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(02/25/98 10:00am)
The Office of Student Life earns money from usage fees and retail in the building. When Houston Hall closes its doors May 29 for extensive renovations, the loss of Houston Hall Cards and Gifts may pose problems for people other than students who need a place to buy Father's Day cards. The store -- owned by the University and operated by the Office of Student Life, Activities and Facilities -- provides revenues that fund the operational costs of Houston Hall, such as staff salaries and building overhead. The student activities and programs run by the office are funded by separate money from the University. "We've run this building without student tuition," said Thomas Hauber, associate director of the Office of Student Life. It was unclear exactly how much the office would stand to lose from Houston Hall's closing for renovations. The renovations, scheduled to be completed within two years, are part of the $69 million Perelman Quadrangle project, which is designed to create a student center linking Houston Hall with several surrounding buildings. When the facility closes, the Office of Student Life will permanently lose the percentage of revenues it receives from the retailers currently located in the building's basement. Additionally, the office will temporarily lose facility-usage fees for the building's activity halls. And although room usage fees will again become a source of revenue when the Perelman Quad is completed, the renovated Houston Hall is projected to contain almost no retail space other than for food. The office will continue to get some revenue from food retailers in the renovated facility. As a result of the renovations, "the funding for this building has to be addressed in a different manner than it is now," Hauber said. According to Fran Walker, director of Student Life Activities and Facilities, the operations side of the building have "been self-supporting because it runs a retail operation." With the new Perelman Quad, however, the role of the office will change, she added. "Once the retail operation is gone, someone needs to decide how to fund" operations costs, Walker said. It was unclear last night where such funding would come from. Houston Hall Cards and Gifts recently began to advertise its impending closure at the end of May with a going-out-of-business sale. Hauber said the store has a lot of stock to get rid of before it closes. "We're getting a jump," he added. "We wanted to get the holidays [in the sale]." Other retailers are also preparing to close. Mahmoud Toroghr, owner of Rose's Florist, said he was involved in discussions with the University about a possible relocation elsewhere on campus. Penn has also expressed interest in retaining Auntie Anne's pretzels as part of its retail mix. But many other stores, including CDs to Go, Pizza Pitt, University Photo and Electronics and Hair House have said that Penn has not given them any assistance in finding new locations, making it likely that they will leave campus.
(02/23/98 10:00am)
Penn Law School Dean Colin Diver added his name to a letter criticizing the high-profile rankings. Imagine receiving a letter from the deans of 92 percent of American law schools warning you, a prospective law student, not to read U.S. News & World Report. That scenario became a reality last Thursday, as 93,000 applicants to the nation's law schools received such a letter in their mailboxes, signed by 164 law school deans. Colin Diver, dean of Penn's Law School, was one of the signatories. Entitled "Law school rankings may be hazardous to your health," the missive is the Association of American Law Schools' latest attack on U.S. News' annual rankings of the nation's top graduate schools. But frustration with the rankings is not confined to law schools. Even at Universities like Penn, which placed three of its professional schools -- Nursing, Wharton and Medicine -- in the top five nationwide, there was widespread dissatisfaction with the rankings among graduate school administrators. The latest rankings were released last Friday. "We're doing lots of things right, but the [U.S. News] algorithm may be a bit suspect," said Dwight Jaggard, graduate dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, which ranked 32nd nationwide. Diver was also disappointed with the rankings. The Penn Law School ranked eighth this year, up three spots from 1997. "I think we're better than that," Diver said. "There is an appearance of science to these rankings, [but] so many arbitrary components to the formula." But Susan Greenbaum, a spokesperson for the Nursing School -- which ranked second, up one place from the last time nursing programs were rated in 1995 -- said the rankings are fine so long as they are kept in context. "They are reputational surveys," Greenbaum said. "There are many measures of a school's excellence, and reputation is certainly one of them." But Diver questioned the ability of survey participants to rank the reputations of schools they may not be acquainted with. "They ask all of us to rank all 179 law schools, which is preposterous," Diver said. He also criticized the assumption that all law schools can be ranked based on the same criterion. "We're better than Yale in some respects," Diver said. "But I wouldn't stand on top of the mountain and shout out that we're better than Yale Law School." Diver's concerns are not just sour grapes: Witness the signature of the dean of Yale Law School, No. 1 this year, on the letter. Harvard, ranked second, was one of the few schools which didn't sign the letter. Diver said the deans who signed the letter hoped to alert U.S. News that "there are many attributes the the ratings don't cover at all." A statement from the executive director of the Association of American Law Schools, Carl Monk, described the rankings as a "misleading and deceptive, profit-generating commercial enterprise that compromises U.S. News & World Report's journalistic integrity." In response to the protests, U.S. News issued a statement defending the rankings as "an independent assessment, an efficient way to compare schools, and a means for gathering judgments that experts have made about each law school." Still, the weekly news magazine stressed that the "rankings should not be applicants' main source of information." Wharton Graduate Dean Bruce Allen, whose school stayed put at third among business schools, said he feels that the rankings do serve a purpose, but that the difference between No. 1 and No. 3 may be pure fantasy. "You're really going to tell me that that's not within the margin of error?" Allen said of the one point separating Wharton and No. 1 Harvard in the rankings. But Allen said that this ranking, combined with others, present a generally accurate perception of schools' relative strengths. Jaggard, however, said that even general perceptions taken from the ratings may be misleading. He noted that numbers like total research funding, which factors heavily into rankings for engineering schools, can be biased against smaller schools. While Penn's Engineering faculty do well in per capita funding measurements, the faculty's smaller size means its total research funding is lower than that at larger schools. "Because of our relatively modest size, we probably don't get a fair shake in terms of the ratings," Jaggard said. Nevertheless, Diver and other administrators acknowledged that it feels good to rank high. "We're always pleased when we're moving in the right direction," Diver said. Penn's doctoral programs in Economics and Psychology were also ranked in the top 10.
