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(10/08/90 9:00am)
Three University students are among 22 members of a national AIDS organization who have been camped out in a Mt. Airy nursing home since Friday to protest the lack of funding for the home, which will house AIDS patients when and if it is able to open. Members of the Philadelphia branch of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power -- ACT-UP -- are occupying BETAK, a nursing home which closed two years ago to be converted into a home for AIDS patients. The group wants to force the state and federal governemts to put up funding promised to the home, according to ACT-UP member Adam Greenfield. Greenfield said the renovation of BETAK, which currently stands empty, began with the promise of city, state and federal funding. The nearly $2 million in renovations were funded with money raised by the Lutheran Home of Germantown, which owns the home. As renovations near completion, no government funding package is in sight. College junior Elizabeth Figueroa, College senior Brian Pomerantz and College freshman Eric See are among the 22 "occupants" of the home. "I feel that we are here to set a precedent," said Figueroa. "We are faced with apathy and homophobia." To complicate matters, the Lutheran Home is now wavering in its support of BETAK, Greenfield said. He said officials have looked into selling the property. ACT-UP is trying to keep the 44-bed facility from being sold. The ACT--UP occupation, in its fourth day today, will continue until ACT--UP receives a favorable response, Greenfield said. ACT-UP sent a press release Sunday to local, state and national government officials alerting them to the situation and demanding their attention and promised monies. However, most government offices will be closed today for Columbus Day. While occupying the home, ACT-UP members have been cleaning up the debris from the renovations. Greenfield said that he would like to have the support of the University community and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance.
(10/03/90 9:00am)
For the last 64 years, Drexel University has been a one-newspaper school. But this fall The Triangle, the weekly student newspaper which formerly had a monopoly on the Drexel campus, is no longer the school's only student-run paper. At least for now. The competition comes from the The Disseminator, a new weekly that is run by several former Triangle staffers out of a student's off-campus apartment. Unlike its older counterpart, which comes out on Fridays, The Disseminator is an independent paper. The new "underground" newspaper, as some have called it, has not received any support from the administration. In fact, said Susan Tabutt, former Triangle news editor and now Disseminator managing editor, over 900 copies of her new paper were thrown away by Diana Hackney, Drexel dean of students, at Drexel's activities fair two weeks ago. Hackney would not accept phone calls concerning the student newspapers. The two weeklies must compete for readership, staff members and, probably most important, advertisers. But editors of both insist they are here to stay, and for now, Drexel students have two papers to choose from. · The Disseminator was started this summer after Drexel's administration closed down The Triangle because of financial problems -- the newspaper was $53,000 in debt to the university. The Triangle's budget for this year will be about $100,000. Although the The Triangle is independently funded, mostly by advertising, the university provides it with an account from which managers made deposits and withdrawals. Administrators discovered in July that the weekly had overdrawn substantially on its account, and shut the paper down. The newspaper amassed the debt after it stopped billing some of its advertisers. Current Triangle Executive Editor Bob Pritchett said that no one at the paper knew who was responsible for billing. As far as he knows, he said, "there was a lot of confusion." Faced with the possibility of halting publication, some Triangle staff members began planning to open another newspaper, Tabutt said. And sure enough, two days after The Triangle closed, students put together the Disseminator's four-page premier issue -- using two Macintosh computers borrowed from the editors' friends and a hard disk drive borrowed from a former Triangle editor. The new newspaper comes out on Wednesdays. Junior Gary Rosenzweig, formerly entertainment editor of The Triangle, is editor-in-chief of The Disseminator. Tabutt said the new paper has a staff of about 15 students. The paper is headquartered in Tabutt's off-campus apartment. Editors use computers in the university's computer center for production, but Tabutt said the paper hopes to buy computers with earnings from advertisers. The new weekly's name comes from the idea that "the dissemination of information is a truly noble task, it enlightens the mind and enobles the soul," Tabutt said. The paper, which will publish its eighth issue today, contains hard news, features, sports and entertainment stories. It does not proclaim to have any particular target group or political leanings -- editors said they plan to cover Drexel just like The Triangle does. · The Triangle returned to campus two weeks ago, run by Pritchett, who is in his third year at Drexel. He said he heads a staff of about 25 writers and editors. In order to avoid another financial blunder, this year an adviser from Drexel's Office of Student Life will oversee The Triangle's business operations. And students who work in the business department have been through training. University officials have worked out a plan with the newspaper for repayment of the debt, which Vice President for Student Life Richard Wooldring said should take two to three years to erase. Pritchett said that an editorial in The Triangle's first issue sums up his feelings on sharing the campus with another newspaper. The editorial, titled "There's plenty of room on the block," praised Disseminator staffers for their dedication to the idea of free press, and said that a second paper is a welcome addition to a community of diverse ideas and interests. Although The Disseminator comes out earlier in the week than The Triangle, editors of both papers said that they expect to beat the other in printing news stories. But they also said that both papers will probably report each story from a different angle. But Pritchett criticized the new weekly for wanting to "have it both ways" -- using university phone and mail service and still declaring itself independent. Still, Disseminator staffers do consider their newspaper independent. Tabutt said that even though Drexel's administration does not read The Triangle before it goes to press, it still obviously "has the right to close it down." "The main difference is really a difference in attitude," Tabutt said. "We are the paper for the students, not the university's paper." But Pritchett said his paper makes its own financial and editorial decisions, and is therefore also independent from the university. Tabutt also charged that administrators selected the current Triangle editors. But Pritchett said that no selection was necessary, because each editorial slot was sought by only one person.
