Search Results
Below are your search results. You can also try a Basic Search.
(04/17/00 9:00am)
Charleston Thompson paraded in front of the Kappa Sigma fraternity house Thursday in full Hugh Hefner attire -- silk robe, pipe and leopard-print slippers. Soon after, Thompson pulled off the robe to reveal a hot-pink Speedo. But the demonstration was for a good cause -- the College sophomore was participating in the third annual Kappa Sigma fraternity date auction. Hundreds of people crowded the lawn of the house and spilled out onto Locust Walk to watch 14 men and 15 women get auctioned off to the highest bidders. And both the dates and the bidders said the experience was well worth it. "He's worth every penny," said College freshman Yngrid Gonzalez, who paid $80 for a date with Thompson and a gift certificate to Johnny Valentines'. "He's that hot." Bidders were required to pay an entry fee of $1, plus whatever amount of money they bid. The date auction brought in about $3,500, with the highest bid being $350. All proceeds went to the American Red Cross. "I came to help out charity but, more importantly, to bid on some beautiful ladies," College freshman Mike Mittelman said. The auctionees came out of the Kappa Sig house one at a time, strutting their stuff and dancing to the blasting music. Among the men auctioned off were College senior and Quakers basketball star Michael Jordan ($95) and Queer Student Alliance president and Engineering junior Kurt Klinger ($60). And the women who came out for the auction included Check One president and College sophomore Desiree Strickland ($290) and Kappa Alpha Theta president Sonali Chakravorti ($90). "Everyone told me you have to get really crazy, but I didn't want to so I just dressed up," said Chakravorti, a Wharton junior, who was wearing rabbit ears and a furry collar. "Now nobody's dressed up and I feel stupid." But the crowd's response to Chakravorti was very positive. "It's for charity, it's fun, even though I already have a tuxedo -- and Sonali's a cool girl," said Wharton junior Mark Hodgson, who paid $90 for a date with Chakravorti and a free tuxedo rental. The major prizes this year included dinner with College senior Leah Bills at Brasserie Perrier ($150) and dinner for 10 at Marrakesh with College senior Uttara Patel ($350). And Wharton senior Ryan Robinson, who came out with a red rose in his teeth, fetched $100. "It's a really good cause," said College sophomore Mary Ferrer, who "won" her best friend Robinson. "The American Red Cross is an exceptional charity."
(04/13/00 9:00am)
Members of the Penn Greek system took some time out on Tuesday to honor their accomplishments and reflect on the past year. For some, it was a particularly moving night. "This was the most challenging and rewarding experience I've had in college," said former InterFraternity Council President Mark Metzl, a Tau Epsilon Phi brother and College senior. Metzl, who accepted an award for his work as the IFC head, had to pause several times to wipe tears from his eyes. Over 100 Penn Greeks from the IFC, the Panhellenic Council and the Bicultural InterGreek Council gathered in the Penn Tower Hotel for the annual Greek Awards banquet on Tuesday night. The evening's biggest winner was the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which won five awards, including the Alexander Award for overall excellence in a BIG-C chapter. "I'm proud," said Alpha Phi Alpha President Richard Adzei, a College senior. "We worked really hard to serve the entire Penn and West Philadelphia community -- and being a senior, it's great to leave on top." Phi Kappa Psi won the IFC award for overall excellence, the Crawford C. Madeira Cup. Phi Psi also took home three other awards. And the Alpha Phi sorority received the Helen S. Berkowitz award for overall excellence in a Panhel chapter, along with two other awards. "It was really nice to see everyone in our house get recognized, because every member of the house does something to contribute," said Phi Psi President Zac Costello, a Daily Pennsylvanian sports writer. The award winners were determined by the alumni council and student representatives from the three Greek umbrella groups. The awards for most improved chapters went to the Phi Sigma Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta sororities, while the awards for special accomplishments were received by Alpha Phi Alpha and Delta Delta Delta. Alpha won the award for encouraging its members to become involved in the fraternity's national board, while Tri-Delt's award was for the sorority's philanthropic projects. Other big winners were the Delta Upsilon fraternity and the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. The former presidents of each of the three umbrella groups -- Metzl, College senior Becca Iverson for Panhel and Wharton senior Ramon Marmolejos for the BIG-C -- were also honored at the ceremony. In addition, the Greeks honored Provost Robert Barchi for his work during the past year with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and with Greek chapters. "We don't see [the Greek system] as Dartmouth sees this," Barchi said in his acceptance speech. "We don't see this system as something that's contrary to the mission of this University. It's something that we have to move forward with."
(04/12/00 9:00am)
The Wildcats, a female a cappella group, complained about their treatment at the Penn Six show. The final song of the Princeton Wildcats' set during last Thursday's Pennsylvania Six-5000 show was Aretha Franklin's "Respect," but the visiting all-female a cappella group felt they were treated with anything but. The Wildcats e-mailed University President Judith Rodin a letter of complaint yesterday about Penn Six's conduct at the Irvine Auditorium show, entitled "Busted Interface." In the letter, the Wildcats expressed their anger over what they perceived as offensive actions by members of Penn Six and Penn Six fans. "We felt in retrospect that we had been invited specifically to be made fun of," the Wildcats wrote. The Princeton group's chief complaint, according to Wildcats President Jessica Williams, was that several men streaked across the stage during the Wildcats' set and allegedly touched some of the women. In the letter, the Wildcats wrote, "Members of a fraternity with ties to the Penn Six-5000 and likely with the knowledge of the singing group ran naked across the stage during one of our songs. There was unwanted physical contact made between these men and two of our members." But according to Penn Six Business Director and Engineering junior Jake Peters, the group had no prior knowledge of the incident. "We had no idea that was going to happen," Peters said. "We were backstage, we heard the noise and we came, but we missed it." The Wildcats were also upset about several other incidents that occurred at the show -- their names in the show's program were listed as suggestive names such as "Heywood Jablomi" and "Mike Hunt," Penn Six alumni were allegedly loud and disrespectful during the Wildcats' performance and members of Penn Six came onstage in costume during the Wildcats' last song. Williams said that many of the incidents taken alone would not have bothered the group, but that the "combination of everything created a situation that made us feel uncomfortable." Penn Six Musical Director Andrew Tam, a Wharton sophomore, said that antics such as the made-up program were meant to be funny. "The names were completely farcical," he said. "In addition, they introduced themselves as those names." Peters added that Penn Six's alumni denied saying anything derogatory to the Wildcats. Penn Six also received mixed reviews for an appearance at Princeton on March 25, with Princeton a cappella group the Roaring 20. According to Williams, Penn Six's antics at that performance should have clued them in. Adam Friedlander, president of the Roaring 20, said that "the general a cappella community here is really pissed off." Friedlander also said that when Penn Six performed at Princeton, the members did some things the Roaring 20 felt were not "quite appropriate for the 11-year-old cousins in the audience," including using profanity and making jokes about masturbation. Peters said the response Penn Six received from the audience at the Roaring 20 show was "one of the most warm and welcome receptions from a road show. We didn't hear one negative thing about that show."
