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(04/01/92 10:00am)
The University may investigate Friday night's party at Phi Kappa Psi fraternity to determine whether or not the chapter is collectively responsible for infractions of the University policies, one administrator said yesterday. And one official at the State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement said other fraternities could be raided by the LCE in the future. The InterFraternity Council will discuss the LCE raid on Phi Psi by state police at tonight's meeting. While the meeting will not focus entirely on the State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement's raid, it will be addressed, said IFC President Jeffrey Blount. According to LCE reports, police arrested Phi Psi brother Ghen Saito for the illegal sale of liquor. Also, 48 minors were arrested for purchase, possession or consumption of alcohol during a fraternity party Friday night at the Phi Psi house at 3934 Spruce Street. Phi Psi President Steven Cappiello, an Engineering junior, said Sunday that money was collected at the door to cover the cost of a disc jockey and decorations for the party. He said the party was a "bring your own booze" IFC-sponsored event, even though some students in attendance said they had been served alcohol at the event. Cappiello also said Saito, an Engineering senior, was one of six brothers collecting money Friday night. Brothers said Saito was kept in jail for 17 hours. According to some Phi Psi house officers, the LCE agents harrassed other students at the party. Brothers said officers issuing citations pushed and yelled at party-goers. Saito was not availble for comment. LCE Sgt. John Lyle would not comment about the procedures used during the bust, nor would he discuss LCE policies in general. Although Lyle said the LCE received a complaint about the party Friday night, he would not disclose its source. La-Verna Fountain, director of public information for the Pennsylvania State Police, said that it is within the scope of the LCE to enforce the underage drinking laws at fraternities. "The Liquor Control Enforcement Officers' job is to stop underage drinking," Fountain said "Because you're on a college campus or part of a fraternity does not mean you can escape the law. The law is the law." Fountain added that the incident at Phi Psi is not unique and that more fraternities could be raided in the future. Lyle said the fraternity itself was not given a citation. But, Barbara Cassel, executive assistant to Vice Provost for University Life, said yesterday the incident will be investigated to determine whether or not Phi Psi should be held collectively responsible for infractions of the University's Code of Conduct. The chapter could be held liable by the University for serving alcohol to underage people at a University function. In addition, the IFC could accuse the house of violating its BYOB social policies. Cassel said she did not think University officials were warned about the raid. "It's not likely the University knew beforehand," Cassel said. "But I can't speak for the whole University." Tricia Phaup, director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, could not be reached for comment. · Other fraternity officers are concerned about the ramifications of the unprecidented action on campus by the LCE. "I was very surprised because we basically had no indication that the state police were going to come on campus like they did this weekend," Alpha Chi Rho President Mike Alfano said yesterday. "This is unprecented . . . It certainly has never happened at Penn." The College junior said the Greek system should have been notified. Former Alpha Tau Omega President David Neiman said liquor law enforcement, especially on college campuses, is detracting from more beneficial uses of police officers' time. "Trying to get underage drinkers at fraternity parties, where the majority of people are walking home, is not a big deal," the College senior said. "It's more important at Penn State's Beaver Stadium where thousands of people are driving home drunk." Neiman added that the police could use their officers to try and keep students safe. Staff Writer Dwayne Sye contributed to this story.