(10/03/90 9:00am)
Temple University professors will return to their classrooms today after voting by a slim margin yesterday to obey a Philadelphia judge who ordered them back to work. After an almost month-long strike, which began on the first day of classes, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Samuel Lehrer issued an injunction yesterday ordering professors back to class. The teachers' union met yesterday and decided to adhere to the injunction, although leaders said they plan to appeal. Some professors leaving the meeting, held in a North Philadelphia church, reported that the vote was 200 to 199 in favor of ending the strike. About 1500 students have already withdrawn from Temple, including 281 who received tuition refunds as of Monday. Judge Lehrer issued the order to striking faculty members, saying the walkout had damaged education for about 29,000 students and also harmed the public. Temple Association of University Professionals President Arthur Hochner, whose union represents the 1100 teachers, librarians and other academic professionals, said the judge "made the wrong decision." Judge Lehrer directed the union officers, who were defendants in the case, "to make no statements or encourage any person to violate this order," adding he "expected the defendants to comply." The strike began on September 4 after TAUP members turned down a contract offer that provided a five percent pay increase over two to three years and required faculty members to pay $260 for their health insurance. The union rejected the administration's most recent offer for a five percent salary hike in a four-year contract Sunday. That offer retained the request that teachers contribute $260 a year toward health insurance. Since the strike began, students have been protesting almost every day. TAUP leaders said that about 70 percent of classes did not meet. Hundreds of students participated in sit-ins which blocked traffic on North Broad Street. Twenty-six students were arrested two weeks ago for blocking traffic on the campus' main thoroughfare. Several University graduate students will go to Temple today to participate in a rally of faculty and graduate and undergraduate students which will be held at noon, according to Lynne Snyder, a member of the Graduate Student Associations Council Executive Committee. Temple's graduate students went on strike for two days during the first week of the faculty strike, and many members still walk the picket lines with the faculty and do not attend classes. Last Thursday Temple graduate students held a teach-in. At today's rally, which will take place at the Bell Tower -- the center of the Temple campus -- there will be a large coffin into which education will be "buried," said Elizabeth Hunt, GSAC vice president for administration. "I think it is important to show support for the graduate students and faculty at Temple," Hunt said. "It is a friendly way to say we recognize you are getting a raw deal." The Associated Press contributed to this story.
(10/01/90 9:00am)
A small group of University graduate students made the trek to Temple University on Friday to show support for Temple faculty, who have been on strike for over four weeks. Four graduate student leaders attended a rally at the Bell Tower, the center of the North Philadelphia campus, where they were welcomed by Temple graduate and undergraduate students, according to Jeff Abrahamson, a third-year mathematics Ph.D. student. During the faculty strike, the Graduate Student Employee Association, a Temple graduate student group, have picketed and refused to teach in order to call attention to the needs of the 750 teaching and research assistants. GSEA went on strike for two days during the first week of the faculty strike, and many members still walk the picket lines with the faculty and do not attend classes. On Thursday, Temple graduate students held a teach-in. About two weeks ago, seven Temple graduate students were arrested for blocking the entrance to Temple President Peter Liacouras' office. After spending seven hours in prison, they were released on their own recognizance. They have also been banned from Temple until a university hearing. Temple graduate student leaders estimated last week that 40 percent of teaching assistants are not teaching and are walking the picket lines, 20 percent are teaching and 40 percent just stay home. Both graduate and undergraduate students have rallied almost every day at Temple to protest the strike and voice their support for faculty members.
