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For a couple of years after graduating from Penn in 1980, I lived in a run-down apartment in a beautiful old Victorian house on the 4000 block of Pine Street. Among the things I loved about living there were the old buildings and big trees, which gave the block a feeling of charm and hominess in spite of its close proximity to the bustling campus and big city.
The head of the Philadelphia Police Sex Crimes unit was reassigned this weekend for questioning in a television interview the story a Bryn Mawr student told about her reported abduction near the University campus, Philadelphia Police officials said this weekend. Captain Richard Bullick, who has been with the Philadelphia Police Department since 1971, will be transferred to the department's Management Review Bureau today because of the remarks he made during a local news interview. Bullick's comments were made days after the student reported being abducted at gunpoint in her car while waiting on Walnut Street near 39th Street. The student told police her attacker forced her to go to her Bryn Mawr dormitory and to withdraw money from an automatic teller. His comments were broadcast November 7 as part of a story on the incident on WCAU-TV (Channel 10). "She's saying a lot of things that went on in the car," Bullick told WCAU reporter Andrew Glassman. "She's driving to 80 miles an hour having sex with the guy," Bullick said. "A little Nissan? I couldn't do it, maybe she could, I don't know." The camera then cut away to a different shot and Bullick said, "And if there was sex, it doesn't mean it was forced sex. So its all these things we have to look into before we come to a conclusion. But, you know, I'm skeptical at the beginning of the investigation." Glassman then asked Bullick, "You're skeptical at the beginning of this investigation?" Bullick said, "Well . . . well, as we are now, I'm a little skeptical about it." Bullick began another sentence, but Glassman interrupted and asked, "Is that how it is most of the time or it's just the nature of this story?" Bullick replied, "Sometimes, some are more hard . . . some are harder to believe than others." Later in the story, Glassman reported Bullick called him after the interview to say he did not want to sound insensitive. The report then showed Bullick giving an "official" statement that no decision about the facts in the case had been made. Philadelphia Police spokesperson Theresa Young told The Philadelphia Inquirer Friday that Police Commissioner Willie Williams did not think Bullick's comments were intended to be malicious. But Young added that "the resulting impact was that the Police Department was viewed as insensitive to crime victims." A Channel 10 spokesman would not discuss the report, adding that it is against the station's policy to discuss such matters. Bullick will be replaced by Captain Eileen Bonner, a 14-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police force, who will leave her post as the head of the Career Services Unit. Staff writer Damon Chetson contributed to this story.
While the University echoed with shouts of protest the night the U.S. and allied forces began their bombing of Iraq, across town at Temple University, quiet reigned. And according to editors from five Delaware Valley college newspapers who met yesterday at Drexel University, reactions varied throughout the region. After weeks of protest during the nearly month-long faculty strike last fall, few students can muster enthusiasm to rally again, editors from The Temple News said yesterday. "Temple is a really tired campus right about now," Jen Watson, the paper's news editor said. Editors of The Review at the University of Delaware reported wide-raging reaction, rather similar to the atmosphere at the University. Review Editor Darin Powell said that an organization called Citizens Against War formed during the fall and two protests drew about 250 students. Editors from St. Joseph's University said that students have become more active at a campus they described as usually conservative. Prayer vigils and debates on the editorial page of their newspaper, The Hawk, have been the primary activities on campus. Drexel newspaper editors said virtually the only protests visible on their campus were borrowed, as they watched University students heading from campus to Center City on the night the war began. But Triangle editors, who sponsored the meeting, said there was a candlelight vigil and the administration will maintain a burning candle in the campus's main building. Editors from all of the newspapers said that agreeing on a editorial stance for or against the war was difficult, if not impossible. Most said that they have not taken a stand for or against the war. The editor of The Temple News, Erin Friar, said she and her staff hesitate to take a firm editorial stand because of the historic value of the period. "It's kind of intimidating. We're dealing with history," Friar said. "Years from now, people may look back at the issues and say 'they were wrong, or boy, they were right.' "