(03/30/92 10:00am)
The signs of a busted party were all that remained. "LCE, we want the beer back," read a banner in front of the Phi Kappa Psi house at 3924 Spruce Street yesterday. And the words "Fuck the LCE" were inscribed on the sidewalk. "It was just a joke," Phi Psi President Steven Cappiello said last night. "We tried to remove it from [the sidewalk], but it was difficult." According to Cappiello, the signs expressed the sentiment of only one member in the house. But the Engineering junior added that the rest of the house feels similarly about the State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement which raided a party at the fraternity house Friday night. "Basically that [sentiment], but without the swear words," Cappiello said. But the sentiment is also joined by conspiracy theories which rival "JFK." Phi Psi Social Chairperson Jon Held said he could not understand why Phi Psi, a 20-member fraternity, was singled out. That same night, other fraternities on campus which were also having parties were not raided. "Phi Psi is small but we have 20 quality brothers," Held said. "It's a great house. We have no reason to cause problems. We were following the law. We were doing what the University wanted us to do." According to InterFraternity Council President Jeff Blount, the occurrence is the first time a University fraternity has had to deal with an LCE raid. "I had heard about [similar occurrences] at Penn State," Blount said. "But not here in our city." Cappiello said he thinks there was just one other incident involving a fraternity and the LCE in Pennsylvania state history. Blount said he could not speculate on the ramifications of the incident or on any actions the IFC might take. He added that the matter was discussed at a regularly-scheduled executive board meeting of the IFC yesterday. Blount added that he is still trying to gather all of the facts about the incident. The IFC will hold a general meeting on Wednesday. According to Held, the agents who busted the party said a "competitor" informed the LCE about the party. "You could take that to mean another fraternity, either here or possibly [Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science]," the College junior said. "Basically, we have a lot of friends that go to that college and sometimes we will invite them over. In general, I think that some of the guys we have run into know we are inviting friends over and are jealous. They were tired of us, and decided to tip-off the LCE." But Cappiello speculated that the raid might be a side effect of a larger issue. "There is a lot of anti-Greek sentiment on this campus," Cappiello said. "This is pure speculation on my part, but anyone opposed could have gotten a hand on an invite and given the information to the LCE." Cappiello said he thinks the source of the bust will be on file with LCE officials. The LCE could not be reached for comment.
(03/30/92 10:00am)
and DWAYNE SYE State police broke up a party at Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house Friday night, arresting one brother and charging around 80 partygoers with liquor violations, according to Phi Psi members. Undercover officers from the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement entered the party at 3934 Spruce Street around 11:50 p.m. carding students and confiscating liquor, according to Phi Psi President Steven Cappiello. "There were 12 to 14 of them," the Engineering junior said. "They all had different attitudes. Some were cooperative, some were putting party-goers in handcuffs." LCE officials were not available for comment last night. One Phi Psi brother, who was collecting money at the door, was arrested and taken to 18th District headquarters of the Philadelphia Police, according to University Police reports. Cappiello would not reveal the brother's name and the police officers who filed the report could not be reached for comment yesterday. Cappiello said the brother, who was accused of selling liquor without a license, was kept in jail for nearly 20 hours. But fraternity members said the brother was falsely charged. "He was incarcerated like he was a mugger," College junior Jon Held, Phi Psi Social Chairperson said. "Muggers get out quicker than he got out." According to Cappiello, money was collected to cover the cost of the party, which was an official InterFraternity Council "bring your own booze" function. He said six people collected money at different times throughout the night. He added that the fraternity spent about $600 for the disc jockey, Euforia DJs, and rented lighting for the party. "I asked the LCE to take me in his place as [I am] president," Cappiello said, but the LCE refused his request. According to the president, University officials were extremely helpful with the situation. Barbara Cassel, executive assistant to Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson, aided Cappiello in the release of the arrested brother, he said. "Basically I let [Cappiello] know what resources are available," Cassel said. "We don't provide the legal support itself but we do make legal references where it's appropriate." Also, Cappiello said University Police transported the president and other members to the 18th District headquarters. According to University Police, several party-goers were cited for underage drinking. College freshman Johnny Doh said he and some visiting friends from Maryland attended the party and were among those given citations. He said they were about to leave the party, but were stopped at the door by undercover LCE agents. He said they were asked to go to the basement where individuals who could not show proof of being of legal drinking age were either given "tickets" or asked to take breathalyzer tests. "If you took the ticket you got a trial date and could decide how to plead, innocent or guilty," Doh said. "If you took the breathalyzer and failed, they implied it meant a $500 fine." Doh took the citation and is scheduled to appear in court on April 24. He added that his friends will have to return from Maryland for their court dates. Doh said he and his friends did not bring alcohol with them, but were served cans of Rolling Rock beer once inside. He added that he paid five dollars to get into the party. Held said that according to BYOB regulations, people who bring alcohol with them are asked for proof of age when they check their beer at the door. "They give us beer and we keep it cold," Held said. "In return, they are given a number of tickets equal to the amount of beer that has been brought. The only way I can see that people under the age of 21 got beer is their friends gave them tickets for it." Held added that brothers have questioned the conduct of the LCE during the raid. "I have gotten many complaints that [the LCE] harassed people," Held said. "I saw them pushing people. I thought they were using unnecessary force." But Doh said he thinks the situation was handled properly. "I guess it was kind of fair," Doh said. According to Cappiello, the agents confiscated alcohol from rooms which were off-limits to partygoers. "They basically took over our house and did whatever they wanted to," he said. "They had no warrant."