(09/27/90 9:00am)
Each morning when Temple University President Peter Liacouras walks to his office in Sullivan Hall he is greeted by dozens of Temple students -- in sleeping bags. Two weeks ago, more than 50 students moved into Feinstone Lounge across from Liacouras' office to show their support for Temple's faculty, who have been striking since September 4, and to insist that classes resume. The carpeted lounge, decorated with photographs of various United States presidents, is now home to dozens of sleeping bags, empty soda bottles and angry students. The group, which calls itself Students United for Education, has scheduled a campus-wide undergraduate strike for today. Students are encouraged to skip the few classes that are still being held -- most courses have not met this year since the faculty strike began on the first school day -- and join faculty members on the picket lines. But for now, as most of their teachers march for better pay and benefits, SUE members follow a daily schedule starting with reveille and ending with a campfire chat. Wake-up is at 8:30 a.m., when students go into the hallway to "welcome" Liacouras. From 9:00 to 9:30, they hold meetings to decide the day's events, and at noon the activities begin, ranging from sit-ins on Broad Street to an open forum at the Bell Tower -- the center of the Temple campus. "We are not activists, we are not hippies, we just want class," Temple sophomore Mark Boyce said yesterday. Boyce was one of 26 Temple students arrested Monday after a three-hour rally that blocked Broad Street. For the rest of the afternoon students either go to their classes, if they have any, to work, or hang out at the SUE headquarters in Feinstone Hall. The Temple Association of University Professionals, the faculty union that organized the strike, estimates that over 70 percent of classes have been canceled, and that the number is increasing. Then each night at 10:00 p.m., the students sit and talk about the days events. TAUP called for the faculty strike to protest the university's most recent contract offer, which would increase annual salaries by five percent, 2.5 percent lower than the faculty requested. As the strike enters its fourth week, many students are trying to get a place in any class that is meeting. Others have dropped all their courses and have asked for their money back. Temple officials do not have the official number of students who have withdrawn for the semester. Temple freshman Elizabeth Lansing said that she is so disgruntled with her school's administration that she is going to transfer. Undergraduates are not the only students taking action. The Graduate Student Employee Association is planning a teach-in Thursday, which will coincide with the one-day undergraduate student strike. The GSEA went on strike for two days during the first week of the faculty strike to call attention to the needs of the 750 graduate teaching and research assistants. And seven graduate students were arrested last week for blocking the entrance to Liacouras' office. They have been banned from Temple until a university hearing.
(09/26/90 9:00am)
With the Liquor Control Board keeping a watchful eye on campus bars, the managements of many popular hangouts are trying to crack down on underage drinking. The resourceful, crafty student will probably always be able to find a way to drink at his or her favorite campus establishment. But faced with the prospect of heavy fines or loss of their liquor licences, owners and managers are taking steps to reduce the number of under-21 patrons gaining access to their bars. 'The Law Says 21' In July, three campus hangouts were among 104 Philadelphia bars included on a list of problematic bars which state police submitted to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board after a rash of raids. Smokey Joe's Tavern, Wizzard's Lounge and Hava Nagilia Restaurant -- whose address is the same as the High Rise Bar and Restaurant -- were included on the list. All three will have hearings in October to determine whether or not they may keep their liquor licenses, and what type of punishment, if any, should be imposed on them. And Eden, a restaurant on Chestnut Street, was fined $5000 this summer for advertising discount alcohol prices. Local restaurant and bar owners insist that the LCB is specifically targetting bars frequented by students, since that is where underaged drinkers are most likely to be caught. But State Police Sergeant Jack McGeehan, who heads the area branch of the Liquor Control Board, said that his main concern is enforcing the law. "The police don't have an axe to grind," McGeehan said. "I don't care if people agree with the law. The law says 21." McGeehan denied that his officers target popular student bars just because it is easy to catch underaged drinkers there. "It is not easy to pick-up students," McGeehan said. "Getting kids in the bar was a duck shoot. It is very difficult." McGeehan said that the rash of raids in a short period of time is normal. "Several bars that are very close will probably be hit at the same time," he said. "If one bar gets hit in the evening then three or four bars can expect a visit." Cracking Down Owners and managers at almost every bar on or near campus said that they are cracking down on underage drinking, rather than risk fines or loss of their liquor licenses. "We do everything we can do," said Roger Harmon, one of the owners of the Palladium Bar and Restaurant. "We hire two or sometimes three bouncers." Bill Pawliczek, owner of Cavanaugh's Restaurant on 39th Street, said