(04/11/00 9:00am)
When T.J. Leyden was in the Marine Corps, he had a two-inch high Nazi "SS" tattoo on his neck, a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf by his bed and a swastika poster in his locker. Leyden, who has since renounced white supremacy and is now a leader in the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Task Force Against Hate, spoke before an audience of about 150 people in Logan Hall last night about his 15 years as a neo-Nazi. The talk, held in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, was co-sponsored by the Holocaust Education Committee and several other organizations, including the InterFraternity Council, the German Department and Connaissance. "The story I tell you is one I'm not proud of having to tell you," Leyden said to open the talk. Leyden began by speaking about his entrance into the neo-Nazi skinhead movement via the punk rock scene of the late 1970s. Since his southern California neighborhood was predominantly white, Leyden and his fellow skinheads focused their aggression mainly on other local whites. "Getting a black, Hispanic or Asian was like a bonus," he said. "They would not make it out of my neighborhood without being beaten up." After graduating from high school, Leyden joined the Marine Corps, which he said "made [him] a better racist" by teaching him organizational and recruitment skills. For instance, at the Enlisted Men's Club, he would write racist statements like "Kill whitey" on the bathroom walls and try to get the white Marines to accuse the black Marines of having written the slur, fostering racial tension and hatred. Interestingly, Leyden spoke about working with other Marines involved in the Black Power movement, who would write phrases like "Lynch the nigger" to get a similar reaction from blacks. "If we could get the whole bar [fighting], that's what we were shooting for -- and some nights we did," Leyden said. Leyden then showed slides of tools -- such as "White Power" comic books and CDs -- that he used to recruit young teenagers into the movement. He explained that children just entering puberty were the easiest targets, because they are very concerned about "fitting in." Leyden also discussed his departure, both physically and ideologically, from the neo-Nazi skinhead group. He spoke briefly of his mother, who contracted polio at a young age and was subsequently treated by Jonas Salk's vaccine. "I may literally owe my life to a Jewish doctor," he said. "Ain't that a hoot?" Another wake-up call for Leyden came when he was watching television with his children, and his 3-year-old son turned the TV off and said, "You know better than that, Daddy. We don't watch shows with niggers on them in this house." At first, Leyden was proud that his son had learned so well, but then he began to think of the boy's future. "I had buried six friends in 15 years, and I had the ultimate sensation of fear that my boys would end up like that," he said. After Leyden left the movement, he became affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center and now speaks all over the country about racism. He has been the target of several assassination attempts by members of the white supremacy movement who now call him "a traitor to his race." College sophomore Shana Coplowitz, the co-chairwoman of the Holocaust Education Committee, said she was pleased with the speech. "It went off really well," Coplowitz said. "I was impressed that so many people took time off on a busy Monday night to come hear this, and I learned a lot about neo-Nazi white supremacy."
(04/11/00 9:00am)
With Madonna and Marvin Gaye blaring from the speakers and colored lights flashing, hundreds of Greeks danced the night away for charity Saturday at the Christian Association building. The Panhellenic Council, the InterFraternity Council and the Bicultural InterGreek Council co-sponsored the four-hour long Dance for a Cure, which raised $3,200 for the Rena Rowan Breast Health Center, Panhel's official philanthropic cause. Dance for a Cure was the centerpiece of Greek Weekend, a four-day series of events, showcasing fraternity and sorority life on campus. "It's great to be holding fun, non-alcoholic events and also be raising money for charity," said Panhel Executive Vice President and Phi Sigma Sigma sister Dayna Platt. IFC Executive Vice President John Buchanan agreed, citing Greek Weekend's traditional "social freeze" -- meaning that fraternities and sororities are not allowed to hold events where alcohol is served. "We want to encourage Greek houses to participate in Greek weekend events," said Buchanan, a College junior and Phi Kappa Psi brother. Juice and bagels for the dance were donated by Nantucket Nectars and Izzy and Zoe's, and Allegro's allowed the Greeks to purchase pizza at a 20 percent discount. Several area restaurants and bars also co-sponsored the event. Although the event was co-sponsored by all three Greek umbrella groups on campus, the several hundred students in attendance Saturday night were predominantly female. IFC President and Alpha Chi Rho brother Andrew Mandelbaum, a College junior, explained that although the IFC encouraged their members to attend, it did not require it. But the Greeks who did attend were very positive about the event. "Breast cancer's a great cause," said College junior Jen Maurer, a Phi Sig sister. "Since I'm in a sorority at Penn, this is a great way to support Panhel, especially since breast cancer has affected my family within the last year." The Rena Rowan Breast Health Center -- a division of the Penn Health System's Cancer Center -- is scheduled to open this fall. Panhel plans to raise more money for the center by making last fall's 5K Pumpkin Chase run an annual event. Other Greek Weekend events included a coffeehouse at the Alpha Epsilon Pi house -- which raised $872 for the Breast Health Center -- a street clean-up project in conjunction with UC Green and a field day for children in the PennPals mentoring program.