(02/18/98 10:00am)
The proposed establishments would be built on 40th Street between Locust and Sansom streets. Movies and food, both staples of college life, may soon be in greater supply in University City. University officials expect to move forward with plans for a new movie theater in the near future. They are currently waiting for Cinemagic, the campus' only theater, to decide on whether it wants to operate a new multi-screen facility on 40th Street. According to University Managing Director of Real Estate Tom Lussenhop, both the cinema and a proposed supermarket would be built on 40th Street between Sansom and Locust streets. The Hamilton Village shopping center and a parking lot currently occupy the space. It is unclear which project would be built on which site. Plans for a movie theater are further along than those for a supermarket. Indeed, Lussenhop said bringing a grocery store to the area is contingent on the presence of a movie theater. Also, Lussenhop emphasized that "any development in the area requires a substantial parking facility." As with the theater and grocery store, the location and scope of the parking facility remain unclear. The University has given Cinemagic at Penn, an existing three-screen theater at 3925 Walnut Street, a list of its requirements for a new theater, Lussenhop said. Cinemagic's contract guarantees it the first opportunity to operate any new theater. Although Cinemagic's initial 30-day response period has expired, attorneys for the theater requested clarification of the proposal, Lussenhop said. Cinemagic President Andrew Sheppard did not return several telephone calls for comment yesterday. Lussenhop said that any plans to recruit another theater company are on hold "until there is a definite refusal on [Cinemagic's] part." He emphasized that other companies have expressed interest in plans for a theater on 40th Street. Last November, University officials said two companies specializing in art films, Angelika Film Center and Sundance Cinemas, were interested in building theaters. "The Philadelphia market is significantly underscreened," Lussenhop said. Officials are also exploring options for bringing a full-scale grocery store to the area. Currently, University City's only supermarket is Brown's University Thriftway at 43rd and Walnut streets, a store many students feel is unsafe and inconvenient. "[The plans] depend on operator interest," Lussenhop said, stressing that several companies have expressed enthusiasm. But at least one potential operator seemed dubious about the site. According to a spokesperson for Fresh Fields/Whole Foods, an Austin, Texas-based chain which operates more than 50 East Coast markets, the Philadelphia area is "pretty well covered." The spokesperson, Chris Hitt, said the company has not received a proposal for a grocery store from the University. Fresh Fields/Whole Foods currently operates a store at 20th and Callowhill streets. And the chain's plans to build a second store in Center City have dampened any interest in a potential University City site, Hitt said. A supermarket could also create problems for area retailers. While Lussenhop said he didn't believe a grocery store would damage existing stores, managers at Campus Market and Uni-Mart, two convenience stores located within a block of the proposed site, expressed concerns. "I think it [would] be a big problem," said Kay Kwon, a manager at Campus Market at 3925 Walnut Street, near Cinemagic. Both convenience stores are in University-owned buildings. But Lindsay Johnston, a local realtor and president of the 40th Street Business Association, said plans for a supermarket and movie theater are a great idea. "It's commercial real estate, and the rule of commercial real estate is 'highest and best use,' " he said.
(02/16/98 10:00am)
As part of his visit to Philadelphia Friday, the president advocated a tobacco tax hike in a speech to scientists. Warning that one million children's lives are at stake, President Clinton called on Congress to pass new legislation ending "the deadly epidemic of teen smoking" Friday during a speech in Philadelphia. The remarks came during a speech Clinton gave before 3,000 scientists gathered in Philadelphia for the annual convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The speech was the first of three stops Clinton made during his whirlwind one-day visit to Philadelphia, a city that gave him three-fourths of its votes in the 1996 election. After the address, the presidential motorcade passed through the Penn campus en route to a luncheon with Philadephia Mayor Ed Rendell and other city leaders at Big George's Stop-N-Dine, a Southern food restaurant at 52nd and Spruce streets. The president also attended an evening fundraiser at a private residence in Rittenhouse Square. Clinton's address came on the occasion of the Association's 150th birthday. The group -- which was founded in Philadelphia -- is the nation's largest professional organization for scientists, boasting 143,000 members. Clinton became the first president to address the group since Harry Truman spoke in 1948. In his 30-minute speech at the Marriott Hotel in Center City, smoking was the target of Clinton's strongest rhetoric, as he characterized tobacco as a threat to America's children. The centerpiece of the president's proposal to cut teen smoking is a $1.50 increase in the federal tax on tobacco over the next 10 years. He said the tax was designed to "change forever the way the tobacco companies do business." He called on the gathered scientists to "speak with a very loud voice" in favor of the legislation. Throughout the speech, Clinton mixed praise for scientific progress with calls for caution in the face of rapid advances. "We must always marry our newest idea with our oldest values," he said. The remarks came as part of a veiled reference to Richard Seed, a Chicago doctor who has announced plans to clone a human being. The president denounced any such attempt as "untested, unsafe and morally unacceptable." That was the extent of any critical remarks toward the scientific community, which the president otherwise praised and promised increased funding. "Our nation has always believed that what you do would transform our nation for the better," he said. But while Clinton acknowledged the portrayal of a future where science has run amok in movies such as Mad Max, the president told the audience that "I don't think you believe that's what it's going to be like." Instead, he called on the gathered scientists to "accept the responsibility to imagine and invent a different kind of future." Clinton went on to describe a future president addressing the Association's 200th convention -- in 2048 -- in a world free of cancer, AIDS and "climatic disruption." That vision of the future is one that Americans have the responsibility to create, Clinton said. "Speak loudly for our children," he said. "Tell people there will be miracles they cannot imagine in the 21st century. But tell them they must take responsibility for [the future]." The convention, which will continue through February 17, will feature speeches by 21 Penn professors on topics ranging from "Chocolate Craving" to "The Rights and Wrongs of Cloning." Penn President Judith Rodin is a co-chairperson of the local host committee for the convention.
(02/13/98 10:00am)
In Nagano, Japan, it would be a bronze. In the United States, the University's No. 3 ranking in total research funding from the National Institutes of Health comes without a medal. Not that Penn officials are complaining. The University's $217 million in NIH funding trailed only Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the University of Washington system for fiscal year 1997, according to a recent compilation of these statistics. NIH funding, which is generally difficult to get, is considered a benchmark of quality for research institutions. Penn Vice Provost for Research Ralph Amado called the rankings "wonderful." "The faculty are to be greatly applauded for their efforts," Amado said yesterday. "Credit [for the ranking] goes to the individual researchers." The University moved up one spot from last year's fourth-place ranking on the strength of a $31 million increase in NIH funding over fiscal year 1996. The increase was mostly due to a $25 million rise in funding for the Medical School, which jumped from fifth to third in the rankings. Amado attributed the $175.2 million the Medical School received to "the faculty working very, very hard." He also applauded the efforts of William Kelley, dean of the Medical School and head of the Health System. The Nursing School's No. 1 ranking was the highest of any school at Penn. The school moved up one place from last year. Nursing Dean Norma Lang said the climb is "the measurable outcome of recruiting the best faculty and the best students." "[The news] is probably one of the greatest pleasures," Lang said. "It's like getting an A-plus." The Nursing School has steadily climbed in the national rankings, surpassing schools of nursing at the University of Washington and the University of California-San Francisco over the last five years. That climb is a result of the Nursing School's status as a leading center of research, according to Barbara Medoff-Cooper, director of the Center for Nursing Research. She cited research into the impact of hospital restructuring on the quality of patient care, AIDS research and research into home care for the elderly as some of the programs at the Nursing School with high levels of funding. The University has made high rankings in NIH funding a strategic priority, according to Lang. Indeed, University President Judith Rodin described the rankings as another sign that "Penn is really accelerating in terms of its goals." The NIH is the single largest source of research funding at the University, which received a total of $351 million in research funding during fiscal year 1997. Eighty percent of that funding came from the federal government, according to Amado.