(03/23/92 10:00am)
When Carl Lewis called Penn Relays Director Tim Baker he was not calling about running in a race. The world-class sprinter was calling to get permission to sell his merchandise on a table outside Franklin Field during the carnival. But Baker, who would not have been able to help in past years, now knew just where to direct Lewis. For the first time, vendors outside of the Penn Relays will be regulated. Responding to the outbreak of violence last year, city officials have taken control of 33rd Street during the Penn Relays. The festive, carnival-like atmosphere of 33rd Street during the Penn Relays will start today. Citizens and vendors pack the street from sidewalk to sidewalk, from Walnut to Spruce streets every year -- buying shirts, carrying food, having a good time. But every year, according to city officials, there is a virtual turf war among vendors vying for position to peddle their wares. Last year, on the last night of the Relays, a fist fight turned to gunfire, and two bystanders were injured. "The Relays have a history with respect to vendors getting into fisticuffs and lives being threatened," said Ron Cuie, city deputy managing director for neighborhood services. "It has been a troublesome and unmanageable situation." In response to the violence, Cuie sat in on several meetings with officials from neigborhood groups, the University and the Civic Center, and tried to form a plan to prevent a similar outbreak again. "What generally happens is vendors come out and stake a claim," Cuie said. "It is like the old Gold Rush days. People come out one to two weeks in advance and have no concern for all the other issues." T. Milton Street, co-chairman of the Citywide African-American Vendors and brother of City Council President John Street, volunteered his services in planning the city's involvement, according to Cuie. Cuie said the chairman is renting space to street vendors this year to try and preserve the peace. In addition he is providing portable restrooms and sanitation equipment for the vendors. Milton Street could not be reached for comment. Cuie added that the Philadelphia Police Traffic Unit and members of the 55th District will be on hand to help curb the crowd. Baker said it was good that the city got involved. "It is not a matter of happy or sad," Baker said. "It is a matter that the city had made a decision. It was good to have that done." Also, next year the city will help enforce the legal use of the Penn Relay's logo. According to Baker, the University track teams sell Relays memorabilia with the official "swish track" logo. When merchandise is sold on the street without permission to use the logo, the track teams lose money, Baker said. "Last year, when we came out with the new Penn Relays logo, within an hour of the start of the Relays people had it out on the street," Baker said. This year, the city will just inform the merchants that they cannot use the logo. Cuie said enforcement will begin next year. So Carl Lewis had better watch his merchandise.