(04/10/00 9:00am)
Alcohol monitors will be required to live in all IFC houses over Spring Fling. [NOTE: This article appeared in the annual joke issue.] Fraternity Spring Fling parties will be a lot tamer this year, according to Alcohol Coordinator Stephanie Ives. Ives announced yesterday that all 31 fraternities in the InterFraternity Council will have to house a live-in monitor for the duration of the Fling weekend to help prevent alcohol-related illnesses. She said that past attempts to curb alcohol abuse during Fling have failed because the administration has not done enough to regulate drinking among the Greeks. "We think fraternities need a little more supervision during this weekend," Ives said, adding that "hopefully it will benefit the entire University community." IFC President Andrew Mandelbaum, an Alpha Chi Rho brother, expressed concern over Ives' proposal. "It shows the University doesn't really trust us," the College junior said. "They're singling out the IFC." Mandelbaum also pointed out that, as Spring Fling is a mere four days away, it will be nearly impossible to find and hire monitors for all 31 IFC fraternities. But Ives has a solution for that problem as well, which would not require the University to hire any additional personnel -- relocating housekeeping staff to the fraternity houses for the weekend. "This will provide an opportunity for students to really get to know the people who work behind the scenes at Penn," Vice President for Facilities Services Omar Blaik said. "It's a very unique opportunity for all involved." University President Judith Rodin said yesterday she supports the decision, calling Ives' plan "resourceful" and "ingenious." "This may be just what we've been looking for," Rodin said yesterday. "We don't need to drive fraternities off campus, we just need to bring in a healthy dose of adult involvement." "Who cares anyhow," College senior and Daily Pennsylvanian columnist Andrew Exum said. "No monitor can separate me from my bottle of Wild Turkey, even if I have to climb a mountain to escape them. Giddyup!" Penn Students Against Monitors said they were shocked by the announcement and will hold an unsupervised rally at an undisclosed fraternity house tomorrow.
(04/06/00 9:00am)
Penn Greeks will speak out against sexual abuse, help fund a breast cancer research center and promote Holocaust awareness -- all in a single weekend. Greek Weekend -- an annual tradition for the InterFraternity Council, the Panhellenic Council and the Bicultural InterGreek Council -- will include philanthropic projects, social events and a guest speaker for Holocaust Remembrance Day. This is Penn's second Greek Weekend. The event started in 1998, but was canceled last year after the death of Phi Gamma Delta alumnus Michael Tobin. "[Greek Weekend] is an opportunity to do something good for the community and at the same time have a really good time," said IFC President and Alpha Chi Rho brother Andrew Mandelbaum, a College junior. And according to IFC Executive Vice President John Buchanan, a Phi Kappa Psi brother, Greek Weekend is intended to showcase the strengths of the Penn Greek system. "We aim to expose the rest of the campus to all the different things that the Greek community does at Penn," said Buchanan, a College junior. To mark the beginning of the weekend, Greeks will be participating in the annual Take Back the Night rally, which protests violence against women, particularly sexual abuse. The rally is sponsored by Penn women's groups, and Panhel is co-sponsoring it this year for the first time. "Being the largest women's organization on campus, it's important that we stand up with [other women]," said Panhel President Jennifer Chanowitz, a College junior and Sigma Delta Tau sister. "We want to give the events our numbers and make them feel strong and powerful." On Saturday, the Greeks will take to the streets -- along with Penn's UC Green organization -- to pick up garbage and plant flowers in University City. The effort is part of an Ivy League-wide community service program called IvyCorps. "We'll be? trying to make the neighborhood more beautiful and more presentable," Chanowitz said. The weekend's main attraction is Saturday night's Dance for a Cure -- sponsored by the IFC, Panhel and the BIG-C -- in which participants must collect $20 in sponsor money in order to attend. The money will go toward the construction of the Rena Rowan Breast Health Center, Panhel's official philanthropic cause. Greek Weekend's final event will be an IFC-sponsored program for Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday. At the program, a former skinhead, who is also a former member of the White Power movement will speak about racism and anti-Semitism. Other events include a Junior Panhel Powder Puff football game, a Greek Shabbat dinner, a Greek coffeehouse and an IFC-sponsored field day for the children in the PennPals mentoring program.
(04/06/00 9:00am)
Penn Greeks will speak out against sexual abuse, help fund a breast cancer research center and promote Holocaust awareness -- all in a single weekend. Greek Weekend -- an annual tradition for the InterFraternity Council, the Panhellenic Council and the Bicultural InterGreek Council -- will include philanthropic projects, social events and a guest speaker for Holocaust Remembrance Day. This is Penn's second Greek Weekend. The event started in 1998, but was canceled last year after the death of Phi Gamma Delta alumnus Michael Tobin. "[Greek Weekend] is an opportunity to do something good for the community and at the same time have a really good time," said IFC President and Alpha Chi Rho brother Andrew Mandelbaum, a College junior. And according to IFC Executive Vice President John Buchanan, a Phi Kappa Psi brother, Greek Weekend is intended to showcase the strengths of the Penn Greek system. "We aim to expose the rest of the campus to all the different things that the Greek community does at Penn," said Buchanan, a College junior. To mark the beginning of the weekend, Greeks will be participating in the annual Take Back the Night rally, which protests violence against women, particularly sexual abuse. The rally is sponsored by Penn women's groups, and Panhel is co-sponsoring it this year for the first time. "Being the largest women's organization on campus, it's important that we stand up with [other women]," said Panhel President Jennifer Chanowitz, a College junior and Sigma Delta Tau sister. "We want to give the events our numbers and make them feel strong and powerful." On Saturday, the Greeks will take to the streets -- along with Penn's UC Green organization -- to pick up garbage and plant flowers in University City. The effort is part of an Ivy League-wide community service program called IvyCorps. "We'll be? trying to make the neighborhood more beautiful and more presentable," Chanowitz said. The weekend's main attraction is Saturday night's Dance for a Cure -- sponsored by the IFC, Panhel and the BIG-C -- in which participants must collect $20 in sponsor money in order to attend. The money will go toward the construction of the Rena Rowan Breast Health Center, Panhel's official philanthropic cause. Greek Weekend's final event will be an IFC-sponsored program for Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday. At the program, a former skinhead, who is also a former member of the White Power movement will speak about racism and anti-Semitism. Other events include a Junior Panhel Powder Puff football game, a Greek Shabbat dinner, a Greek coffeehouse and an IFC-sponsored field day for the children in the PennPals mentoring program.