(02/13/98 10:00am)
Citing "extreme financial difficulties" at a hospital that recently merged with the Penn Health System, Moody's Investor Services changed the outlook on the Health System's outstanding debt from stable to negative. A negative outlook means financial pressures are likely to increase in the coming months, according to Beth Wexler, a Moody's analyst. She emphasized that it does not necessarily foreshadow a downgrade in the rating of the Health System's debt. Such ratings reflect the institution's ability to pay off outstanding debt. The Health System retains an Aa3 bond rating for its $648 million in outstanding debt. Wexler termed the Aa3 rating "stellar" for the health care sector. By way of comparison, Jefferson Health System's debt carries an A1 rating, one level below that of the Penn Health System. Jefferson is Penn's primary competitor in the Philadelphia market. The change in outlook on UPHS debt followed Moody's downgrade of the rating on Pennsylvania Hospital's $167 million in debt. The Center City hospital -- Philadelphia's oldest, founded in 1751 -- recently merged with the Health System. Five straight years of losses and an 18.6 percent decrease in patient volume through the first three months of fiscal year 1998, which began July 1, are among the problems facing the hospital. Pennsylvania Hospital is expected to lose as much as $40 million during fiscal year 1998. Moody's also said the amount Pennsylvania Hospital has borrowed is unusually high when compared to the hospital's total value. One indicator of such ratios showed it would take 21 years to pay off outstanding debt using the hospital's available cash. A typical rating is between four and five years, and Wexler said 21 years is a length that "really makes you wonder." But both Moody's and John Wynne, chief financial officer of the Health System, emphasized that the change in outlook is "short term," and results from Pennsylvania Hospital's woes. Although the Health System has no financial stake in Pennsylvania Hospital, Moody's nonetheless said its problems will have an impact on the Health System. "Our feeling is that UPHS is devoting a significant amount of attention and resources to the trouble that Pennsylvania Hospital is experiencing," Wexler said. Wynne agreed that "there is human capital being spent trying to eliminate" Pennsylvania Hospital's deficit. "The burden is to try to get them to a break-even position," he said. According to Wynne, the Health System submitted a three-year plan for making Pennsylvania Hospital profitable to Moody's. Moody's cited these plans as a key factor in the decision not to further downgrade Pennsylvania Hospital's debt. Wynne said the debt rating for Pennsylvania Hospital may soon become a moot point. Before the end of the fiscal year in June, University Trustees are likely to refinance the Health System's existing debt and also add Pennsylvania Hospital's debt to the Health System's debt, he said. Moody's has already agreed to rate such a bond issue, including Pennsylvania Hospital's debt, at the Health System's current rating, Wynne said. He estimated such a refinancing could save Pennsylvania Hospital $4.5 million. Moody's was cautiously optimistic about Pennsylvania Hospital's future prospects. "Moody's believes? that management's plan, if implemented, could reverse the recent negative trend and restore a semblance of financial stability," the company said in a statement.
(02/10/98 10:00am)
Doctors across the nation and at Penn are searching for new ways to test patients' heart attack risk. Emergency rooms strive for both accuracy and efficiency when treating patients with chest pain. But figuring out which patients need expensive hospitalization because of the risk of a heart attack is no easy task. Nationwide, 2 to 5 percent of people sent home by emergency rooms after reporting chest pain have heart attacks. On the other hand, 70 percent of the patients reporting such pains to Penn doctors are at no risk of a heart attack -- and doctors have no way of knowing which group is which. The distinction is an important one. About 500,000 Americans die of heart attacks each year, according to the American Heart Association. Statistics such as these have doctors at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and around the country busy researching new ways of figuring out which patients to treat for a possible heart attack and which to send home. Currently, most hospitals make determinations based on the patient's medical history and an electrocardiogram, which measures the heart's electronic activity. And most hospitals, including HUP, tend to err on the side of caution, often hospitalizing patients reporting chest pains who are not actually suffering heart attacks. "We admit a boatload of patients who turn out to have no significant disease," said Judd Hollander, an Emergency Medicine professor. One researcher looking into more accurate ways to diagnose heart attacks is the University's Emile Mohler, a Medicine professor who has just published a research paper about one such new method. His research focuses on a heart attack indicator called troponin-T, a protein released by the body when the cardiac muscle is damaged. It is one of several similar markers which scientists are looking at to help determine heart attack risk. Mohler's study showed that the test for troponin-T, in combination with an echocardiogram -- an image created by bouncing sound waves off the heart -- predicted the occurrence of a heart attack with 90 percent accuracy. Doctors at Temple University, where troponin-T tests are being gradually phased in, agreed that the test represents an improvement over existing methods. "Troponin-T is more accurate than standard measures and appears in the blood more rapidly," said David Wiener, a Medicine professor at Temple University Hospital in North Philadelphia. However, troponin-T can also be produced by other injured muscles, making it possible that a positive test may not necessarily signify cardiac damage. Troponin-I, a related protein, is only released by the heart, making it a better indicator, Hollander said. A test for troponin-I is already available. The HUP emergency room plans to begin using a troponin-I test by the end of the year. But Alan Forstater, a surgery professor at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, remains skeptical of both troponin tests. "It really doesn't tell us much earlier than the standardized procedure whether or not a patient has had a heart attack," he said. One test that does produce immediate results is for a chemical called myoglobin. But myoglobin is produced by all injured muscles, causing difficulties similar to those of troponin-T. Researchers have tried pairing the myoglobin test with another test for carbonic anhydrates-3. The anhydrates are only released by skeletal muscles, allowing doctors to compare the two levels and determine if the myoglobin is being produced by non-skeletal cardiac muscles. That test is not yet commercially available. Researchers are also experimenting with tests triggered by markers of platelet adhesion -- the process of clotting which precedes a heart attack -- which test positive even before the heart attack actually begins. But none of these tests tells doctors if a patient's heart is structurally at risk for heart attacks, which makes imaging technology indispensable. The echocardiogram that Mohler's study used can only be interpreted by an expert. This is particularly problematic at night, when fewer experienced doctors are on hand. That problem can be remedied. Doctors at Indiana University in Indianapolis have already developed digital imaging systems which allow them to send images to experts in remote locations at all hours of the day. HUP is currently working with Eastman Kodak to produce a similar digital system. Another system, used by doctors at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, is called a setamibi. It uses radioactive traces injected into the body to check the flow of blood through the heart. Although the method is promising, the need to keep radioactive material on hand creates complications stemming from the high costs and danger of the materials. "Unless you do a lot of these [tests], it's hard," said Hollander. While doctors wait for a perfect technology to arrive, they've devised temporary measures to hold down the high hospitalization rates. One such method employed at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital utilizes a holding area for patients complaining of chest pain. This intermediate stage allows doctors to evaluate patients and reach a more accurate determination of the risk of heart attack without actually admitting them, Forstater said.