The city's $206 million budget deficit this fiscal year has left Philadelphia officials scrambling to line up investors, in hopes that they will loan the city enough money for it to avoid running out of cash by Christmas. The current cash crunch is no surprise to city officials. A December 1990 shortfall has been expected for several months, after the city failed in September to sell $375 million in short-term notes. The failure was attributed to investors' fear of the large budget deficit. Mayor Wilson Goode, along with other major Democratic state legislators, announced a plan last month which would leave the city with a $140 million deficit for this fiscal year and balanced budgets starting next fiscal year, which will end June 1991. In their plan, Goode and the legislators called for the city to sell off $90 million in assets and cut a total of $37 million in spending with a job freeze and court reforms. For fiscal 1992, the plan includes a one-percent sales tax which is expected to raise $100 million. Philadelphia is no stranger to budget deficits. In the past several years, the city has borrowed money by selling short-term notes in the fall and winter. The cash carries the city through to the spring when many tax revenues flow in. But this year, the numbers exploded. Last year's $73 million budget shorfall ballooned to over $200 million. Philadelphia's financial condition has led to a downgrading of its long-term bonds, to below junk-bond level. Although Moody's Investor Service was not asked to rate the notes offered in September, Moody's assistant vice president Michael Johnston said at the time that institutions would "think carefully" before buying notes from Philadelphia. He also said that the city would need to pay higher interest rates on its notes because of the rating on its long-term bonds. In an additional blow, the state Treasurer's Office denied a request by the city that the state invest in the notes, saying that the way the deal would be structured would not be "legally permissible." Large cash flows don't start until next year, when property owners receive their tax bills, Revenue Commissioner Cheryl Weiss said in October. She said that the bills must be paid by the end of March. She said that the city receives $600 million in the first five months of the year -- a "significant portion" of revenue. City Council member George Burrell, who will announce tomorrow night his candidacy for mayor, developed a "financial rescue plan" in September, including a proposal that non-profit institutions give money to the city "in lieu of property taxes." Burrell's plan was not implemented, but the University in October joined several other institutions in prepaying a total of $30 million in wage and property taxes to the city. The prepayment pushed back a few weeks the day that the city would run out of money. The University prepaid $10 million, an amount reflecting the wage taxes that it would owe through next June. Other institutions, including the Philadelphia Electric Company and Drexel University, also participated in the prepayment. University professors said in October that sweeping changes in the city's government structure and the city charter were crucial for the city to weather the financial crisis. One of the suggestions was to establish an outside board of public finance experts, state and local government officials and top executives from the city's business community. Another suggestion was to change the city charter to release department heads from "straitjacket" provisions that restricted them from building effective managment teams.
Although Philadelphia's budget crisis has graced the front pages of national newspapers, prospective freshmen and their parents do not seem worried about attending college in a cash-strapped city. Admissions Officer Eric Furda, whose territory includes the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia, said that so far, students and parents only asked questions about how the financial crisis would relate to security. But he said if the crisis gets worse, it could have its own effects. "Down the road it could certainly affect applications or, more importantly matriculation," Furda said. Furda added that the students and parents who have asked questions about the budget crisis are from areas which traditionally criticize the city anyway. "A lot of people [in the region] had a bad perception of Philadelphia," Furda said. Nationally, high school guidance counselors at schools that are "feeders" -- who send a lot of applicants to the University -- say that no one has raised questions about the financial crisis. Norm Reidel, chairperson of the college counseling department at New Trier High School in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, said that there was no decline this year in Early Decision applicants to the University from his school. He said any decline in applicants would be due to the declining population of high school seniors. "I haven't heard anything that is going to curtail interest or the number of applicants," Reidel said. Thomas Hassan, the director of college counseling at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, said that he hasn't "heard a peep" of concern from students or parents about the effect of Philadelphia's cash crunch. He said that the story has reached New Hampshire, but it is not front page news there. In fact, the University looks good to Exeter students. Glenn Singleton, the University's director of western regional admissions, said last week that although there has been negative publicity about the city, the skyline has looked attractive in recent Monday Night Football games and in a new Visa advertising campaign which highlights Philadelphia's Strawbridge and Clothier stores. The concern that students and parents have about Philadelphia's financial troubles is tempered by similar problems experienced in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Singleton said. Concerns about attending school in urban areas are widespread, he said. "It's not related to the crisis of [Philadelphia], but related to the crisis of cities," Singleton said. But Singleton said that high school students see universities as "being somewhat removed from the problems of the city." Cristoph Guttentag, director of planning in the admissions office, said that in seven weeks of travel up the East Coast he has heard "one question [about the crisis] from one student once." "My impression is that students and parents are wise enough and sophisticated enough to understand that while Penn is a part of Philadelphia, there is enough of an independence there that one wouldn't have too strong of an effect on the other," Guttentag said.