(04/06/00 9:00am)
About 50 students gathered on Tuesday night to share stories about how alcohol abuse has affected their lives and brainstorm for ways that Penn can address the problem as part of the National Issues Forum program. The forum -- sponsored by the Sigma Chi fraternity, the Drug and Alcohol Resource Team and the Office of Health Education -- marked the first time that Penn participated in any national public forum program. The National Issues Forum program runs discussions on complex issues, like substance abuse or death, among students on 13 campuses, including Penn, across the country. "This is not going to be your typical unstructured conversation, nor is it going to be a debate," said Harris Sokoloff, Penn's director of the Center for School Study Councils at the Graduate School of Education, who introduced the program. "The aim is not to reach a decision, but to move closer to reaching a decision." Sokoloff then showed a video produced by the National Issues Forum explaining three different approaches to dealing with alcohol abuse. The first method was to demand individual responsibility by enforcing and tightening existing alcohol laws, the second was to treat alcohol abuse as an illness and the third was to promote social change through education. The students were divided into three groups, each led by five trained student facilitators. The groups discussed their feelings toward the three possible ways to address alcohol abuse. The discussion within each group was recorded and the results will be presented to Penn's Working Group on Alcohol Abuse. Although most of the participants were Sigma Chi brothers, the facilitators came from such diverse campus groups as Navy ROTC, the Queer Student Alliance and the Athletic Department. Participants' reactions to the forum were generally positive. "It definitely wasn't a waste of time," College freshman Dina Parise said. "I know more now than when I came in. I think more can be done, but I think it was definitely informative and educational." Many other participants also expressed a desire for more action to be taken to combat abusive drinking behavior, saying that a voluntary discussion forum was not sufficient. But Drug and Alcohol Resource Team President Molly MacDonald said it is difficult to get students involved in programs like the forum. "This is a self-motivated kind of thing," the Nursing junior said. "You can't mandate this." MacDonald said, however, that DART is currently working toward including a more comprehensive alcohol education session in the New Student Orientation program.
(04/03/00 9:00am)
Nationwide, fraternities are looking to de-emphasize the role alcohol plays in Greek life. There's more to fraternities than alcohol, and four fraternity chapters at Penn are putting down their beer bottles to prove it. The fraternities -- Delta Upsilon, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Sigma and Sigma Nu -- will all become alcohol-free beginning July 1, in accordance with policies mandated by their national organizations. And they are not alone. The move toward alcohol-free housing is part of a growing national trend aiming to reduce the role of alcohol in fraternity life. Seven other national fraternities -- which do not have chapters on Penn's campus -- will also go dry this summer. "Fraternities are about a lot more than alcohol and parties," said Interfraternity Council President Andrew Mandelbaum, an Alpha Chi Rho brother. "I don't think [this] will greatly affect the social scene." Also following the shift in Greek life, Penn's Panhellenic Council will no longer hold mixers in fraternity houses that are not dry, in accordance with a suggestion put forth by the National Panhellenic Council. While only five of Penn's eight sororities -- Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Alpha Theta and Pi Beta Phi -- were required by their nationals to follow NPC's suggestion, Panhel decided to adopt the resolution across the board. "We're trying to be proactive," Panhel President and Sigma Delta Tau sister Jennifer Chanowitz, a College junior, said. "We want to make it a fair playing field for all houses." Panhel sororities will still hold mixers with non-dry fraternities at third-party locations. Sigma Nu National Director of Insurance and Risk Reduction David Glassman said there are many advantages to having an alcohol-free fraternity house. For instance, Glassman believes that de-emphasizing the alcohol aspect of fraternities will help to boost their sagging memberships by portraying fraternity membership as an asset rather than a liability. "The question now is, can students afford something they perceive will detract from their ability to compete?" Glassman asked. "They need something they can sell to a graduate school or future employer." Tom Balzer, project coordinator for alcohol-free housing at Phi Delt's national organization, agreed. Balzer pointed out that the Phi Delt houses that are already dry have experienced larger pledge class numbers. Glassman also said banning alcohol from chapter houses may help to reduce insurance costs. Fraternity members, he explained, typically pay between $70 and $120 each per year -- while sorority members, whose houses are alcohol-free, pay only about $20. According to Balzer, Phi Delt's decision to go dry reflected a desire to return to the fraternity's founding principles. "The question was, could our founders sit in any one of our chapter houses and be pleased at what they saw?" Balzer said. "And the answer, in many cases, was no. Our No. 1 problem is about the misuse and abuse of alcohol." "We don't want to be the entertainment center on campus," added Bob Miller, the national executive vice president of Phi Kap. "Besides, you have a better time when your feet don't stick to the floor," Miller said. Balzer said Phi Delt has a "zero tolerance" policy for blatant violations -- four alcohol-free chapter houses have already been shut down for major alcohol infractions. "If there were keg parties or minors drinking, we have closed the chapter down without question," he said. "But if a chapter member walks in with a case of beer and drinks it alone in his room, there will be no punishment on the entire chapter." Penn Greeks said they were positive about the changes. "It's a good idea for the houses to go dry," said Sigma Nu IFC Representative Erik Franks, a Wharton junior. "It's an attractive living option for those people worried about alcohol in the chapter house. It also puts more of a focus on brotherhood, on becoming good friends with a bunch of guys."