(03/05/92 10:00am)
A young girl carrying a 19th century model of what an airplane might look like leads a procession of people carrying models of more common forms of transportation. The girl is dangling the airship, a hybrid of blimp and boat, and is followed by a miniature locomotive, a sailing ship, a horse-drawn carriage and, ultimately, a shepherd with his flock. The images are etched in a stone mural in the north wing of Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, the city's main railway station. The mural, titled "Spirit of Transportation," was sculpted in 1895 by Karl Bitter and has remained in its current site since January 1933. The spirit which the mural projects is reflected in the detailed architecture of the recently-restored station, and, appropriately, is linked to the progress which led to the station's current form. 30th Street Station, as it exists today, first opened its doors in September 1930, according to an exhibit in the station's north wing, which chronicles the building's architectural history. The building, designed by the firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, was completed in 1934, but was fully functional by December 15, 1933. At the time, there were plans to create a rail loop through the city running through the Broad Street Station at 15th and Market streets. The Broad Street Station, which opened in 1881, was demolished in 1952 along with the Chinese Wall, which was used to transport railroad tracks between the two stations. The current structure of 30th Street Station is not the original one at the West Philadelphia site. In 1864, the first 30th Street Station opened its doors and was replaced by the Centennial Station on the same site in 1876, as part of the centennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence. The Centennial station was destroyed by a fire in 1896. · In 1988, Amtrak convened a $75 million project to renovate the main portion of 30th Street Station, according to the exhibit. "This project will transform Amtrak's second busiest station in the nation into the urban jewel of Philadelphia," Tony DeAngelo, Amtrak's vice president of real estate, said at the beginning of the project. Amtrak secured the funding for the project from multiple sources, including a $62 million construction loan from Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. and Banque Paribas, a $13 million Urban Development Action Grant, $30 million in tax exempt revenue bonds and around $20 million through from a group organized under the name 30th Street Limited, L.P. The restoration included cleaning and repairing nearly every inch of the building, inside and out. No details were overlooked. The Roman travertine stone columns with their marble bases and the ornamental ceiling work were returned to their original condition. Some 324 bronze and glass light fixtures were restored, and the bronze doors were refinished, according to the exhibit. The renovations also returned services to their rightful place in the station. For example, the ticketing office in the lobby of the concourse now reflects its original purpose. Reflecting progress made in electronics, central air-conditioning was installed and passenger information boards were modernized. Also, a 415-space employee parking garage was constructed beneath the station. · According to Amtrak's General Supervisor of Building Management Kevin Dant, the renovations are nearly finished. Dant said that if it were not for a December 23 fire which damaged the station's north wing, the only phase not yet completed would be adding retail stores in the South wing. The fire damaged the old bowling alley at the extreme north end of the terminal. The alley, which opened in the 1970s, was closed about 10 years ago, Dant said. He added that the fire-damaged area has now been cleaned up, and that restoration will start "in the next few months." According to the city's Deputy Commissioner of Public Property Louis Einhorn, SEPTA has received federal money, channelled through the city, to complete the renovations. Many of the renovations were finished last December 19. According to Anthony DiJulio, a construction engineer who supervised the project, renovations included improving the area's lighting and rebuilding platforms A, B and C. DiJulio said the canopies and skylights were also restored to reflect their original appearance. The ticket office was also revamped. According to Einhorn the next phase of the renovations will shift the focus to escalators and elevators. · Further grandiose plans are sitting on the horizon for 30th Street Station. Amtrak and other corporate sponsors have planned a major development project for the land between Center City and 30th Street Station. The project, entitled Center City West, involves more than 30 million square feet of architecture on 100 acres from 20th Street to the banks of the Schuylkill. Penn Center West Associates, one of the corporate sponsors for the project, will develop eight acres of land north of John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Another sponsor is Hines Interests Limited Partnership, which oversaw the 30th Street Station renovations, and Maguire Thomas Partners, one of the country's largest investment builders, is another sponsor. The plan proposes converting JFK Boulevard and Market Street into "a pair of directional tree-lined boulevards," according to plan literature. Other highlights of the plan include a new subway station at 22nd and Market streets, and walkways connecting Chestnut Street to JFK Boulevard to Spring Garden Street. The proposed walkway would cross the Schuylkill as an enclosed esplanade.