(02/04/98 10:00am)
This year marks the first time an academic medical center has won the award for quality health care. The University of Pennsylvania Health System, facing challenges ranging from a large budget deficit to increased competition from other area hospitals, got some much-needed good news yesterday after winning a prestigious award as one of the best medical systems in the country. The National Quality Health Care Award annually recognizes a health care system that successfully raises the quality of care in its component institutions. The award is given by the National Committee for Quality Health Care, a Washington-based group of health care industry leaders. Modern Healthcare, a trade magazine, co-sponsors the award. Although the award had never previously been given to an academic medical center, the Penn's Health System "was clearly the outstanding candidate," according to Committee President Catherine McDermott. The Health System, with annual revenues approaching $2 billion, comprises four hospitals with a total of 18,000 employees. The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania sits at the heart of the system. Three other hospitals -- Pennsylvania Hospital in Center City, Presbyterian Medical Center at 39th and Market streets and Phoenixville Hospital in Phoenixville, Pa. -- also provide advanced levels of care. Another six area hospitals are affiliated with the system, which includes more than 400 primary care physicians and 1,000 specialists. Members of the selection committee were particularly impressed by the Health System's standardized procedures in patient care, McDermott said. The University currently has 80 such "disease-management programs," covering 38 percent of patients. Officials anticipate expanding the program to cover 80 percent of patients by the year 2000. It is this system-wide uniformity which differentiates the Penn Health System from its counterparts, according to its chief medical officer, David Shulkin. "Across the full continuum of Penn's health-care system, from primary care to acute? [patients] get a proven approach," Shulkin said. Few other health systems have been able to implement such a system-wide disease-management plan, he noted. Such an approach has allowed the Health System to achieve large reductions in cost while improving care, according to officials. Although the Health System's operating deficit -- projected at $78 million for fiscal year 1998 -- could have given the awards committee grounds for hesitation, McDermott said the issue, while serious, "didn't give [the award selection committee] pause." "[The committee] considered it very seriously, but UPHS clearly had chosen the better path to go to a system of health care delivery," she said. Shulkin emphasized that the financial deficit is a short-term growing pain for the Health System, which he said should be back on solid footing within the next few years." The award also recognizes the organization and leadership of the University Health System. Credit for that achievement, McDermott said, goes to Chief Executive Officer William Kelley, who is also dean of the Medical School. Kelley was the keynote speaker at the presentation banquet last night, held at the Madison Hotel in Washington. "We are honored that our system-wide commitment to quality care has been so recognized on a national scale," he said in a statement. The Health System is the first Philadelphia-area health system to be recognized by the committee. Last year, the award recognized St. Luke's health system in Kansas City.
(02/03/98 10:00am)
University Health System Chief Executive Officer William Kelley and six other panelists, representing a cross section of the health care industry, gathered at the Medical School last night to discuss the challenges facing academic medical centers in the coming years. A crowd of several hundred doctors, medical students and onlookers packed Stemmler Hall's Dunlop Auditorium for the third annual Thomas Langfitt Memorial Symposium, entitled "Survival of the Fittest: Academic Medical Centers in the 21st Century." Among the issues on the table were the preparation of medical students for a health care system increasingly dependent on managed-care companies, the impact of for-profit medicine on the quality of treatment and the competition for research dollars between academic medical centers and for-profit research companies. The evening's moderator, Sanford Schwartz, director of the University's Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics, summed up the evening's focus: "To recognize that these outside [for-profit] forces are real. If we [academic medical centers] don't do the job, they will do it for us." Panelists were quick to agree that for-profit healthcare companies, such as Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., became successful by improving on inefficient operations at academic medical centers. But they emphasized capabilities unique to the academic medical center setting and the increased competitiveness of the academic medical center. "What is different about for-profit [health care companies] is the fiduciary duties," said Mildred Cho, a professor at Penn's Center for Bioethics. "The balance has shifted so that stockholders have [input]." In contrast, she said, the academic medical center faces no presumption of acting for financial reasons. But Patrick Oden, a Wall Street analyst specializing in the health care industry, said the difference is not so simple. Oden explained that recent events such as the collapse of Columbia/HCA, a national chain of for-profit hospitals, have emphasized the need to focus on quality rather than constant cost reduction. Alan Miller, chairperson and chief executive officer of Universal Health Services Inc. -- one of the nation's largest chains of for-profit hospitals -- agreed that focusing on a different set of goals than those academic medical centers strive for would be foolish. He noted that the last thing any hospital would want is a reputation for valuing money over patients' lives. But Kelley, who is also dean of the Medical School, cautioned that while for-profit hospitals may not necessarily abandon quality, "the difference is really more of an issue of investor pressure" -- something which academic medical centers do not face. The panel also addressed the nationwide surplus of doctors. Panelists agreed that hospitals may train too many doctors, but cautioned against drawing conclusions about the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania from national statistics. "These projections don't account for the fact that some residency programs are training national leaders," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, chairperson of HUP's Geriatric Medicine division. The annual symposium, organized by a group of Wharton and Medical School graduate students, focuses on "timely issues in medical management," according to Brian Choi, one of the organizers and a dual degree graduate student at Wharton and the Medical School. It is co-funded by the Office of the Dean for Medical Education and the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.
(02/03/98 10:00am)
Cigarettes have been linked to cancer for years. Now tobacco companies may start paying to treat the disease -- and the University Cancer Center stands to reap substantial benefits. Under an item in President Bill Clinton's proposed 1999 budget, which was announced yesterday, the government would provide $750 million in funding for costs associated with experimental drug trials for Medicare patients. Medicare is the federal government's health-insurance program for the elderly. The money would come from an anticipated settlement with the major tobacco companies. The $368 billion settlement, negotiated by the states, would limit all future litigation against the companies as part of the agreement. Any such deal would have to be ratified by Congress, and the federal government would receive a share of the settlement. As a leader in cancer research -- and one of only 31 federally designated comprehensive cancer centers -- the Center stands to benefit from the proposal, although it is unclear exactly how much. John Glick, director of the Center, called the proposal "extraordinarily positive." The benefit from the proposal would come mostly in the form of a vastly expanded pool of patients eligible to participate in cancer treatment trials. People 65 and older account for about 60 percent of all cancer patients. Medicare, however, has not paid for the indirect costs of the research, which include blood work, X-rays and hospital care. The actual cost of the experimental medications used in a clinical trial is typically covered by the research grant for the trial. Medicare's refusal to pay for these costs has severely limited patients' access to potentially beneficial experimental treatments. Only senior citizens able to pay for such treatments out of their own pockets have been able to participate. Currently, about 3 percent of cancer patients participate in clinical trials. The new legislation, part of a proposal to increase spending on cancer research by $4.7 billion, would cover those indirect costs. The 65 percent increase in cancer-research funding over last year was announced yesterday by Vice President Al Gore, who said at a press conference that "we must invest more in the war against cancer." The victims of that war are the ultimate beneficiaries of the proposal, according to Glick. He noted that the funding will "encourage patients to join clinical trials which stand to benefit them tremendously." The legislation still needs to pass through Congress, and funding would not be available until next fall. Nonetheless, according to Glick, the National Institutes of Health will continue to prepare for disbursement of the funds "as if they're going to get the money." The Center is also positioning itself to take a more active role in cancer research involving senior citizens. The Center is hiring a new faculty member, whom Glick characterized as "very interested in senior patients," to focus on related research areas. Glick expects her work to be funded from the Center's budget for the time being.