that he teaches his doormen about the alcohol laws and has a book which shows samples of driver's licenses from each state. Smokey Joe's owner Paul Ryan Jr. said he is asking more students to sign affidavits that their identification is authentic. He also said he patrols the bar's back doors more, employs older doormen and videotapes all activity at the door. Smoke's has started a "VIP" program which allows patrons to obtain a card which proves they are of legal age to drink at the bar. After showing proper identification to get the card, the student can just present it at the door and gain immediate entrance. High Rise's owner, who asked not to be named, said that since his bar was placed on the nuisance list, he has taken many steps to monitor underage drinking. Employees are instructed to take identification and make the holder sign an affidavit that they are of age to drink. If the identification appears suspicious, they are not to accept it. 'Neighborhod Nuisance' The Liquor Control Board considers a bar a "neighborhood nuisance" if it has a long history of code violations and demonstrates an "insensitivity to its surrounding area," McGeehan said. A bar must have three violations to be classified as a nuisance, except in certain extreme cases such as the selling of narcotics, for which one violation will earn the nuisance label. Smoke's was placed on the state police list after receiving four citations for serving alcohol to minors. Wizzard's made the list because of complaints from neighborhood residents and what McGeehan called a "long history of lewd and immoral entertainment violations." High Rise was cited three times for underage drinking this licensing year, which ends October 31. The LCB will hold hearings, beginning October 3, to determine whether or not the bars on the state police's list are in fact "nuisances." At the hearing, a judge will consider the establishments' past history and what owners are doing to comply with LCB regulations. The judge will make a recommendation to the LCB, which will decide what to do. Punishments range from a fine, to suspension of the establishment's liquor license, to no action at all. LCB officials make follow-up visits to the establishments to ensure they are complying with the law. Bring Your Own Some say that the Interfraternity Council's new "bring your own" alcohol policy may drive students to off-campus bars and parties, which would increase pressure on the bars. The BYOB policy dictates that guests at fraternity parties may bring a maximum of 12 cans of beer, and must present proof of age to professional bouncers before entrering with the alcohol. Both Greek and non-Greek students said the BYOB policy will force fraternities to throw smaller parties and hold more mixers between fraternities and sororities. This would close off the fraternity social scene to many students, and force many non--Greek students to go to off-campus parties and local bars for entertainment. "I see there is going to be a shift of people going to bars," said Eric Newman, assistant director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. But Newman added that only those students who go to fraternities simply to get drunk will now turn to the bars. Students who go to fraternity parties to be with their friends will continue to attend them, he said. And students seem to agree with Newman's prediction, indicating that off-campus bars will get busier -- and be forced to be more cautious -- as the semester continues. "I will start going to bars more often," said College freshman Scott Rosen. Rosen's comments were echoed by many other students, including one freshman who said the BYOB policy contradicts his original impression of the University as a "frat-party school."
(09/20/90 9:00am)
Although recycling of glass, aluminum, paper and plastic is not yet mandatory in private West Philadelphia residences, students who want to recycle their trash have a local option. The Spruce Hill Recycling Center at 45th and Spruce streets will pick up separated newspaper, mixed paper, computer paper, aluminum cans and bottles on the first and third Saturdays of each month, according to Marwan Kreidie, a staffer in the city's Commercial Recycling Department. The pickup locations nearest campus are 40th and Walnut streets, 42nd Street and Baltimore Avenue, and 42nd and Locust streets. Students can leave their separated trash at those locations. Students can also drop off their recyclable trash at the center. Starting September 26, a new law will require educational institutions to recycle aluminium, office paper, corrugated paper, leaf waste and any other materials. The law will also require superintendents of buildings housing seven units or more to arrange a recycling plan for their tenants. Students living in buildings with less than seven units must do their own recycling. There is no city-funded curb-side pickup in West Philadelphia due to funding shortages. The northeast and northwest parts of the city do have pickup, Kreidie said. Students said that even though recycling is inconvenient, they will still try to do it. Kent Mortimer, a College sophomore who lives in a house on 40th and Sansom streets, said that he and his roommates take their garbage to the recycling center on the first and third Saturday of the month. The University's dormitory recycling plan began this semester. Bins will be provided for aluminum and mixed paper. Associate Director of Residential Living Flora Lea Louden said last week that the recycling program in the dormitories has been "quite successful."