The Philadelphia school board election heated up yesterday as about 15 members of the AIDS activist group ACT-UP, including a University student, staged a protest, hurling condoms at board members and chanting "Teach safe sex. Condoms now." College senior Brian Pomerantz said last night that shortly after he approached board members, a security guard kicked him out of the meeting. Pomerantz said he and other ACT-UP members were verbally attacking the board for not widely distributing condoms and not increasing AIDS prevention education in schools. Pomerantz said that the protest was organized to "put [the school board] on notice that they better do something now, we won't stand for bureaucratic delays." ACT-UP members began their protest after the meeting's scheduled elections were completed, according to the College senior. Some ACT-UP members threw condoms, Pomerantz said, as a "visual symbol" to help people get over what he termed a "fear" of condoms. "It should be as easy for a kid to get a condom as a band-aid, actually easier," Pomerantz said. One ACT-UP member, Paul Champion, approached board members with letters demanding each board member's view on ACT-UP demands within ten days, Pomerantz said. When a school board member told Champion that he was " 'out of order,' " Pomerantz said he jumped up and yelled back " 'No, you're out of order.' " Pomerantz said that he then approached the board and continued yelling until the security guard removed him. Pomerantz said that after the meeting, School Board President Ruth Hayre and Philadelphia School Superintendent Constance Clayton expressed a desire to organize a meeting with ACT-UP members in the near future. Hayre, who was elected school board president at yesterday's meeting, said after the meeting that she did not mind the protest. "We have to hear what's on people's minds. I can remember the time when I thought a condom was another word for condominium," Hayre said. Hayre could not be reached for further comment last night. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Social Planning and Events Committee Treasurer Lisa Nass will lead the organization next semester after being elected president last night on a platform of improved communication within the organization. Nass, a College sophomore, defeated Spring Fling chairperson Todd Fruchterman for SPEC's top post. In their campaigns, both candidates promised to restore unity to the organization, saying conflicts between the executive board and the steering committee often caused division within the organization. Nass said the merger of several previously autonomous organizations in creating SPEC this year also led to conflicts. But the new president said she does not expect the problems to be repeated next semester because members of the organization have learned to work together. And with the election of the current board, Nass said, many conflicts should be resolved, adding that communication will be improved by opening executive board meetings to all SPEC members. Nass also said she wants to include more minorities in the group. "There's no reason why a University-wide activity shouldn't draw students from across the University," Nass said. To help get input from the University community, Nass said she will lead an open forum, focusing on how SPEC can better serve students. Nass also said that "in the best interests of the students," SPEC should become independent of the Undergraduate Assembly so that the group will not become embroiled in politics. Rao said the next executive board will not need to concern itself as much with establishing SPEC's legitimacy. Also elected to the executive board last night were: Jason Schlanger, executive vice president; Lincoln Singleton, vice president for public relations; Stacey Wruble, vice president for membership; and Ruth Center, treasurer. There were no candidates for secretary and the position was left unfilled.
Students who lost their right to vote in November because their registration applications were never processed will probably never know exactly what happened to the forms they filled out at CUPID this fall. At least 60 students, and probably more, who filled out registration forms at CUPID discovered that they were not on voter rolls for the November 6 elections. A handful of affected students won the right to vote on November 6 at Election Court, but many lost their vote. ROTC students staffed the table. Major Clinton Miner, deputy director of the University's Army ROTC program, said Tuesday that staff had talked to all the ROTC students who worked at the booth. "We're convinced everybody did the job to the best of their ability to ensure that the forms were properly processed," Miner said. University Registrar Ron Sanders said that staff in his office have contacted about 60 percent of CUPID workers, trying to determine who put the registrations in the mail. But officials still have not found that out. He added that officials had trouble tracking down many students who worked at CUPID. Sanders said that next year voter registration forms will be available at CUPID, however, registrants will need to mail their own applications. At the beginning of each day at CUPID, Sanders said, the box containing the forms was empty, making the "natural assumption" that the forms were placed in the mail.