(01/30/98 10:00am)
An experimental technique aims to clear the virus from patients who are already infected. The tests are only preliminary. Researchers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania have launched a trial of an experimental vaccine for HIV-infected individuals. The vaccine is designed to stimulate a sufficient immune system reaction to clear the blood of the virus, said David Weiner, the Pathology professor who developed the vaccine. Traditionally, vaccines are either live -- growing in the body and mimicking real infections -- or dead. Both types precipitate immune system reactions. While the dead vaccines are safer -- there is no risk of infection from the vaccine -- they do not enter the cells. As a result, they do not cause t-cell production -- the body's most powerful immune response. The new vaccine consists of HIV DNA strands that are injected into the body. These strands precipitate production of a dead vaccine inside the cells, causing t-cell production with no danger of infection. According to Rob MacGregor, the director of the trial, the research departs from traditional science in two ways: The first innovation is the use of a DNA-based vaccine. While such vaccines have been successful in animals, this will be the first real test with human subjects, according to Thomas Merigan, Medicine professor at Stanford University Medical Center. Merigan called the use of the DNA vaccine in an HIV trial "very appropriate" because other vaccines have been so unsuccessful. Vaccines are usually preventative making the goal of this trial unusual. "There has never been evidence of the effectiveness of a vaccine for treatment of an infection, rather than prevention," MacGregor said. While he was initially skeptical, MacGregor said there are two key differences between HIV and other viruses that make the possibility of a curative vaccine plausible. First, HIV is a virus of the immune system, and works by incapacitating that system. Thus, a vaccine which helps the immune system could prove decisive in defeating the virus. Second, HIV has a life span measured in years, providing significantly more time for a vaccine to impact on the course of the virus. Earlier trials at HUP, with a slightly different vaccine, succeeded in stimulating an immune response, which MacGregor said confirmed the possibility of a curative vaccine. However, the earlier vaccine did not succeed in impeding the course of the virus. Weiner explained this was partly due to the use of subjects not undergoing drug therapy for HIV. It is now believed that those infected with HIV undergo a complete turnover every day of their CD4 cells -- the immune system cells with "memories" of diseases. This limits the effectiveness of a vaccine because new cells have not been "taught" how to defend against the virus. This trial will use patients currently undergoing drug therapy that has lowered their HIV levels. These patients' CD4 cells have a normal life-span, which will increase the vaccine's effectiveness. The new vaccine also includes two DNA strands not used in the previous trial. Indeed, "there are at least eight other HIV [related] genes," said MacGregor, any of which could potentially be useful in a vaccine. The trial is a preliminary test of the vaccine's safety and capacity to produce a response. It will involve 21 patients in three groups of seven, each group receiving a successively larger dosage if the vaccine is proved safe at the lower dosage. Such trials are mandated by the FDA before any larger scale trials are run to test the vaccine's effectiveness. If the drug is found to be safe, a large scale trial could start as early as next year, MacGregor.
(01/28/98 10:00am)
and Edward Sherwin College Republicans and College Democrats gathered at Houston Hall last night to watch President Clinton report to Congress on the State of the Union, joining what is believed to be the largest television audience of Clinton's career. But Clinton's 72-minute long speech did not address the issue foremost on the minds of most Americans -- allegations that he perjured himself in a deposition about a possible relationship with 24-year-old former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The specter of presidential improprieties hung over the evening's proceedings. Lewinsky's attorney, William Ginsburg, indicated yesterday that his client will strike a plea bargain, receiving immunity in exchange for an account of her relationship with the president. Reaction to the charges among members of College Republicans and College Democrats was divided. "All of the allegations seem to point in one direction," said College sophomore Patrick Ruffini, a Republican. "He wouldn't be effective as president anymore." But Democrats saw the issue differently. "I don't know the merits of the sexual misconduct case, and I don't think the American people give a damn," said Wharton junior and College Democrats Political Director David Prager. "We didn't elect him as the most sexually prudent person." Despite the allegations -- which, if true, could jeopardize Clinton's presidency -- those gathered under the Capitol's dome rose with a roar upon hearing the traditional invocation, "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States." Commentators were quick to note that the applause was as much for the office as for the man. "These are good times for America," Clinton declared, calling for legislation on issues including new teachers, new schools and application of any budget surplus to shore up Social Security. The president also called for a raise in the minimum wage, new anti-teen smoking legislation and a patient's bill of rights. "Medical decisions ought to be made by medical doctors," Clinton said. While Democrats were elated by the president's newfound commitment to social legislation, Republican leaders challenged the President's agenda. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., delivered the Republican rebuttal. He termed many of the new programs inconsistent with the president's promise to submit a balanced budget in 1999, three years ahead of schedule. The evening's greatest applause greeted Clinton's threat to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "We are determined to deny you the capacity to use [weapons of mass destruction] again," the president said. At Houston Hall, student reaction focused on the allegations, not Clinton's proposals. "I think it would be more tasteful on his part to resign if it's proved he lied to the American people," said College sophomore Lisa Marshall. But Penn Democrats were slower to condemn Clinton. "This is a vast conspiracy against Clinton by [Whitewater Special Prosecutor] Kenneth Starr and his Republican cronies," College senior Utpal Inamdar said. "They're jealous because Clinton turned the economy around." Earlier in the day, First Lady Hillary Clinton blasted Starr, calling him "a politically motivated prosecutor" on NBC's Today show. Starr, who deposed the President's personal secretary yesterday as part of his continuing investigation, termed Mrs. Clinton's allegations "nonsense," and defended the expansion of his Whitewater investigation into the Lewinsky scandal.