(09/13/90 9:00am)
The owners of Fiesta Jr. Pizza thought they had the answer. After a rash of burglaries, Fiesta's owners installed a metal grid on the inside of their windows, hoping to discourage would-be burglars. "The situation was very bad," Fiesta Manager Theodora Karros said. "We lost count [of the number of break-ins]." Since the $600 cage was installed two months ago, there haven't been any problems. Until now. This week the University, which owns the strip of stores and restaurants on 38th Street between Walnut Street and Locust Walk, informed Fiesta's owners that the cage does not meet University regulations. The University insists that security fences or metal roll-down windows must be inside the restaurant and must only be visible when it is closed, Real Estate Project Manager Helen Walker said yesterday. Fiesta's grid meets the first requirement, but not the second. "We don't want to create an unfriendly look," Walker said. And Fiesta Owner Nick Mitoulis, much to his dismay, must alter his window protection to fit the University's standards. Poor Richard's Owner Vinesh Vyas, had similar problems with break-ins this summer. Vyas placed a chain-link fence inside the window of the take-out delicatessen after his insurance company threatened to drop his policy. But the fence is visible during the day, and therefore prohibited. Vyas, who also owns Kelly and Cohen restaurant, said he is working on a new security plan. Managers of other stores along the strip said that they do not have the same problem with robberies as the eateries. Lewis Boynton, manager of Campus Copy Center on 38th and Walnut Streets, said that the store's windows have been broken, he is not concerned about robbery. "The machines are too heavy to carry out," Boynton said. Lee's Hoagie House on Walnut Street, also a victim of robberies this summer, has begun using pull-down metal windows to protect the store at night.
(09/10/90 9:00am)
Students at "Camp Temple" last week passed most of their class-free days sleeping and their nights partying, riding out a strike by Temple University faculty members which entered its fourth day Friday. Hundreds of Temple students marched down Broad Street Friday afternoon chanting "We want justice, go ahead and bust us" to protest what many called their university's unwillingness to negotiate with teachers, who went on strike Tuesday demanding better salaries and benefits. Traffic was blocked for over one-half hour early Friday afternoon as the students paraded up and down Broad Street, after stopping in front of Temple President Peter Liacouras' office. But the atmosphere in the dormitories Friday was a stark contrast to the frenzy on the street outside. In Johnson Hall, a freshman and sophomore dormitory on Broad Street, the relaxed mood was dubbed "Camp Temple" by several residents. Hallways were filled with the sounds of rock music and General Hospital and the smell of fast-food french fries. Students wandered aimlessly and talked on the telephone. The laundry rooms were packed. "It is like summer camp," said sophomore Michael Politz. "I have been playing football all day and going to parties at night." Politz, who transferred to Temple this year from Towson State University in Maryland, said that there were fraternity parties every night last week. "We are as loud as usual, just more often," he said. Students are supposed to go to class each day to find out whether their class will meet. But many opt to sleep late instead. "I haven't gone to sleep sober yet," boasted freshman Nicholas Lazarkohe. And as they kicked a rubber ball down the hallway outside their rooms, sophomores Kevin Dwarek and Alex Beitler said that they have been getting up after noon each day. The Temple Association of University Professionals, Temple's faculty union, called for the strike to demand a salary increase and to protest the administration's attempt to make teachers pay for a portion of their health-care plan. Graduate student teaching and research assistants monitored some classes for the first two days of the strike. But many joined TAUP on Thursday and Friday in an attempt to gain recognition as members of the local 1199C union. TAUP President Arthur Hochner said Friday that the faculty plans to strike as long as necessary and that union morale is stronger than ever. Despite the party atmosphere, most students said that they hope the strike ends soon so classes can begin. "I am just waiting, I am getting bored off my skull," said senior Clifton Prat, a member of Temple's chapter of Sigma Pi, as he hosed down the fraternity house's sidewalk in preparation for a party Friday night. "There is only so much you can drink."