(03/05/92 10:00am)
To some, Anita Hill is a martyr for the fight against sexual harassment. To others, she is a political pawn who was used in an attempt to upset the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Regardless of Hill's motives, she will speak at Irvine Auditorium on April 4 at 5 p.m., Connaissance and the Women's Studies Program announced yesterday. "Whether or not she was telling the truth, she is an important speaker," former Connaissance Chairperson Richard Smith said last night. "And with the recent [William] Kennedy Smith and Mike Tyson trials, it is important for someone to talk about the issue of sexual harassment." Hill testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on live television in October after she alleged privately that Justice Thomas sexually harassed her 10 years ago when she worked for him at the Equal Employment Oportunities Commission. Hill is a contract law professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and a graduate of Yale Law School. According to Demie Kurz, co-director of the Women's Studies Program, Hill will receive $11,000 for her appearance. Kurz said the bill will be split between Connaissance and the Women's Studies Program's Judy Berkowitz Endowed Lectureship. U.S. Senators on the Judiciary Committee who cross-examined Hill, including Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), questioned her motives when she gave her testimony, and alleged that she was coming forward so that she could jump on the lecture circuit later. According to Smith, who booked Hill, she has agreed to speak at just three schools -- one of which is Yale University, Hill's alma mater. He added that if making money from speaking engagements were her motive she could charge a lot more and make five to six stops every week. "She is not doing the 'typical' college circuit," Smith said. "She is not charging the amount of money she could get given her name. Given the value of her time, it is only fair she be compensated." Smith said he thinks the price is appropriate considering the large number of University students he thinks will attend the speech. Irvine seats between 1,600 and 1,800 people. Connaissance has paid as much as $14,000 for speakers in the past, but Smith added that some speakers will appear for free. Kurz said Program Director Carroll Smith-Rosenberg spoke with Hill in early December about the possibility of her coming to the University. Both Women's Studies and Connaissance pursued her, and several private individuals wrote letters to Hill expressing interest, Kurz said. According to Kurz, the specific title of the speech has not been determined, but Hill is expected to address a variety of issues dealing with sexual harassment and civil rights. "I just think from our point of view she is a woman who spoke out very bravely about an issue that is difficult for women to speak out about, but is very prevalent in our society," Kurz said. "She has thought a lot about the issues of sexual harassment and civil rights in general." The speech will be followed by a question and answer session. Free tickets to attend the event will first be made available to University students, faculty and staff on Locust Walk from March 30 to April 2. Any remaining tickets will be made available to the general public on April 3 and at the door.
(02/18/92 10:00am)
Fighting a battle against homophobia in 1980, Rosemary Dempsey earned national media attention when she won custody of her two children. Since then, Dempsey's actions have paved the way for hundreds of homosexual couples and adults to gain guardianship and legal custody of children. Her actions have been represented on popular television shows like "L.A. Law," and have risen to the public eye through various news reports. In July 1990, Dempsey took that determination and dedication and assumed the position of vice president for action for the National Organization for Women. Dempsey, a 20-year NOW member, has been involved with several other civil rights groups as well. She began her activist career during the student anti-war and civil rights movements in the 1960s. Since then she has worked for a number of women's groups in New Jersey and held several administrative positions within NOW. NOW was born in June 1966 by 28 women attending the Third National Conference of Commissions on the Status of Women in Washington, D.C. Today, NOW is the largest women's rights organization in the U.S., with more than 250,000 members in 750 chapters nationwide. Since its founding, NOW has worked toward securing women's equality and dignity. The group has attacked issues such as discrimination in education, credit and employment. NOW has worked to improve recognition for women who choose to stay at home, and has championed the rights of women in marriage and divorce. NOW has planned a national march on Washington, D.C. for April 5, 1992, titled "We won't go back . . . March for Women's Lives." Dempsey has spent the last few weeks touring college campuses across the country to raise awareness of NOW's mission and to gain support for the April event. Dempsey was a founding member of "New Jersey Women Take Back the Night," an organization which generated public awareness and lobbied legislators to gain support to fight violence against women. She also worked to form a battered women's shelter in New Jersey called Womanspace. On other civil rights fronts, Dempsey chaired a statewide coalition to pass lesbian and gay rights legislation in New Jersey. She was also a National Board member of the LAMBDA Legal Defense and Education Fund. Educated at the College of New Rochelle in New York, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology, Dempsey went on to earn a law degree at Rutgers University Law School. She is a founding partner of the feminist law firm McGahen, Dempsey and Case, and was a trustee of the women's rights section of the New Jersey Bar Association for four years. Along with her life companion Kim Costanza, Dempsey owns "The Lighted Tree" a restaurant, bar and guest house in Pass-a-Grill Beach, Florida.