(01/27/98 10:00am)
University researchers are running photodynamic therapy trials in an effort to battle deadly cancers. John Harms was expected to die. During surgery last August to remove a tumor in his lungs, doctors found the cancer had spread. Traditional medicine had run out of options. It was a dead end. But now there is a good chance Harms will live to teach computer science again, thanks to a team of University doctors who, using unprecedented methods during a 9-hour procedure last month, gave him that chance. How they did it: A photosensitizer, or light-activated drug, was injected into the patient one or two days before the surgery. After doctors removed the tumor, they focused a laser on the cancerous area, stimulating the drug. After being activated, the drug produces an activated form of oxygen which kills any remaining cancerous cells. "It's funny -- I don't know if even now I've let it fully sink in," said Harms, 47, of Springfield, Pa. "Every once in a while it's just nice to know that all that stuff is out of there." Known as photodynamic therapy, the method is already used to ease swallowing for patients with esophageal cancer and is particularly effective against cancers that spread too wide for radiation to be safe. The light used to activate the drug, however, only penetrates to a depth of a few millimeters, limiting the opportunity to apply the treatment to the time during which the chest cavity is open -- a one-time opportunity. "You'd be hard pressed to find a cancer treatment where given one treatment, you can cure the patient," said Stephen Hahn, director of the University's Photodynamic Therapy Program, which began trials last May. The results so far are encouraging. On December 9, Harms underwent surgery to remove the tumor using the new techniques. After the procedure, Harms said one of the surgeons told him that he "had to use every technique in my books to get it all." But as of yesterday, no trace of the cancer remained in Harms' body. Although Harms is one of only two patients treated for cancer of the lining of the lung, 12 others have undergone surgery using similar techniques for abdominal cancer. Hahn and co-investigator Joseph Friedberg, a Surgery professor, expect the trials to run one to two years and include 154 subjects. The trials encompass three types of cancer: abdominal cancer, lung cancer and mesothelioma, or cancer of the lining of the lung. While trials of photodynamic therapy in mesothelioma are also being conducted at Wayne State University in Detroit, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania is the only hospital doing trials with the other two types of cancer, according to Hahn. The procedure is not without side effects. Most prominently, subjects must avoid exposure to sunlight for six to eight weeks following the treatment. The treatment may also damage healthy, non-cancerous cells, creating further complications. As with all experimental treatments, Hahn emphasized the importance of providing the patient with as much information as possible. Among other things, Hahn puts patients in touch with others who have undergone the treatment. According to Hahn, one woman who underwent the treatment tells patients that "this is the worst surgery she went through." "She felt like she'd been run over by a truck," he said. Three or four patients, given the opportunity, have chosen not to have the surgery. Still, Hahn said that "the majority of patients who really have no other treatment options, if something sounds reasonable, will pursue it." Run over by a truck or not, the woman -- whose cancer is in remission as a result of the surgery -- is a believer, as is John Harms. When Harms first saw his doctors after the surgery, "[they] were grinning. They really felt like they'd gotten it all. "I don't think there are many [doctors], maybe no one, who could have done what they did," Harms said.
(01/26/98 10:00am)
Norman Peterson, 36, was honored for research in areas of concern to human beings. Laboratory research wasn't what Norman Peterson had in mind when he decided to be a veterinarian. But so far, at least, the field has treated him well. In November, Peterson, a research associate in the University Health System's Pathology Department, received the Young Investigator Award from the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science. The award recognizes an "outstanding young scientist who has made significant contributions" to the field. The award, presented at the Laboratory Animal Science Association's annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., honored Peterson for research in areas such as "the modification of antibodies to study and treat cancer," according to a statement from the organization. It also notes Peterson's future promise. Much of Peterson's work these days is ultimately for human benefit, a role Peterson said he is uniquely suited for -- even if it means he doesn't get to work in a traditional veterinarian environment. He explained that animals are used for much of the research on human diseases and treatments. "What better person to do that [than me]?" said Peterson, 36. "Few doctors really understand the animals." The award, which recognizes Peterson's past research and future promise, is the most recent in a series of awards to a man whose chosen field was something of a compromise. Born and raised in Peoria, Ill., Peterson had wanted to be a veterinarian since junior high school. It was only in his senior year at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana that Peterson, a biology major, became interested in research. His search "for ways to combine the two" interests in research and animals led Peterson to lab animal research. Placed on the waiting list after his first attempt to enroll in a primate residency -- the first step in an academic career -- Peterson earned a master's degree in biology at Illinois. "I thought I'd hang around for another year," he said. "I knew I'd get in the next year." As he hoped, Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., accepted him to its program the next fall, in 1990. But "things didn't work out well" at Wake Forest, Peterson said, so he came to Penn, which held a "twofold" attraction to the young researcher. "Molecular biology was a real strength [of Penn's] and there are so many pharmaceutical companies in the area," Peterson said. While most residencies are master's degree programs, Peterson wanted to earn a doctorate at the University. University Veterinarian Harry Rozmiarek "was very supportive" of Peterson's efforts, Peterson said, adding that Rozmiarek "designed a program" especially for Peterson. Peterson added that he was the first person to earn a doctorate while completing a residency in laboratory animal science at the University. Peterson completed his residency in 1993 and finished his doctorate last month. Currently working on a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, Peterson said he'd like to stay at Penn when the grant ends in two years. "My interests are mainly towards academia," he said. "But [if offered] the right industry job, I'd consider it as well." However, Peterson's success in research has come at a cost to his childhood dream. "I'm losing a lot of my vet skills," he acknowledged. "It would take me an hour to spay an animal."