(03/31/00 10:00am)
Wharton dropped one spot to No. 3, but other Penn schools stayed the same or moved up. The annual U.S. News and World Report rankings of the best graduate schools in the nation moved four of Penn's schools into higher positions this year, but dropped the Wharton School to the No. 3 business school in the country. The Wharton graduate program slipped from second to third on the list, following Harvard and Stanford universities. Ten of Wharton's 11 specialties were ranked in the top 10, with the Finance Department occupying the No. 1 spot. Bruce Allen, vice dean and director of the Wharton graduate division, said he was not concerned by the slight drop. "If you look at the top five schools, they're all within one point of each other," Allen said. "And historically, we're in the top three or top five of anyone's rankings." The rest of Penn's graduate schools either remained the same or moved higher in the ratings. The Graduate School of Education jumped to the No. 11 spot -- up from No. 20 last year but down from No. 10 two years ago -- and the School of Social Work climbed to No. 11, seven spots higher than when ranked for that category were last done in 1997. And the School of Veterinary Medicine moved from third to second, a position it shares with Colorado State University. Cornell University was named the top vet school in the country. The Law School stayed at No. 12, with Yale, Stanford and Harvard filling the top three slots. The Medical School remained at No. 3, and six of its eight specialties were ranked in the top 10. Pediatrics came in second, Women's Health third and Drug and Alcohol Abuse was ranked fifth. And the Nursing School was tied with the University of California at San Francisco for second, coming after the University of Washington. The Engineering School ranked 33rd on the list, up from No. 35 last year. University President Judith Rodin praised the various schools in a written statement issued yesterday. "While the U.S. News and other rankings should not be taken overly seriously," she said, "the editors of the magazine have affirmed once more that our graduate and professional schools are among the finest in the nation." Officials from the various schools had mixed reactions to the rankings. Medical School Deputy Dean Arthur Asbury said he was pleased with the school's rank, but that he considers such rankings "relatively artificial," pointing out that schools that are ranked high tend to put more faith in the rankings than lower scoring schools do. And Law School Dean Michael Fitts also challenged the validity of the rankings. "I think we're much better than No. 12," he said. "Penn has a great law school. The rankings change from year to year and [prospective students] shouldn't focus on any one year." Nancy Streim, associate dean of the Graduate School of Education, attributed the school's jump to Penn's increased attention to educational policy, school evaluation and school reform. But Streim also expressed skepticism as to the validity of the rankings, considering the school's drop from No. 10 in 1998 to No. 20 in 1999. "Any kind of rankings that can produce such wild swings has to raise questions over what is being evaluated," she said. According to Education Dean Susan Fuhrman, the fluctuations are due to a change in the magazine's methodology concerning education school rankings. U.S. News and World Report also ranked individual doctoral programs. In the sciences, Penn ranked 23rd in the biological sciences, 20th in chemistry, 25th in computer science, 21st in mathematics and 18th in physics. In the social sciences and humanities, Penn scored ninth in Economics and Psychology, 11th in English and 12th in History and Sociology. Penn was also ranked ninth in Architecture. University spokesman Ken Wildes said the rankings should not be given too much weight. "You can't ever take them too seriously," Wildes said, explaining that the magazine ranks schools without considering their size or whether they are public or private institutions. "It's like trying to compare apples and oranges," he said. "You have to take [the rankings] with a grain of salt."
(03/30/00 10:00am)
Fewer students than hoped have come to focus group sessions on Penn's future. The Penn Public Talk Project kicked off the PennTalks initiative this week, bringing together small groups of undergraduates to discuss their experiences at Penn and their hopes for the University's future. But so far the effort -- which will culminate in a report to University President Judith Rodin on the various student opinions expressed -- has gotten off to a slow start, as it seems fewer students than expected are interested in talking about Penn. Associate Director of Penn Public Talks Bill Boltz said that there were originally 30 discussion sessions scheduled for the next two weeks -- but as of now, only 15 will run. He attributed the apparent lack of student interest to the fact that PennTalks was held so soon after spring break. "So much is going on," Boltz said. "People are getting back at different times. The sessions next week will be more full than this week's." At the project's inception, Boltz planned to have about 10 students per session; however, many have only three or four. But Boltz said that the smaller number of students will still result in "good and productive conversations." Boltz said PennTalks is intended to let administrators know what students think about Penn, as well as to strengthen the University community. College sophomore Ari Alexander, the Penn Public Talks Project student liaison, expressed hope that PennTalks will help to "break down the hierarchy" of the University so that administrators will be able to hear students' opinions more easily. As part of the program, Penn hired the Connecticut-based Study Circles Resource Center to train 31 student facilitators in how to get their fellow students to discuss the issues that are important to them. All the discussions are run solely by students. Participants remain enthusiastic about the effort. "It went really well," said College sophomore Jamie Beller, who attended one of last night's sessions. "It was productive. We brought up a lot of pertinent issues and we got to hear different views from different people." Facilitator Iman Martin said that she got involved in the project partly because, as a member of the United Minorities Council, she wanted to bring many different kinds of students together. "It's a chance for Penn students to come together and talk about what Penn is really about," the College freshman said. Facilitator Amy Rosen, an Engineering sophomore, stressed the importance of students feeling that they can really express themselves. "For the first time, [Penn has created] an unrestrained conversation, with no adult figure or authority figure present," Rosen said. If the PennTalks program is successful, those involved hope to expand the project to include dialogues between faculty members, graduate students and members of the University City community.
(03/29/00 10:00am)
More than a dozen colorful banners lined the Sigma Chi house yesterday, marking the start of the fraternity's Derby Days. Derby Days -- an annual philanthropic event run by Sigma Chi -- involves teams of Penn women competing in various games and contests to raise money for the Children's Crisis Treatment Center, a local charity that benefits abused children. This is the third year in a row that Sigma Chi has sponsored Derby Days, although the event has been a tradition among Sigma Chi chapters nationwide since the 1930s. This year, there are 30 teams and 285 women participating in the events, up from last year's 240. The contests will be held until Saturday and the winners will be announced Saturday at midnight. Although participation in Derby Days was traditionally limited to sorority sisters, when Sigma Chi revived the event in 1998, the brothers opened up the competition to all women on campus. "The events are not just for Greeks," Sigma Chi brother and Derby Days Chairman Dave Pitluck said. "We try to integrate the whole campus." The banner contest kicked off the week's events. The goal was for each team to be as creative as possible in designing a banner with its team name, while making the campus aware of the Children's Crisis Center. Outside of the Locust Walk house, one team painted on its team name, "Ole Derby Bastard," while another used graham crackers and marshmallows to spell out its name, "Smores." Derby Days will continue today with a skit contest, in which each team must dress up a Sigma Chi pledge and write a skit for him to perform. In past years, teams have dressed brothers as cheerleaders, ducks and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. "That's the event that really gets people into [Derby Days]," said Pitluck, a College junior. On Thursday, Sigma Chi will sponsor a concert by the Vermont-based band Dispatch and the fraternity will hold a casino party on Saturday. All proceeds will go to the treatment center. In 1994, the Panhellenic Council chose to boycott Derby Days on the grounds that the event was sexist. The women were upset that they seemed to be doing all the work while the fraternity brothers received recognition. But Pitluck, pointing to the fact that all of the brothers who were around in 1994 have graduated, said Derby Days is now a "completely different kind of event." This year, many sorority sisters are enthusiastic about participating in Derby Days. "It's fun for everyone and it's for a good cause," Wharton senior Stephanie Romeika said. "Plus, I'm in [Kappa Alpha] Theta, so it's an especially important cause for us to support because the money is being given on behalf of Emily Roberts." Roberts was a College junior and Theta sister who was killed in a car accident in July 1998.