An $18 million fund raised by the sale of a Picasso painting has been dedicated to paying 32 Nursing students' tuition in order to draw them to New York City hospitals. The Alex Hillman Family Foundation sold Picasso's Mother and Child last year to subsidize the students' $13,420 tuition. Eight juniors and eight seniors were selected in October for the $1 million program, and freshmen and sophomores will be selected in the spring of their sophomore years. The scholarships will fund their junior and senior years. Students will be required to work one year in any New York City hospital for each year they receive scholarship money. The foundation will review the program after three years and decide whether it will extend the program. Associate Nursing Professor Ellen Baer said yesterday that the program sprung from Foundation President Rita Hillman's concern that there will not be enough nurses to staff New York City hospitals as they struggle with AIDS and drugs. "The whole purpose of the foundation [in establishing the program] is to entice the students to come to New York," Baer said. The foundation specializes in making art available for museums and schools. Baer said last night that scholarship winners will conduct part of their required field work at the New York Hospital, spending Thursday and Friday of each week at the facility. Students will work under nurses in their field of interest during the second semester of their senior year, and will be supervised by Baer. The experience will let students experience working and living in New York City, Baer said. New York Hospital is located on New York's fashionable Upper East Side, and is the site of the Cornell University Medical School. Baer was introduced to Hillman by a mutual friend who knew both of Hillman's concern and that Baer was a nursing professor at the University. Baer and Hillman met last December, and Hillman met last spring with Nursing Dean Clare Fagin, Undergraduate Nursing Director Mary Naylor and President Sheldon Hackney to hammer out details. Naylor said yesterday that the program strengthens financial aid programs available to Nursing students, allowing students who otherwise would have to work to focus on their studies. During their junior year, scholarship recipients will receive $12,500, which will increase to $13,250 the next year. The program may also serve as a model for financing nursing education at other universities, Naylor said. Nursing senior Carin Julian, a scholarship recipient, said yesterday that she expects the program to be a "good experience," giving her an opportunity to work in New York under a structured environment. She said the program's seniors will be like "guinea pigs" as they are the first to go through the program. Baer said that students are selected for the program based mostly on academic standing, but she said extra-curricular activites and diversity of interests were also considered. "We wanted students who had a certain vitality," Baer said.
The WaWa Food Market on Walnut Street was held up early Sunday morning in one of several weekend incidents, including the theft of two Jeeps, according to University Police. The store was robbed early Sunday morning by a man who pretended to have a weapon, University Police Sergeant Thomas Messner said last night. Nobody was hurt in the incident. In an unrelated incident, a man was arrested for disorderly conduct early Saturday morning, Messner said. The man was allegedly drunk and was misusing the University's emergency phone system. The phones, which have blue lights above them, alert University Police when they are taken off the hook. Also, two Jeeps were stolen from University lot No. 13 over the weekend, Messner said. The vehicles, a Cherokee and a Wagoneer, were stolen from the lot located on Walnut Street between 36th and 37th streets. It is not clear whether the thefts were related. In a separate incident, several Temple University students visited campus this weekend and allegedly stole a sign from Parkway Program Gamma, located on Walnut Street near 39th Street, Messner said. The students were not criminally charged in the Friday incident, Messner said, but they have been referred to Temple's judicial system. There were 14 other minor thefts this weekend. Messner said that car radios, wallets, bicycles, a coat and a beeper were reported stolen in the period from Thursday night until last night. Bicycles were stolen from the Palladium and Steinberg-Dietrich Hall this weekend. In additon, two fire alarms sounded at High Rise South this weekend, both the result of bad cooking, Messner said.
Morris Arboretum director William Klein, who joined the University arboretum in 1977 as its first full-time director and strengthened its academic ties to the University, will leave in March to take a position in Miami. Klein said yesterday that while "the work at an arboretum is never done," the Chestnut Hill institution has become over the past thirteen years both a "vital part of the intellectual life" of the University as well as a public garden for the community. "What we have managed to do . . . is to redefine the nature of the University arboretum both in terms of its academic connections with the University and also its connections with the community," Klein said. Klein will serve as the the director of the Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami. He said the position at Fairchild, the largest tropical botanical garden in the continental United States, will be particularly interesting with the increasing concerns over the destruction of tropical forests. President Sheldon Hackney said in a statement yesterday that Klein created a valuable program of continuing education at the arboretum and that he built a "strong and productive" working relationship with the arboretum's surrounding community. Klein said that he would like more students to visit or become acquainted with the arboretum either through coursework or informal visits. He called it an "enormous resource" for students. Horticulture chairperson Paul Meyer, who has known Klein during all his thirteen years here, said Klein "led the charge" in increasing the strength and diversity of education and research programs at the arboretum. "He had a strong vision for the arboretum which we all shared," Meyer said. "That's the thing we're really going to miss." Staff Writer Roxanne Patel contributed to this story.