(01/22/98 10:00am)
Your doctor may never learn to write legibly. But at least your nurse -- if he or she minored in Health Care Communications at Penn -- will be able to get a point across. Beginning this semester, the Nursing School and the Annenberg School for Communication are offering a joint minor designed to deal with a reality of modern life: the media is the public's prime conduit for health care information. There is a need for "health care and communications professionals who can effectively articulate complicated health care issues to their patients and the public at large," Nursing Dean Norma Lang said. The minor, open only to Nursing students, will help nurses in areas such as family education, public health programs, disease-prevention efforts and "careers yet undreamed of in the 21st century," she said. Administrators are not creating any new courses specifically for the minor. Instead, Nursing students wishing to complete the minor must take four courses in Annenberg, including health care communications and either inter-ethnic or non-verbal communication. Nursing and Annenberg faculty members selected the courses on the basis of their relevance for future health care providers. Students who opt for the minor will also complete a fifth course, a summer internship in the communications field, between their junior and senior years. The internship, already a requirement for Communications majors, is being done with a twist for Nursing students, who will be "linked with some kind of health care communications process" for their internship, Acting Nursing Undergraduate Dean Kathleen McCauley said. Administrators are not sure how many students will enroll in the program, considering the Nursing School's already heavy course requirements. Currently, Nursing students must complete 40 credits, 28 of which must be in "science and professional areas." "We're not expecting that it's going to be huge," McCauley said. Still, she emphasized that "nurses of the future are going to need these skills." The Nursing School currently offers one other interdisciplinary minor, in nutrition, jointly sponsored with the School of Arts and Sciences. The nutrition minor is open to all Penn undergraduates. Only Nursing students may minor in health care communications because the program focuses exclusively on health care courses, McCauley said. Also, all of the Communications courses are already open to students not enrolled in the minor. Many students said they would be interested in the new minor. "Communications is a big part of the clinical experience," said Patricia Conte, a Nursing sophomore. "It seems like a good thing to know." In addition to the two minors, the Nursing School offers two dual major programs: Health Care Management in conjunction with the Wharton School and a new program starting next fall with the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
(01/20/98 10:00am)
Madlyn and Leonard Abramson's recent $100 million pledge to the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center comes with significant strings attached -- strings that could, in theory, leave the University with none of the second-largest donation in its history. Rather than pledging the money directly to the Cancer Center, the funds will go to an organization with a separate board of directors: the Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the University Cancer Center. The nine-member board of the Abramson Institute, to be chaired by Madlyn Abramson, will include five Abramson appointees and four members chosen by the University. Since the institute is a separate entity from the Cancer Center, the University would have to submit proposals to the institute's board, which "would decide whether or not to fund" them, according to University spokesperson Ken Wildes. Center and institute Director John Glick acknowledged that University proposals need not be accepted by the board of the institute. Indeed, there is no reason that the Abramson's money could not theoretically be given to some other institution. Such an arrangement was made "at the wish of the donor," Glick said. Medical research organizations with the institute's tax designation typically qualify as public charities, exempting them from Internal Revenue Service requirements that they give 5 percent of their funds annually to other organizations, according to Donald Kramer, a Philadelphia attorney who specializes in such gifts. If the institute does have public-charity status, there would be no requirement that it distribute funds to any organization. University officials could not say whether the institute would be subject to the IRS requirements. Marina Dundjerski, a reporter at the bi-weekly Chronicle of Philanthropy who covered the Abramsons' donation, said the project-by-project funding, and the lack of a schedule for the Abramsons to actually donate the funds, were unusual for such gifts. But Glick said the possibility that the money could go somewhere else "doesn't faze" him. "The money is going to come to Penn as we present them with exciting new research proposals and treatment paradigms," he said. Harvey Shapiro, a Philadelphia attorney who specializes in charitable contributions, said the arrangement allows the Abramsons "to ensure that their purposes are carried out." "They've got a hammer to influence decisions," Shapiro explained. Glick, who successfully treated Madlyn Abramson for breast cancer, noted that it is "to everyone's benefit to understand what the donor's goals are," a goal which the separate, Abramson-controlled board will help facilitate. Experts agreed that a separate board is "not unusual" with donations of this size. Such a setup "allows for significant donor involvement," Shapiro said. Had the money been given directly to the Cancer Center -- even with stipulations regarding use of the funds -- any "difference of opinion" about allocating the funds could have resulted in a lawsuit, Shapiro said. Such litigation may arise when individuals give direct donations because "it's not clear that [they] continue to maintain control over it." Glick added that 80 percent to 90 percent of funding will be targeted for research. The remaining funds will be used for "more social workers and counselors" as part of a pilot program that will eventually be expanded to all patients at the Cancer Center. The Abramsons were unavailable for comment.
(12/05/97 10:00am)
Peacefulness, tranquility, harmony -- all words often used to describe graveyards. But all is not peaceful at Houston Hall, home to "graveyards," a semiannual round-the-clock studying frenzy that runs from December 10 to December 18. For the 10th year of graveyards, the Office of Student Life Activities and Facilities and the Student Planning and Events Committee plan to offer more services to students than ever before, including one they'd rather not have to -- free coffee. In past years, OSL officials have worked with the food shops in Houston Hall Mall, encouraging them to keep extended hours and offer students free coffee and other giveaways. But this year, "We're having a very hard time getting any of them to stay open," said Tom Hauber, OSL's associate director for facilities. The late hours, according to managers at all the mall's food shops, have never been profitable. And with Houston Hall closing in May for Perelman Quad renovations -- with the future of the current stores up in the air -- some merchants are hardly in a cooperative spirit. "All the years that we did the 24 hours, we did it as a convenience for the kids?. We operated for a deficit," said one store manager who asked to remain anonymous. "[The University] doesn't care about us, so why should we care about them," he said. Dick Root, owner of Auntie Anne's Pretzels, agreed that graveyards are a perennial money loser. "[The University] told us it was a big deal," he recalled. "We want to do the right thing, but it just makes it kind of rough on us." Auntie Anne's is one of several stores that will not be extending its hours this year. But the disenchantment runs highest at Muffins & More, which is traditionally open all 24 hours for graveyards, and doles out free cups of coffee from midnight until dawn. That custom will end this year because, said the store's manager, you can't "ask people to stay 24 hours when you're going to throw them out in May." Hauber said OSL will take over the responsibility for offering coffee. He conceded, "I don't blame them as businesspeople" for closing, but he added that there is more to operating a business in the mall than pure profit. "By virtue of them being here, they have an obligation to the community," said Hauber, adding that each store's contract includes a clause requiring them to adjust their hours "to cooperate with programs and services." While Hauber insisted that the University will not force vendors to stay open, one vendor said "you have to follow their orders? if they say stay longer, you do." As a result, said the vendor, who requested anonymity, the store would again be keeping longer hours this year. But he was quick to add, "we don't mind?. We do it for the students." The closing of Houston Hall next year for renovations leaves the future of graveyards unclear. Z. Paul Reynolds, OSL's assistant manager for facilities and coordinator of graveyards, also noted that with more places like Chats open 24 hours during finals, the need for graveyards may not be what it once was. "The number [of students attending] keeps increasing, but the rate of increase is slowing down," he said. Whether or not graveyards are held next year will depend on how large a temporary space traditional student union services are given, Reynolds added. But Mark Smith, a Wharton and College sophomore, believes graveyards at Houston Hall to be unique. "It's really the only place quiet enough to study. I don't know where I'll go next fall," Smith said. For this year, however, it will be graveyards as usual, complete with midnight cookies, a holiday pianist and appearances by a cappella groups. And for those who want to study, rooms will be available and Academic Support Programs will be providing tutoring.