(03/24/00 10:00am)
Despite anti-drinking ad campaigns and stricter school alcohol policies, binge drinking on college campuses is on the rise according to a recent Harvard University study. The Harvard School of Public Health study of 14,138 students at 119 schools, including Penn, showed that two in five college students binge drink. The study defined binge drinking as the consumption of five or more drinks in one sitting for men and four or more for women. It also showed that students today binge drink more frequently now than in prior years. But the number of students on each extreme of the drinking spectrum seems to be growing -- the study also reported an increase in the percentage of students who do not drink at all. Harvard also tabulated exact numbers for each school studied, but they have not released this data. Penn Alcohol Coordinator Stephanie Ives maintained that according to Penn's own research, the binge drinking rate on campus is lower. But she was optimistic about the Harvard survey, pointing out that the results show that the majority of college students -- 56 percent -- do not binge drink. Ives also questioned the accuracy of the study, asking if a 6'3" man drinking six drinks in six hours --which the Harvard study would classify as binge drinking -- was high risk behavior. "The body can process one drink per hour," Ives said. "[The study] doesn't say if a sitting is 10 minutes or three hours or five hours." And College junior Michael Bassik, a member of the Working Group on Alcohol Abuse and Undergraduate Assembly treasurer, suggested that a student's weight and tolerance should factor into the binge drinking equation. "I know people who can drink five drinks and be fine and I know people who can drink five drinks and be in the hospital," the College junior said. Ives said that before she could determine the accuracy of the study, she would need to know the demographics of the students studied -- their backgrounds, class years and whether they were involved in athletics or the Greek system. Ives was also unsure of how many students were surveyed at each school and questioned whether the researchers surveyed a set number or percentage at each school. And despite the implications of an increase in binge drinking at Penn and major attempts to limit alcohol abuse, Bassik said he was not very worried about the implications of the study. "Changing campus culture is not something that would happen overnight," he said. "Hopefully, four years down the road, we will begin to see a change. Those might be accurate numbers, but we're working hard to change those numbers." And WGAA member and former InterFraternity Council President Mark Metzl said that binge drinking is not only a problem on college campuses. "Alcohol abuse is a societal, not just a college issue," the College senior said.
(03/22/00 10:00am)
Contributing to a women's cause at Penn, the Panhellenic Council presented the Penn Cancer Center with a check for $1,150 Monday, which will go toward the Rena Rowan Breast Health Center, slated to open in the fall. Panhel raised the money for the Breast Health Center -- Panhel's official philanthropic effort -- through an event called Panhel at the Palestra. Sorority sisters sold tickets to the March 3 Penn basketball game and donated $2 from every ticket to the center. Panhel also held a tug of war between the sororities during halftime. At the check presentation, Panhel President Jennifer Chanowitz, a Sigma Delta Tau sister, talked about why Panhel chose to become involved with the Breast Health Center. "As the largest women's organization on Penn's campus, we wanted to choose a cause for which women could not only donate money but also their time," Chanowitz, a College junior, said. Cancer Center Executive Director Beverly Ginsburg praised Panhel's choice of a charitable cause, stressing the need for student involvement with the Cancer Center. "The more the center integrates with the University community, the more it can serve that community," she said. Ginsburg also talked about the impact that breast cancer has on the sufferer's family. "[The woman is] the one who carries the weight, the burden of the family," she said. "So she's facing breast cancer, but she still has to tend to her children and her husband and her aging mother." The new center -- which will be located on the 14th floor of the Penn Tower Hotel -- will provide oncologists, a cancer rehabilitation team, a plastic surgeon, a nutritionist and psychological counselors. There will also be a boutique selling wigs, scarves, prostheses and medical books and journals. The Breast Health Center is named for Rena Rowan, one of the owners of the fashion designing company Jones New York. Rowan is a breast cancer survivor who was treated at Penn's Cancer Center. According to Ginsburg, the money donated by Panhel will go toward the purchase of CD players and CDs to be placed next to each chemotherapy chair in the Breast Health Center. Panhel plans to continue its fundraising efforts with the Dance for a Cure dance-a-thon on April 8, which will be cosponsored by the InterFraternity Council and the Bicultural InterGreek Council. And in the fall, Panhel will hold its second annual Pumpkin Chase 5k run, donating all proceeds to the center.