The man needs to get to Boston in a hurry, but he left his wallet and briefcase in the taxi from Center City. Or he's been in town for a job interview and needs a train ticket from New York to Boston. Whatever situation he claims to be in, this man has duped several students out of cash, and once, a check, since last May, according to University Police. "The old story was 'can you lend me a quarter, I'm new in town,' " said University Police detective supervisor Michael Carroll. "Now its not a quarter, it's 70 bucks." But Carroll said that since the man does not commit a crime, he cannot be arrested or charged. The money students give him is legally considered a loan, since he does not offer anything in return but a promise to repay. Victims can seek recourse only in a civil suit, like in small claims court. Both undergraduate and graduate students have fallen prey to the "slick-talking," well-dressed and friendly man, according to Tim Trucksess, the University Police detective who has followed the case. The detectives have distributed to officers a flier describing Ward and what he has done. He is a black male, 29 years old with a thin build. He is 5 feet 10 inches tall and 166 pounds with black hair, brown eyes and discolored front teeth. Most recently, the man convinced a student that he had lost his briefcase, and the student wrote him a check for $89. Since he didn't want to leave a paper trail by endorsing the check, the man duped a second student into accepting the unendorsed check in return for the $89 plus an additional $51. Last spring, at 36th and Chestnut streets, a student who was convinced that the man had lost his luggage in a taxi took the man to a MAC machine and withdrew $70 for him. There have been no reports of violence, Carroll said, but he warned that the man could decide at the MAC that he wants more money. He has records in other states for non-violent crimes, Carroll said. The man convinced some members of the University staff that he was the victim of a robbery and needed money to cover a fee to file a "victim compensation form." Staff members gave the man $40. Trucksess said there is little hope in collecting from a man who likely owns no property and earns no paycheck. Carroll warned that students need to be aware of security risks -- like taking the man to a MAC machine. In addition, people should not reveal personal information such as addresses and phone numbers for which the man often asks.
CUPID and ROTC officials are tracking down as many students as possible who worked at the ROTC voter registration booth this fall, trying to figure out what happened to at least 60 registration forms that may never have made it to the Voter Registration office. Major Clinton Miner, deputy director of the University's Army Reserve Officer's Training Corps, said Thursday that ROTC officials are talking to workers who staffed the table at CUPID, trying to find out when and if the registration forms were ever mailed. At least 60 students, and probably many more, who filled out registration forms at CUPID discovered that they were not on voter rolls for the November 6 elections. Sanders and CUPID Coordinator Bernie Maccolier said that hundreds of students registered at CUPID this fall. Some who lost their vote managed to get court orders allowing them to cast ballots Tuesday. For others, it was too late. Next fall, CUPID officials will "refine the process," Sanders said -- providing only the forms, which students can fill out and mail themselves. Sanders said he believes the mistake was made not at the University, but by either the postal service or at Voter Registration. "It's my belief that the problem probably existed at the other end of the spectrum and not at this end," he said. According to Bob Lee, an election finance document specialist, state law requires the Voter Registration office to mail confirmation of receipt of a registration application within 48 hours of its arrival at the office. Most of the students who discovered they were not on rolls had not received their confirmation. Sanders also pointed out that CUPID officials were not responsible for the registration forms. CUPID provided the space in Hutchinson Gymnasium for ROTC to run the booth. Students filled out voter applications or change of address forms, which ROTC workers sealed and placed in a box each day. Sanders said that a few ROTC staffers said they remember seeing CUPID workers take the boxes from the area, but do not know for certain that they were ever mailed. Miner said he did not know whether ROTC and CUPID officials had defined who was responsible for mailing the registrations. Students registered during several different days. Miner said he believes some of the registrations were mailed. Both officials said they regretted the mix-up, regardless of who is at fault. Miner called the mix-up a "shame." "I think it may have been designed as a team effort, and it might not have worked," he said. Sanders said that he empathizes with students who were unable to vote, but maintained he would not issue an apology before knowing the facts. Miner said that the investigation is not meant to determine "who shot John" -- who is at fault. He said he told ROTC workers that this is not a "witch hunt," and only an effort to figure out where the process failed so that mistakes will not be repeated next year. CUPID is run through the University Registrar's office.