(12/03/97 10:00am)
College senior Matthew Mandelbaum and Professor Aron Katsenelinboigen co-edited a collection of student essays. The Spice Girls don't have much in common with the game of chess. Nevertheless, both are the subjects of essays in "An Aesthetic Approach: Predispositioning Applied," a collection of student essays edited by Operations and Information Management Professor Aron Katsenelinboigen and College senior Matthew Mandelbaum. The book, published this fall, brings together essays on a wide range of subjects written by students in Katsenelinboigen's class. All the essays use the Katsenelinboigen theory of decision making to explain their various areas of interest, Mandelbaum said. The method, termed an "aesthetic approach to decision making," is the focus of the General Honors course Katsenelinboigen is teaching this semester. Katsenelinboigen conceived the course while contemplating the similarities between decision-making in wide-ranging fields. "I said to myself 'There has to be something behind this'," he recalled. Mandelbaum said the method "allows you to organize the material and to analyze the problem" by considering "positional parameters." Katsenelinboigen explained that these parameters are the subjective, nonrational factors which impact decisions. In any situation where the result will vary based on who makes a decision, subjectivity is a factor that should be considered, he explained. By making students conscious of this subjective element, Katsenelinboigen hopes they will make better decisions in situations where no formula provides an answer. To further this goal, Katsenelinboigen -- who has been teaching his course for two decades -- introduced a literature component three years ago. He noted that reading literature helps students gain appreciation for subjective decision-making while learning how to prioritize the factors in such decisions. Katsenelinboigen said the range of applications for his method encompasses any situation where there is no clear set of actions to achieve a given goal. Mandelbaum said he became a believer in Katsenelinboigen's theory after taking his course. He decided to follow up with an independent study course supervised by Katsenelinboigen. That course led to a research grant last summer, which allowed Mandelbaum to gather and edit the pieces included in the collection. The book is only the first step in what the two hope will become an ongoing research opportunity for interested students. They are currently seeking funding for expanded undergraduate involvement. Katsenelinboigen said the ultimate goal is to give people in all fields "a license for subjectivity" in their formulation of decisions. Because it is not always possible to be objective, he added that people must learn to deal with subjectivity rather than ignoring it.
(11/24/97 10:00am)
Between space issues arising from next year's renovation of Houston Hall and funding problems caused by allegations of redundancy, community service groups at the University are riding rough waters. So the various organizations have responded in a time-tested fashion -- they have turned to each other. The result, the Penn Volunteer Network, is an umbrella organization for community service groups on campus. The goal of the network, according to Kite and Key President and PVN representative Marie Sedran, is to "get our groups together to communicate with each other." The network has been around for many years, but the creation of the Program for Student-Community Involvement about a decade ago made its original role largely unnecessary. "People didn't really know about PVN," Sedran said. That changed two years ago with the announcement of renovations to Houston Hall as part of the Perelman Quad project. Groups such as Kite and Key suddenly had to confront problems associated with "losing their office space. Kite and Key decided that "we need a student network that will be able to discuss what student [groups] need," Sedran said. And so, PVN was revitalized, becoming a "voice of the unified Penn [service] community" on issues like funding and office space, PVN Chairperson Jessica Polansky said. The body modeled itself after the Performing Arts Council, which represents the University's performing arts groups. Sedran noted that "[PAC] is always voting as a bloc" on SAC issues, a unity of purpose that PVN has tried to foster among its 33 member groups. Among the issues of concern to PVN is group funding. The issue came to the forefront earlier this year when the Student Activities Council considered cutting Circle K's funding, alleging that it served the same purpose as Kite and Key. But PVN's main focus remains the shortage of space for member organizations. One aim of the network's weekly sessions has been the drive to create a "Community Service Hub" on campus. Still in the discussion stages, the hub would be "a place to really unify all of the groups," providing activities space and other resources, according to Polansky, a Wharton and College junior. Polansky is quick to point out that PVN's purpose is more than political. "We'd like to have one or two really strong, unified events? interacting with each other and doing some sort of service activity," she said. Last Saturday, PVN members turned out for the first such activity, helping Baltimore in Bloom, a local community organization, with gardening and clean-up in Philadelphia's Clark Park area. And a workshop entitled "What Every Volunteer Should Know," held at the Castle in conjunction with Empty the Shelters this weekend, attracted more than 30 network members. Currently unfunded and relatively informal, the network has no intention of supplanting the efforts of individual groups, Polansky said. Still, PVN continues to make itself useful to member organizations. Future plans include making information on service options more accessible to students. Ideally, students could "look at just one flyer and see what all the groups do," Sedran said.
(11/21/97 10:00am)
Displaying intriguing pictures of unusual Martian formations, one enthusiast speculated last night that artificial structures exist on Mars. In presenting his controversial theory, Mark Carlotto, a researcher who counts astronomy as a hobby, described a series of structures on Mars that he said are not natural. In his speech before 60 people at Meyerson Hall, Carlotto said the odds of the structures being natural are slim and added that these objects, grouped together in a 400 square kilometer range, may be the first evidence that earthlings are not alone. The most prominent feature of the cluster is a mile-long formation called "Face on Mars," which appears in photographs taken during the Voyager missions. While NASA has dismissed the face as "an optical illusion," Carlotto questions such reasoning. He and a group of friends conducted a series of 14 tests, all of which indicated that the structures are artificial. While none of the tests is independently convincing, Carlotto said, taken together they "really make a striking case for it." But he was quick to add, "If I was trying to prove these things, I wouldn't be a scientist, I'd be a charlatan." Carlotto added, "We should get better data, we should take the next step." That step would be to take high resolution pictures of the formations from the Mars Global Surveyor, currently in orbit around the Red Planet. But NASA claims the site is of no scientific interest and it has no plans to take pictures of it, Carlotto said. Noting that the satellite would have ample opportunity to take the pictures, he added, "It would be a damn shame if we didn't take advantage of it." Not everyone in attendance was so certain that NASA's reluctance is innocent. "I think NASA already has the pictures and they don't want to give [Carlotto] the credibility," Engineering junior Vesal Dini said. Other audience members remained skeptical of Carlotto's theories but agreed that more pictures should be taken. "Why not? They have nothing to lose," Engineering junior Jeremy Cohen said. One cynic, a Geology professor, challenged Carlotto during the question-and-answer period. "We make a serious mistake if we assume that we understand the geological formations possible in our universe," he said. Carlotto shot back, "Prior belief and context has a way of coloring the whole matter and we need to suspend that a bit? and be open to anomaly." While Carlotto refused to speculate on the formation's origins, Peter Scherer, a Bioengineering professor who organized the talk, said, "There is no more important scientific question at this time" than whether life has existed on Mars. Responding to criticism of the lecture's topic, Scherer acknowledged, "It's obviously not your average Bioengineering seminar," but maintained that Carlotto lives up to the "highest scientific standards." Not everyone agreed, however. One audience member said, "There were obvious flaws in logic. I don't think such a talk should be held at Penn or anywhere else on Earth."