(03/22/00 10:00am)
The number of registered fraternity parties has dropped dramatically since Michael Tobin's death last year. Just a few short years ago, Penn students could have their pick of at least three or four fraternity parties on any given Friday or Saturday night. Now, there are rarely more than a few fraternity parties in a weekend, much less in a single evening. Although the nature of Penn's Greek culture has been slowly evolving over the past few years, the alcohol-related death of 26-year-old Phi Gamma Delta alumnus Michael Tobin a year ago yesterday served as the catalyst for rapid changes to the Greek system. Tobin's death prompted a widespread evaluation of Penn's rules regarding drinking, resulting in a stricter alcohol policy that has changed the nature and frequency of fraternity parties on campus. Under the new rules, Greeks say large, blow-out parties are all but extinct due to the strict regulations. And many say that as the number of fraternity parties diminishes, the number of unregulated parties increases. Tobin was found dead during the early morning hours of March 21, 1999, following a FIJI alumni dinner. Four days later, University President Judith Rodin instituted a temporary ban on alcohol at all registered campus parties -- igniting campus-wide uproar, with students organizing a mass protest on College Green. During the five-week alcohol ban, Provost Robert Barchi led a committee of students, faculty and administrators that drafted recommendations for a new alcohol policy. While the policy applies to the entire campus, Greeks at the time voiced concerns that as the main organizers of on-campus parties they would be unfairly penalized for Tobin's death. InterFraternity Council leaders, who were a part of the Working Group on Alcohol Abuse, stressed throughout the process that fraternity parties were among the safer places for students to drink at Penn. Many expressed worries that under a new, stricter policy, parties would just be pushed to unsafe, off-campus locations. According to former IFC President Mark Metzl, a College senior, fraternity parties, "even in the old system, were the safest places to imbibe in the world." And former IFC Executive Vice President Andrew Exum, a College senior and Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, said students tend to drink more at private parties or in their dorm rooms than at fraternity parties. "From a practical standpoint, you run more of a risk binge drinking behind closed doors than fighting with 300 people for a beer at a crowded fraternity party," the Sigma Nu brother said. But those crowded fraternity parties have thinned out over the past semester as the new policy demands stricter carding rules and tighter enforcement. The new alcohol policy calls for a 1 a.m. serving deadline of alcohol at all undergraduate parties and a total ban on hard alcohol. The new policy also strengthened and expanded the existing monitoring system. Every registered party now has at least one of the University's approximately 30 trained monitors -- all of whom are Penn graduate students -- checking it during the course of the evening. Still, Alcohol Policy Coordinator Stephanie Ives stressed that the new policy was "very carefully worded," so as not to single out the Greeks as targets. But former Sigma Alpha Mu President Michael Kraver, who served on the WGAA, said that the correlation between the Greeks and alcohol could not be avoided. "The bottom line is, right or wrong, the Greeks are associated with the alcohol policy," said Kraver, now a first-year Penn Law student. Kraver did note, however, that the administration included Greek input as it reshaped the policy. Barchi said that the University does not want to get rid of the Greek system, explaining that the Tobin tragedy was only a sign of a larger campus-wide problem. "I think that Tobin's tragic death was just an indication of problems that were pervasive in the system as a whole," Barchi said. "It's not a question of suspending a fraternity -- it's a question of changing the culture." If the drinking culture has not changed, the Greek culture certainly has, with the numbers of on-campus parties down and the stringent rules, for the most part, being enforced. Wharton senior Martin Park, who was president of FIJI before the fraternity gave up its charter last spring, said he can see the changes on campus. Fraternities "don't want to have parties because they don't want to get in trouble," Park said. He also maintained that the new rules "don't let you have a fun party -- you can't have a real party." Many Greeks now say that drinking has been moved off campus to unmonitored locations, as they feared initially. As for the future of FIJI at Penn, the brothers agreed upon forfeiting their charter that the fraternity would not be allowed to recolonize until all current brothers had graduated. But Park believes that FIJI's national organization will try and bring the chapter back eventually, and that many men will be interested in joining. Park also emphasized that the death at FIJI was not the sole reason for the change in policy. "It was a whole string of events, not just what happened last year," he said. "People have to understand -- policies were changing from the day I got here four years ago." Ives agreed. "If you look at the national picture, at Greek life at campuses around the country, there are many similarities, although not all campuses have had a tragedy like we have," she said. And Metzl said he believes that the necessary reevaluation of the fraternity system has strengthened the Greeks and improved their prospects for the future. "We stand on much more solid ground than we did in February of last year," he said.
(03/06/00 10:00am)
Starting today, the Undergraduate Assembly is offering students the chance to tell University President Rodin exactly what they think of Penn. During this week and the week after spring break, the UA is sponsoring an online survey called UA Visions, intended to let administrators -- as well as the UA -- know what students are looking to take away from their Penn experience. "This will give us a good idea of what individual students want," said UA member Josh Klein, who is in charge of the Visions project. The survey will include questions in five categories --academics, social life, ethnic diversity, relations between Penn and West Philadelphia and expectations versus experience. Respondents will rate each aspect of campus life on a scale of one to 10, and they will also have the option to write in their own personal responses to the detailed questions. Students will be able to access the survey beginning today and lasting through the week after spring break. The survey Internet link will be e-mailed to class listservs and the UA will advertise it on campus and in The Daily Pennsylvanian. To encourage students to fill out the surveys, the UA will award gift certificates to local restaurants and online retailers to randomly selected students who participate. Klein said the UA will spend about $250 on several online certificates and they are also seeking out restaurants to donate gifts. The UA will take about a week to tabulate the results and will then compile the results of the survey into a book, which will be presented to Rodin, Provost Robert Barchi, Executive Vice President John Fry and the undergraduate deans. "[Rodin's] enthusiastic herself for the survey," Undergraduate Assembly Chairman Michael Silver said. The College senior said the UA would develop a summary of their major findings and they "definitely want to draw specific policy ideas" to give to Rodin. Visions is not the first online questionnaire sponsored by the UA -- the assembly conducted a survey on alcohol use earlier this year, to which about 2,400 students responded. According to Klein, a College sophomore, the UA is taking action to ensure that even more will fill out the Visions survey. Another initiative geared toward learning students' opinions was launched last week by the Penn National Commission. The newly created PennTalks will facilitate discussion between students on issues at Penn, offering the information to Rodin. But Silver said the two efforts will not conflict. "I don't see it as an adversarial thing at all," he said.
