conspicuously foreign about the two of us huddled in the corner because he smiled a crazy grin in our direction. I nudged my friend. He began to weave a looping path toward our cramped area, knocking his feet into one another and grabbing at random people for support. Nobody moved or said anything. I smelled liquor. The doors clanged shut and the train began to roll. We were on our way back to Venice. I hated that I felt as though I had to avoid eye contact with people. You sensed that to look someone squarely in the face was to ask for trouble, especially if the person was a man and you were a woman. It seemed like such a double standard: Everyone stared at you so openly yet if you stared back they'd get the wrong impression. I only felt this way during moments of extreme frustration. The rest of the time I told myself I was just over-reacting in a typically repressed, American manner to a more sexually open and physically expressive culture which was probably partly true. But you couldn't ignore the instinct to keep your eyes down, to wear sunglasses, to avoid looking at groups of guys gathered in the street. The limping man shuffled a little nearer. He started to sing, loudly. We tried not to pay attention to him. He was looking right at me and belting out the word amore in one long, shrieking note. For some reason I started to see some humor in this situation. I muffled a smile but still felt uncomfortable. Nobody moved or said anything. Suddenly he lunged toward my friend. She screamed and knocked into me, pushing me into the older gentleman next to me. I stood, pinned, with my face mashed into his arm while my friend yelled and the drunk man inched closer to her. The older man glanced down at me and continued smoking his cigarette. Somehow we managed to edge around our little singing friend and stumble out of the corner into one of the cars. The seats were still filled so we stood against the wall in the corridor with our hearts pounding. I knew we were making a bigger deal out of this than was necessary; we didn't have to run away and make things worse. But I was too exhausted this time and just didn't feel like exerting the energy required for a more mature reaction to the harassment. I began to feel like we were playing some sort of insane game. The door swung open into the narrow corridor and our little friend tripped in. He pawed his way through the jammed crowd until he stood in front of us. In a way I felt bad for him. He was very small and thin, probably about five feet tall or so, barely shorter than me and he was definitely struggling with some type of physical handicap. But he was also bombed out of his mind and couldn't even see straight as he tried to move closer to us. This was getting beyond annoying. We dodged him again, making our way back into the passageway where we'd started. He followed us back. He was singing again. Nobody moved or said anything. I found a spot against the wall to rest my back and my friend moved past me, farther away from our pursuer. He stumbled closer toward me, singing with increased volume. I was too aggravated to dodge him again. I lost fear as I gained anger. I wasn't going to move. He kept moving toward me, shrieking all the while. Nobody moved or said anything. Suddenly he was so close to my face I thought his nose was going to touch mine. I put my arm out to block him. Basta! Enough! Leave me alone! The next thing I knew he was lying flat on his back on the floor with his legs sticking straight up in the air, like a cartoon character. I realized I must have knocked him down when I put out my arm. I had barely even touched him! I felt horrible. Still nobody moved or said anything. We helped him up, my friend and I. I thought he was going to scream at me or spit in my face or something. He just walked away. The rest of the trip was uneventful, nobody said a word about what had happened. As time passed and I thought about the little limping man who'd harassed us, I felt sad for him. I wondered what his story was. I wondered if he woke up the next morning and remembered how he'd chased two American girls around a train the night before. And I also wondered why nobody in the train moved or said anything. The passageway where we'd stood could not have been more crowded. It baffled me to think someone could be in the midst of so many and yet still feel so alone. I wondered what would have happened if a person were seriously violated or harmed. Would anybody help? I'd like to think that if the same thing had happened to me here in the United States, someone would have at least said something. But I haven't found myself in a similar predicament here, so I am unable to guess how strangers would respond. Maybe others could speak to that better than I. That train ride does not loom in my mind as a horrible experience abroad; the anger and fear it stirred have dissipated. What lingers instead is the memory of the pity I felt for the drunken man and the clear understanding that we were alone in our struggle. Helping others is a basic element of being human or at least it should be. If you're ever in my shoes and I'm the stranger, I promise I'll help.
(03/03/95 10:00am)
The Faculty Senate Executive Committee voted Wednesday to soften the penalty for professors who engage in consensual sexual relations with their students. After adding a phrase stating that administrators have the option of taking either "disciplinary" or "remedial" action against professors who violate the newly proposed policy forbidding professor-student relationships, the Committee approved the policy draft introduced at last month's meeting. The proposed sexual harassment policy would bar all consensual sexual relations between professors and their students and strongly discourage all relations between teachers and students even when the students are not taking classes taught by that professor. Because SEC is an advisory committee, the policy must now be approved by the president and provost. The original proposal stated that administrators deciding how to deal with a professor who violates the policy may take "disciplinary action." With Wednesday's revision, the administrators can also take "remedial measures." Law School Professor Stephen Burbank, who is a member of the Committee, said that the phrase was added to give the administrators flexibility when resolving cases that range from "seriously violating" the policy to minor infractions. Past Committee Chairperson Gerald Porter, a mathematics professor, said the University will have to make compromises if it institutes the proposal. But he said that it is still an appropriate policy for an academic institution. The Committee also approved two amendments to its proposal regarding just cause -- the guidelines the University uses when firing or demoting a faculty member. Although the Committee has been discussing just cause for years, until recently it was unable to agree on a procedure. The Committee will publish the entire document in the Almanac after spring break and will send a mail ballot to all faculty for a vote on the proposal. Under one amendment, the president of the University is allowed to reduce the severity of any disciplinary action that the SEC makes regarding a faculty member. The chair, past chair and chair-elect must approve the president's decision. The president, however, is not allowed to mete out a more harsh sanction against a faculty member. With the second amendment, if a faculty member and the president object to the decision because of the way the procedure was carried out, then the professor can appeal to the Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility. While the amendments provide checks against a committee that would provide sanctions that are too harsh, Porter and Burbank said they are disappointed that the president cannot increase the severity of the Committee's decision.