(01/30/92 10:00am)
The West Philadelphia Improvement Corps is a complex partnership dedicated to improving the University's involvement in the West Philadelphia community. Conceived in 1985 in an undergraduate honors seminar taught by School of Arts and Sciences Vice Dean Ira Harkavy and President Sheldon Hackney, WEPIC has since become an international model of school-based neighborhood and school revitalization. "The major goal is to become an example for the effective improvement of schools, universities and other organizations so they might better fulfill their missions in society," Harkavy said. "The central thrust is for all the institutional partners to attain goals and work toward improving the quality of life." According to Harkavy, who is also the director of the Penn Program for Public Service, the community benefits from the expertise which the University can provide. The University benefits from furthering its three goals of research, teaching and service. According to WEPIC Executive Director Rae Scott-Jones, the program exists to provide a "sense of hope" for the community. Projects in the program, which include community schools, adult schools and landscaping projects, are funded through a series of grants from city, state and federal agencies and private foundations. To volunteer for the program students may contact either Undergraduate Student Coordinator Dorothea Schlosser or Cory Bowman, the WEPIC Coordinator for Turner Middle School.
(01/30/92 10:00am)
School is open. Always. On Saturday morning at 8:45, about 200 West Philadelphia youngsters converge on the lobby of J. P. Turner Middle School. Many of the children reluctantly attend the bastion of learning located at 59th and Baltimore streets during the week as well, but on Saturday mornings they need very little prodding and are happy to be sitting in classrooms. Marie Bogle, a compassionate drill seargeant, greets the children and ushers them to their appropriate classrooms. "Do you know where you're supposed to be?" Bogle barks, expecting an affirmative response. "Take off your hat . . . get to class." Without a second thought, the children scuffle off to class, hats in hand. "I don't even know these kids," Bogle grins. "During the week they will dawdle between classes. But [Saturday] they are obedient." School is open because the West Philadelphia Improvement Corps, a partnership between the University and the West Philadelphia community, is committed to making the school the center of the community. According to Bogle, who is a teacher and WEPIC coordinator at Turner, the community has to start viewing school as more than a place children go during the week. WEPIC developed out of a public service and community development seminar taught by School of Arts and Sciences Vice Dean Ira Harkavy and President Sheldon Hackney. It provides a variety of programs designed to increase involvement centering around the school. "School belongs to the community," Bogle said while catching a moment's breath Saturday morning. "We have to change the community's attitude about school. It can be a haven and bring about positive change." To that end Turner, the flagship of the WEPIC program, which operates out of nine West Philadelphia public schools, has incorporated several of the ideas which were conceptualized in University student's papers and turned them into reality. Saturday Community Schools, which exist at both Turner and West Philadelphia High School, offer free academic, cultural and recreational classes to all members of the community. Classes at Turner are taught by school teachers with assistance from approximately 25 University undergraduates. Those students, organized by Undergraduate Student Coordinator and Wharton junior Dorothea Schlosser, donate their Saturday mornings to the program, and are placed in classes of their choice. The program curently provides classes in sports history, creative writing, vegetarian cooking, swimming, dance and model building -- to name a few. In art class, College senior Christina Cantrill, a helps the teacher, Leslye Clemons, supervise and work with the students. "I help get them supplies and answer questions, but I mainly provide encouragement and support," Cantrill said. College sophomore Sarah Mess lends her time in the kitchen where teacher Eloise Prescott provides children with healthy recipes that they can make instead of turning to junk food. On Saturday the vegetarian cooking class made home made granola and the class learned the proper way to measure using a tablespoon. "They are even worse than we are at college," Schlosser said. "They will have a hoagie for breakfast, candy for lunch and a cheese steak for dinner." · The progressive curriculum has also been carried into the regular school week by WEPIC as part of its