(03/06/00 10:00am)
Starting today, the Undergraduate Assembly is offering students the chance to tell University President Rodin exactly what they think of Penn. During this week and the week after spring break, the UA is sponsoring an online survey called UA Visions, intended to let administrators -- as well as the UA -- know what students are looking to take away from their Penn experience. "This will give us a good idea of what individual students want," said UA member Josh Klein, who is in charge of the Visions project. The survey will include questions in five categories --academics, social life, ethnic diversity, relations between Penn and West Philadelphia and expectations versus experience. Respondents will rate each aspect of campus life on a scale of one to 10, and they will also have the option to write in their own personal responses to the detailed questions. Students will be able to access the survey beginning today and lasting through the week after spring break. The survey Internet link will be e-mailed to class listservs and the UA will advertise it on campus and in The Daily Pennsylvanian. To encourage students to fill out the surveys, the UA will award gift certificates to local restaurants and online retailers to randomly selected students who participate. Klein said the UA will spend about $250 on several online certificates and they are also seeking out restaurants to donate gifts. The UA will take about a week to tabulate the results and will then compile the results of the survey into a book, which will be presented to Rodin, Provost Robert Barchi, Executive Vice President John Fry and the undergraduate deans. "[Rodin's] enthusiastic herself for the survey," Undergraduate Assembly Chairman Michael Silver said. The College senior said the UA would develop a summary of their major findings and they "definitely want to draw specific policy ideas" to give to Rodin. Visions is not the first online questionnaire sponsored by the UA -- the assembly conducted a survey on alcohol use earlier this year, to which about 2,400 students responded. According to Klein, a College sophomore, the UA is taking action to ensure that even more will fill out the Visions survey. Another initiative geared toward learning students' opinions was launched last week by the Penn National Commission. The newly created PennTalks will facilitate discussion between students on issues at Penn, offering the information to Rodin. But Silver said the two efforts will not conflict. "I don't see it as an adversarial thing at all," he said.
(03/06/00 10:00am)
College senior Alexis Allen sat in the common room of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity on Thursday, affixing to her shirt a small American Red Cross pin -- her reward for giving a gallon of blood over her lifetime. "I was all excited," said Allen, a Chi Omega sister who started giving blood when she was 17. "I was waiting for this." About 60 Greeks and non-Greeks gave blood at Phi Kap last week as part of the InterFraternity Council and Panhellenic Council's first joint Red Cross blood drive. The IFC held a blood drive last spring, and individual fraternities and sororities have held drives, but this is the first year IFC and Panhel have collaborated. According to IFC Vice President for Community Service Mark Zimring, who helped organize the event, IFC and Panhel decided to hold the drive because the Red Cross blood supply was running very low -- unexpected winter storms and a particularly bad flu season depleted the supply, he said. "It's an easy way to make an impact in the community and save some lives," Zimring said. "I'd like to see it become an annual event." Panhel Civic Committee Co-chair Jenny Turner, an Alpha Chi Omega sister and another of the drive's organizers, said the blood drive was an attempt to change their community service tactics from fundraisers to more intensive efforts. "We're trying to get the Greek community involved in giving of themselves," said Turner, a College junior. Turner's co-chair, Delta Delta Delta sister Lisa Zigarmi, agreed. "[We're looking to do] more hands-on work -- not so much fundraisers but involvement within the community," the College sophomore said. Like Allen, many of the other blood donors at Phi Kap had given blood before. For College freshman and Phi Sigma Sigma pledge Jamie Rosenthal, yesterday was her third donation. "It's a good cause," she said. "I have enough to go around." Rosenthal also offered advice to people donating blood for the first time. "It's not bad," she said. "You may be scared that you have a needle in you for 10 minutes, but just relax. It's a time to think about things -- you can't do anything else." College freshman Amanda Sadacca -- who had given blood three times before -- agreed. "It's not scary at all," the Alpha Chi pledge said. "Just eat a lot before and after -- which for most people isn't a problem." This year's drive drew about 20 more donors than last year's, which was co-sponsored by the American Red Cross and the IFC and held at the St. Elmo's fraternity. According to Zimring, the Greeks hope to get even more students to donate blood next year by advertising to more of the campus. "We want to involve not only the Greek community, but the entire University," he said.
(03/02/00 10:00am)
New fraternity members traditionally can have a hard time balancing pledging with studying. But with a new InterFraternity Council program, the pledges will receive tutoring and help with their classes. The IFC has instituted a new academic initiatives program, which was put into effect last week, designed to give new members academic support during the new member education period. "There's a tendency during new member education for the new members' grades to slip," said IFC Vice President for Academics Rob Lewin, an Alpha Epsilon Pi brother. "They obviously have another time commitment in their lives now." According to Lewin, a Wharton junior, the grades of men who join fraternities in the spring tend to drop an average of three-tenths of a point from the first semester to the second. An increase in academic programming is one of the goals of the Greek-wide 21st Century Report, which was issued in 1996. Many of the report's other goals -- such as an increased IFC commitment to community service -- have already been met. According to Lewin, the program is voluntary, and the decision of whether or not to participate was left up to each house's president, academic or scholarship chairman and new members. Of the 31 IFC chapters, eight -- Alpha Epsilon Pi, Sigma Alpha Mu, Alpha Chi Rho, Phi Kappa Psi, Theta Xi, Kappa Sigma, Phi Kappa Sigma and Tau Epsilon Phi -- have decided to participate in the program this year. "Our ultimate goal is for all 31 houses to sign on," Lewin said. Participation in the new academic program consists of three components: academic workshops for new members, tutoring in subjects generally taken by freshmen and training for each house's academic chair on the University's academic resources. Even if a new member's house agrees to participate in the program, he is not required to attend the academically oriented events. "Each workshop is voluntary because people won't get a lot out of it if they feel they have to be here," Lewin said. The houses must agree, however, not to schedule any new member education programs that conflict with the academic workshops. As part of the new program, the IFC and Academic Support Services held a time-management workshop Monday night in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall for AEPi's new members. Two "learning instructors" -- students from the Graduate School of Education -- spoke to the men about selecting a time-management method appropriate to their personalities. They handed out blank schedules and calenders to the students to help them plan their days. Most of the new members seemed to enjoy the workshop, expressing that many college students -- Greek or not -- need to learn more effective study habits. "I feel like college stuff is very different from high school," Engineering freshman and AEPi pledge Scott Kanas said. "There were people who had a lot of free time in high school and could come home in the afternoon and do their homework. Now we might have classes in the afternoon. For some people [workshops like these] can be very effective." The learning instructors also felt that it was a very positive experience. "[The new members] were good, they were receptive," said Grace Enriquez, a second-year graduate student in the Education School. "I felt we were able to offer some good suggestions."