Mayor Wilson Goode, flanked by Democratic state legislators, announced Friday a financial rescue plan which would leave the city with a $140 million deficit for fiscal year 1991, which ends in June. The plan also calls for balanced budgets starting in fiscal 1992. The plan would require the city to sell off $90 million in assets -- Veteran's Stadium has been mentioned -- and cut a total of $37 million in spending with a job freeze and court reforms. While the plan has received support from Governor Robert Casey, absent from Friday's press conference were all City Council members and the state legislature's Republicans. Those factions will be necessary for implementation of the plan. For fiscal 1992, the plan calls for a one percent sales tax in the city, which is expected to raise $100 million, and an additional $25 million in undetermined taxes. A Philadelphia sales tax would need to be approved by legislators in Harrisburg. State Senator Vincent Fumo (D-Phila.) said he is "cautiously optimistic" that required legislation could be passed. The plan also depends on $50 million in state aid and $33 million in federal aid. Casey issued a statement Friday saying he would do "all [he] can to make it happen." The city must now attempt to sell at least $250 million in short-term notes in order to raise enough cash to pay its bills and meet its payroll over the next four months. Goode said that the rescue plan is necessary if the city is ever going to sell the notes. Nancy Barbe, assistant vice president at Moody's Investor Service, said that the city's bond rating, which is currently below junk-bond level, would probably not be raised until the city is operating under a long-term plan. Barbe said she hadn't fully analyzed the plan yet, but that it seemed to be "a step in the right direction." State House of Representatives Speaker Robert O'Donnell (D-Phila.) said the plan calls for the appointment of a financial oversight board if the city reaches a point of financial "distress." Besides Fumo and O'Donnell, State Senator Hardy Williams (D-Phila.), State Representative Dwight Evans (D-Phila.) and City Controller Jonathan Saidel joined the mayor at the press conference.
University Police are warning students to be on the lookout for a man who has tricked several people into giving him money. The man, who has bilked numerous students over the past two years, found two more victims yesterday -- one for over $100 -- claiming to need train fare for a ride home to Boston, University Police Officer Bill Kane said yesterday. Kane said that in the past, the man has told other victims that he needed fare to get home to West Chester, Pa. Yesterday, one student gave the man over $100 and another wrote the man a check of unknown value. Kane said that no charges have ever been filed against the man. The officer said that the man asks for the students' addresses and phone numbers, promising to pay the money back. Kane said that the man not only keeps the money, but sometimes harasses the victims by phone. "Its too bad, because he usually stops people who are good at heart," Kane said. "Half the time, people don't realize they've been taken until they tell us." Kane described the con artist as a black male in his 20s, with a thin build, short hair, and discolored front teeth.
Barbara Hafer won the campus vote yesterday. Governor Robert Casey won almost everything else. As expected, Democrats won easily in the University-area races for U.S. House of Representatives and State House of Representatives. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Thomas Foglietta took 79 percent of the vote in District 1, easily defeating Republican challenger James Jackson. In the state House districts, Democratic Representative Harold James, the incumbent, won decisively over Republican Bruce Morgan with 87 percent of the vote in District 186. In District 188, another incumbent Democrat, James Roebuck defeated Republican challenger Edward Jacobs, taking 92 percent of the vote. College Republicans president Charles Djou said he was "delighted" with Hafer's 146-95 margin at four campus polls -- Irvine Auditorium, the Christian Association building, International House and the Dental School. Many students voting yesterday afternoon said that they had crossed party lines to vote for Republican Hafer because of her proclaimed pro-choice stance. But Matthew Wolfe, the 27th Ward Republican leader, said last night that Hafer's support for abortion rights was only part of the reason for the results. "In divisions where we hustled, it paid off," Wolfe said. Wolfe said 27th ward Republicans pushed in this election to gain momentum for next year's mayoral race, which he said he expects to be a "bloodbath." 27th Ward Democratic Leader Kevin Vaughan said that the ward Democrats did not endorse Governor Casey. "This is a loud protest vote for his signing of the Abortion Control Act and his failure to fund family planning," Vaughan said. Campus voter turnout was scant yesterday -- Wolfe termed it "abysmal" -- with only a small fraction of registered students voting at their assigned locations. Vaughan attributed the low turnout in part to the fact that this is the first general election in which there were no polling places in University residences. "In part, it's the hoops people had to jump through in order to be able to vote," he said. Casey's Lieutenant Governor is Mark Singel. Hafer's running mate was State Representative Harold Mowery (R-Cumberland). Other races beyond University City also drew campus interest. In the 4th District state senate race, pro-choice Democrat Allyson Schwartz ended Republican Joseph Rocks two-term tenure by an 11,000-vote margin. U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader William Gray, a Democrat, easily retained his 2nd district seat, taking 92 percent of the vote. Republicans apparently kept control of the Pennsylvania state senate yesterday, guaranteeing the GOP a voice in the redistricting of state legislative and congressional districts which will occur before the 1992 elections. Democrats control the state House and governor's office. In the state senate's 2nd District, Democrat Francis Lynch fended off Republican Bruce Marks with 51 percent of the vote after a difficult race. The Associated Press and Staff Writers Stephen Glass, Liz Herman, Beth Mantz, and Raji Jagadeesan contributed to this article.