Neighborhood Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Program. Through the program, a "pod" of 100 students is selected randomly from around 800 Turner students. These students are introduced to a curriculum which centers around health issues and creatively incorporates them into the standard fare of classes. The students will have the same teachers each year to encourage strong student-teacher relationships. According to Program Coordinator Cory Bowman, who graduated from the College in 1991, the curriculum is broken down into three main parts: academics, job training and community outreach. According to Bowman, the program focuses on grades six through eight. Sixth graders learn about nutrition, seventh graders help teach health to first graders, and eighth graders are exposed to four specific Health Watch topics. In all cases the goal is to integrate the subject matter into the general course work. For example, when the eighth graders learned about cancer, not only did they learn the science behind different types of cancer, but they constructed math problems which were associated to the issue. "We would tell them how much a pack of cigarettes cost and then have them calculate how much money someone would spend to smoke a pack of cigarettes each day for a year or five years," Bowman said. "Then we gave them prices of other merchandise like a car or a leather jacket so they could see what they could buy if they didn't smoke." For the job training component in the curriculum, the young students visit local job sites once a week. Sites include hospitals and child development centers where students see the different types of jobs which are available. The goal of the third component, community outreach, aims to have the students educate the rest of the community about the subjects they have learned. According to Bowman, these health fairs occur in conjunction with other WEPIC events, such as Wednesday Evening Adult Classes, to ensure optimum attendance. The University gets involved with the fairs, providing some sort of referral at the same time. For example, last April, the University offered free glaucoma tests. On April 1, there will be an AIDS/Injury Prevention program, according to Bowman. As part of the School-Within-a-School program University Medical Center professors have given guest lectures and University undergraduates become mentors for the eighth grade students. The disease prevention component of the program is still in the planning stages. Bowman said that WEPIC is currently discussing possibilities with community leaders determine the best way of meeting the community's needs. · A house at 51st and Walnut streets which caught fire and was abandoned since the early 1980s is the site for yet another WEPIC project. In the early days of WEPIC, a Construction/Housing Rehabilitation Program was organized to help train young adults in the skills needed to enter one of the trade unions. Currently, around ten high school dropouts and 40 West Philadelphia High School students are working under the direction of Walt McAuley, a retired carpenter, to learn their trade. The house on 51st Street was purchased by the City and turned over to WEPIC last October. Over the next two years, it will be rehabilitated by participants in the program so that it can be given to a low-income family upon completion. The high school dropouts in the program are paid once a week, and attend classes at Drexel University three mornings a week to work toward a General Equivalency Degree. The rest of the time they are learning hands-on from McAuley and his assistant Frank Hughes. "We teach them carpentry, plumbing, sheet metal work and electrical work," Hughes said. "Then they go to classes to get their degrees. The goal is to get them into a trade union." McAuley got involved for personal reasons. Like the program participants, he dropped out of West Philadelphia High School in 10th grade, so he can relate to what his students are going through. But his involvement also gives him an opportunity to atone for his behavior when he was younger. "I discriminated against their fathers and grandfathers when I was younger," McAuley, who is white, said. "And I know that was wrong. Now I can help try to right those wrongs. And these kids treat me like I'm one of their own. It's a great feeling." The dropouts are also quite thankful for their second chances. "I was considered in school a juvenile delinquent," said 18-year-old Kenganyika West, who joined the program last October. "I like what I am doing know. I want to join a union and become a carpentress." Maurice Cannon, a 21-year-old drop-out agreed. "Me and my family are on welfare and I heard about this opportunity," Cannon said. "It is really hard to get a job out there. With a diploma I will have a better chance."