(09/07/90 9:00am)
After three frustrating years, the West Philadelphia branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia reopened August 20. The 85-year-old branch was closed in September 1987 when workers discovered cancer-causing asbestos near basement pipes. Its reopening had been postponed several times. Only the main floor has been reopened the flooded basement, which contained an auditorium, was too costly to reopen. Head Librarian Sandra Viddy said that the library is designed to look like a bookstore books are displayed face-out to attract potential readers. Viddy said that she tries to help local high school students by offering books that they have been assigned in class. John Steinbeck and Charles Dickens novels are popular, and S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders is prominently displayed. University City High School junior Dennis Thompson said he is relieved that the library is open again, because it will be easy for him to come over after school. "I live around the corner, and the nearest was at 34th Street," he said. But the West Philadelphia branch's offerings are not limited to the printed word. The library offers video cassettes of public performances and classic films like Vertigo and Casablanca., and a compact disc section, which features classical, jazz and folk recordings. Both videos and compact discs are free. There is also a facsimile machine which is free for use in Philadelphia and a copy machine, which costs 15 cents per page. A children's section boasts board games, said Patti Mclaughlin, the children's section librarian. Children can't get enough of the Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree game, she said. University students can use the library for recreational purposes and for the graduate school and job reference books. Viddy said that the library will hold a registration drive on Locust Walk next week. Students can obtain a library card, good at all Free Library branches, by providing their name and address. Viddy also plans to visit International House to familiarize students there with the library. Seven people staff the library three head librarians, three assistant librarians and one security guard. By the time the library opened in August, all books and periodicals were listed on computer, and the old card catalog system had been abandoned. Mayor Wilson Goode is scheduled to highlight a list of dignitaries scheduled to attend a grand opening celebration to be held at the library September 17. Hours are Monday and Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(09/06/90 9:00am)
Marty Miller was frustrated. He had just walked out in the middle of Temple University's Interpersonal Communication class after two teaching assistants began repeating information about the class textbook and structure. Miller's professor had joined colleagues Tuesday morning in the first day of a strike by Temple's faculty union, the Temple Association of University Professionals, who were demanding better salaries and benefits. "Something should have been done," Miller, a senior, said bitterly. TAUP called for the strike to protest of the university's most recent contract offer, which would increase annual salaries by five percent, 2.5 percent lower than the faculty requested. The newly formed Graduate Student Employees Association voted Tuesday to strike Thursday and Friday in an effort to call attention to the concerns of Temple's 750 graduate teaching and research students. "I, like all other grad workers, am sick and tired of my rights being denied," said fourth-year history graduate student Anthony Newkirk. "We want [Temple president Peter Liacouras] to talk with us and address our concerns. We have poverty-level salaries." TAUP also opposes the university's requirement that teachers pay $260 yearly towards health insurance, which Temple officials said costs more than $4000 per person per year. TAUP President Arthur Hochner charged that the co-payment was part of a "master plan" to force teachers to use Temple University Hospital, which is having financial problems. Temple University officials could not be reached for comment. Seniors said Tuesday that they were concerned that the strike would force officials to cancel the semester. Senior Journalism major Steven Donahue said that he will ask for his money back if the strike is not settled, but above all wants to finish his undergraduate work. "I just want to get the hell out of here," he said. TAUP's Hochner said that if the strike is not settled by September 14, students can get a refund. Some students joined picket lines and helped hand out fliers about the strike. "Quality of education should be the main issue," said freshman Edward Sturdivant, whose Law and Society professor showed up for his 8:40 a.m. class. Hochner said the strike will be settled before the semester is canceled because if it is not, "the president wouldn't get his salary."
(09/06/90 9:00am)
in annual Hackney movie review' and CATHERINE MICHAUD President Sheldon Hackney brought his trademark bit of Hollywood to Irvine Auditorium Sunday during this year's Freshman Convocation. Hackney used a Spike Lee film for the second year in a row as the cornerstone of his only address to the entire class of 1994 until he addresses them at Commencement four years from now. Using Lee's newly released Mo' Better Blues, Hackney stressed the importance of community and that "human relationships require an effort and commitment from each of us." Provost Michael Aiken and Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson encouraged the entering class to take advantage of the diverse curriculum and diverse student body at the University. Aiken said that the University has had a tradition of promoting world awareness through its curriculum and that recent changes around the globe show how important it is to understand current events. And Morrisson offered her traditional glimpse at the diversity of the incoming class. The VPUL said that over 31 percent of the freshmen are classified as racial minorities the highest number in the University's history, she said. She added that class members come from 48 states and 45 foreign countries. In addition the class boasts 13 "entrepreneurs" and 15 athletes with world class or Olympic potential. She quoted a visitor to the University in 1910 who found the University much more interesting than Princeton University for the same reason that a botanical garden is more interesting than a grove. After the 90-minute ceremony, students said they found the tradition of Convocation interesting, but said that the heat of Irvine Auditorium made it difficult to enjoy the speeches. "I was trying to pay attention but it was really hot in there," College freshman Melanie Chang said.