At least 60 students, and probably many more, who filled out voter registration forms at CUPID this fall were unable to vote yesterday because they had never been placed on voter rolls. CUPID coordinator Bernie Maccolier said Monday that ROTC, which operated the registration table, was supposed to mail the forms. But ROTC Master Sergeant Steve Nord said Monday that he put registrtaions in a box each evening for CUPID workers to pick up and mail. Maccolier would not comment yesterday, saying that officials wanted to learn how many students were affected "before we had any response." He said that hundreds of students registered at CUPID. Some students discovered that they were not on voter rolls when they called Voter Registration this week. Others did not learn that they were absent from the lists until they went to the polls yesterday. Students said they were frustrated and angry that they were not registered, and unable to get a response from CUPID officials. First-year Wharton MBA student Ben Bentzin said last night that he called Maccolier four weeks ago when he realized he had not never received confirmation that he was registered. Maccolier referred him to Philadelphia election officials. Officials there told him that there was probably not a problem with his registration. But when he went to the polls yesterday, Bentizin was told that he could not vote. The only option for unregistered voters yesterday morning was to argue their case in front of a judge at election court, in hopes of obtaining a court order allowing them to vote. Bentzin, like many students, could not take the time to go to court at 55th and Pine streets, 20th and Pennsylvania streets or 39th and Lancaster streets. Some students who did go were successful. First-year Graduate School of Fine Arts student Gregory Hall went to 20th and Pennsylvania streets, but was denied a court order. He said he was angry at CUPID and ROTC officials. "The attitude of tough luck isn't good enough," Hall said. "If nothing else, a formal letter of apology to everyone who wasn't able to vote would be appropriated." Pennsylvania law mandates that voters must be mailed confirmation that the Voter Registration office has received their application within 48 hours of its arrival at the office. College junior Chris Welbon said yesterday that he noticed that he had not received his registration card, but said he was not worried, because two years ago he received his card only a few days before the election. "If I thought there was a problem before I would have done something about it," said Welbon, who discovered yesterday that he was not registered. Some students, like first-year Wharton Ph.D. student Alan Salzberg, had a relatively easy time getting permission to vote from the courts. Salzberg said he went to the court at 39th and Lancaster streets, where he was granted the court order in five minutes. Students who discovered they were not on voter rolls visited CUPID on different days during the fall.
At least 60 students, and probably many more, who filled out voter registration forms at CUPID this fall were unable to vote yesterday because they had never been placed on voter rolls. CUPID coordinator Bernie Maccolier said Monday that ROTC, which operated the registration table, was supposed to mail the forms. But ROTC Master Sergeant Steve Nord said Monday that he put registrations in a box each evening for CUPID workers to pick up and mail. Maccolier would not comment yesterday, saying that officials wanted to learn how many students were affected "before we had any response." He said that hundreds of students registered at CUPID. Some students discovered that they were not on voter rolls when they called Voter Registration this week. Others did not learn that they were absent from the lists until they went to the polls yesterday. Students said they were frustrated and angry that they were not registered, and unable to get a response from CUPID officials. First-year Wharton MBA student Ben Bentzin said last night that he called Maccolier four weeks ago when he realized he had not never received confirmation that he was registered. Maccolier referred him to Philadelphia election officials. Officials there told him that there was probably not a problem with his registration. But when he went to the polls yesterday, Bentizin was told that he could not vote. The only option for unregistered voters yesterday morning was to argue their case in front of a judge at election court, in hopes of obtaining a court order allowing them to vote. Bentzin, like many students, could not take the time to go to court at 55th and Pine streets, 20th and Pennsylvania streets or 39th and Lancaster streets. Some students who did go were successful. First-year Graduate School of Fine Arts student Gregory Hall went to 20th and Pennsylvania streets, but was denied a court order. He said he was angry at CUPID and ROTC officials. "The attitude of tough luck isn't good enough," Hall said. "If nothing else, a formal letter of apology to everyone who wasn't able to vote would be appropriate." Pennsylvania law mandates that voters must be mailed confirmation that the Voter Registration office has received their application within 48 hours of its arrival at the office. College junior Chris Welbon said yesterday that he noticed that he had not received his registration card, but said he was not worried, because two years ago he received his card only a few days before the election. "If I thought there was a problem before, I would have done something about it," said Welbon, who discovered yesterday that he was not registered. Some students, like first-year Wharton Ph.D. student Alan Salzberg, had a relatively easy time getting permission to vote from the courts. Salzberg said he went to the court at 39th and Lancaster streets, where he was granted the court order in five minutes. Students who discovered they were not on voter rolls visited CUPID on different days during the fall.
But $7 million and hundreds of television commercials later, Governor Robert Casey leads Auditor General Barbara Hafer by 40 points in most voter polls, and the question for next Tuesday seems to be only by what margin Casey will win. Hafer managed to raise about $2 million for her campaign, and has only recently begun her televised campaign. For the past month, Casey has flooded local television stations with his commercials, most of which feature the governor talking with children. Hafer began advertising this week on Philadelphia cable television. Stephen Miskin, Hafer's campaign director for eastern Pennsylvania, said last week that Hafer's commericals focus on her position on abortion rights and the state's financial condition. Miskin added that Hafer has always been an "underdog" in her races, adding that she has not received support from all Republican leaders. But, he said, local party officials -- including Philadelphia officials -- are "all right behind her." Hafer, who spoke at the University in September, will return to Philadelphia several more times before the election. Miskin said he expects Hafer to do well in the city, citing her position on abortion and Philadelphia's financial crisis. Bob Barnett, Casey's southeast Pennsylvania coordinator, said that his campaign will continue to advertise heavily right up to election day. Casey will return to Philadelphia two or three more times before the election, Barnett said, adding that the governor is not resting on his large lead in the polls. "[Casey] makes it clear to the entire staff not to be overconfident," Barnett said. Sandra Featherman, the director of the Center of Public Policy at Temple University, said last week that Hafer must pull Democrats away from Casey if she is to have a chance at winning. Democratic registrations in Pennsylvania outnumber Republicans by approximately 500,000. Featherman added that there will likely be a low turnout on November 6 -- which, she contended, would favor Hafer since Democrats do not vote as often as Republicans. She added that many more Democrats are willing to vote for a Republican than Republicans for a Democrat. While Featherman called a Hafer victory "unlikely," she said these factors could lead to a closer election than many observers expect. Each candidate has each picked up an endorsement from a major Philadelphia newspaper: Casey from the The Philadelphia Inquirer, Hafer from the Philadelphia Daily News.
City Commissioners yesterday rejected a batch of petitions which requested that over 700 University area voters be prevented from voting in the November 6 general elections. Hundreds of Democratic and independent voters could have been stricken from the rolls after area Republicans challenged their eligibility earlier this month. Republicans in the 27th ward sought to remove voters -- most of them students -- who no longer reside at their registered addresses, and who had changed voting divisions since the last time they registered. Nick Raytik, chief of investigations for the City Commissioners, said that the commissioners denied all the petitions after determining that the Republicans did not properly serve notices to the voters who could have been disqualified. Many of the challenged voters were students who had changed dormitories or moved off campus since last registering. Although the Republicans' list included over 700 names, the actual number of voters affected is smaller, since some of those challenged are students who have graduated and left the area. On Monday, the commissioners heard testimony about the way in which the petition notices were served. Deputy City Solicitor Edward Schulgen said that notices must be personally served to the challenged individual, or to an adult who knows the residents at the challenged voter's address. Matthew Wolfe, the 27th Ward Republican leader who spearheaded the petition drive, said yesterday that notices were sometimes served to desk clerks at large dormitories because the addresses on registrations do not always specify room numbers. He said that desk clerks, who have access to student directories, are often best qualified to confirm whether challenged voters registered in the building have moved. Wolfe said that the Republicans served the notices in compliance with the law, and that the decision will be appealed. "We followed the statute and I believe that the courts are going to tell the commission that we made proper service in the case," Wolfe said. Wolfe added that he would like to see the rules of service clarified. In past years, Republicans have been successful in disqualifying Democratic and independent voters. 27th Ward Democratic Leader Kevin Vaughan said yesterday that the repeated challenges of the Republicans to the registrations are "unfair to the students." "My feeling is the City Commisioners made a wise decision and one I hope holds in favor of the students," Vaughan said.