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(09/05/97 9:00am)
The Sociology Department is beefing up both its courses and faculty this semester, adding a new curricular concentration and hiring two professors. Sociology majors will now be able to declare concentrations in "Structures of Opportunity and Inequality." The new program will explore "essential, interrelated themes" in sociology -- including race, class, gender, the fair distribution of opportunities and the "parasitic" relationship between the individual and social institutions, according to newly promoted Undergraduate Chairperson Robin Leidner. The department began revamping its existing curriculum last fall after students expressed concern over the limited number of course offerings each semester, Leidner said. "The major program description is never revised," College senior and Sociology major Maureen Wentworth explained. "[The department] lists all these courses you're supposed to take, but they're never offered. I could've graduated early, but now I can't do it." During this time, Leidner noted, former Sociology Department Chairperson Harold Bershady deterred students from selecting "Social Psychology" and "Work and Society," two concentrations eliminated for the fall due to a decline in student interest and lack of available faculty. "Structures of Opportunity and Inequality" incorporates the work issue, while the Psychology Department offers courses in social psychology, the Sociology professor said. "I think it's a hot subject since it deals with Hispanic, Afro-American, and Asian-American issues," Bershady said. College senior Margaret Colon, who recently switched her concentration from Social Psychology to Structures of Opportunity and Inequality, explained that this area of sociology examines "how the inequality of groups is perpetuated," and offers the necessary tools to help "eradicate it." The new concentration, along with the five other pre-existing concentrations, consider topics ranging from family demography to the sociology of health and medicine. As a major, Sociology is becoming increasingly popular. "At the start of my term five years ago, there were only 54 majors," Bershady said. "Last May, we had 167 majors." And with the addition of new faculty members, Bershady said he looks forward to a "fuller, richer syllabus," and a substantial increase in the number of courses highlighting the faculty's strengths. Sociology Professor and social theorist Randall Collins, and Kathryn Edin, a former Rutgers University professor and ethnographer, both join the department this fall.
(09/03/97 9:00am)
Despite some concern last spring about funding for the University's Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum program, new courses are being offered under the program's auspices this fall. "Spanish 229: History of Spanish American Culture" is the first of an upcoming series of classes which will teach content, not grammar, in a foreign language. The program was outlined in the University's five-year Agenda for Excellence as an attempt to place foreign language study in a real-world context. Additionally, three new language courses -- "Russian 411: Advanced Russian for Business," an advanced section of French 202 devoted to the WWII era and a section of "French 212: Grammar and Composition" dealing with contemporary French politics -- are intended to bridge the gap between language proficiency and FLAC-level fluency. The introduction of the program this semester was somewhat unexpected. In February, Arabic and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Professor and FLAC Committee Chairperson Roger Allen said funding delays and budget cuts threatened to postpone the introduction of course programming until spring 1998. And even after Provost Stanley Chodorow found funding for the program, Penn Language Center Director Harold Schiffman noted that several departments were "resistant to change," with tensions over the introduction of FLAC courses affecting full-fledged cooperation. Schiffman said the program fell short of the six courses which were initially planned because "departments ? [were] dragging their feet." But Allen hopes to double the number of FLAC courses by spring, and added that "it's a question of getting faculty who have the time and energy to devote to a commitment like this." He stressed that a global outlook is necessary as students enter the next millennium. "Hey, there's a big, wide world out there, and they don't only speak English," Allen said. He added that content-based courses will eliminate the need for graduate student lecturers and will affect the composition of the graduate curriculum. "The FLAC course is a content course, not a language course," Allen explained. "We want students to go beyond the point where they normally drop." But since students from other schools must pass the College proficiency exam in order to gain access to these courses, Engineering and Nursing students may be at a disadvantage, Allen said. The one-year Nursing language requirement is less strenuous than the Wharton and College requirements "and the Engineering requirement is one year less than that, which equals zero," he added. And Systems Engineering Professor Keith Ross noted that some students decide to enroll in the Engineering School "in order to avoid the language requirement at all costs" and are therefore unlikely to take advantage of the FLAC courses.
(04/30/97 9:00am)
Locust Walk is moving to a new location -- 4936 Stiles Street. Mia and Deshawn Hayward's patio is a piece of University history, built from the slate bluestones that used to line the walkways of College Green. After the University replaced the bluestones last fall, the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity quickly claimed them for "The Penn House" -- a project developed by University volunteers in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity West Philadelphia. The University Chapter of Habitat for Humanity began work on the Penn-sponsored house last spring, and in a dedication ceremony held Saturday the Haywards and their four children cut a red ribbon to symbolize a fresh start in their new home. Through corporate donations, weekly work sessions and support from West Philadelphia volunteers, University students helped complete Habitat's 17th home on the 4900 block of Stiles Street. When Habitat's West Philadelphia branch formed in 1978, 80 percent of the properties on the street had been abandoned. By 2000, the group hopes to complete all home renovations, a community house and a playground on the block. "It's a neighborhood with a lot of promise," Engineering sophomore Toni Loiacano noted, a work study production manager. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. The group reclaims abandoned houses and converts them into affordable homes. Once low-income families are selected through an application process, they are eligible to purchase the homes after donating 500 "sweat equity" hours, in which they tile and scrape along with the volunteers. The houses are sold at cost, and families repay the loan through monthly payments of about $200 -- less than half the rent of an average Center City apartment -- over a 20-year period with no interest. Becky Crawford, a single mother who in 1992 moved into "house number 5" -- the fifth house renovated on Stiles Street -- cited the problem of low-income parents not meeting stringent mortgage requirements. "Without Habitat for Humanity, I wouldn't be able to live with my children in my own home," she added. And Sheldon Rich, executive director of the West Philadelphia Chapter, noted that "Every house that we build on this street is an act of faith, a miracle that has its own story." University volunteers were grateful for the opportunity to be part of that story, but -- because of financial difficulties -- they must postpone plans to sponsor another house, according to chapter Secretary and College sophomore Christine DiBiase. Although the chapter is SAC-funded, DiBiase noted, "We can get money to do photocopying, but we can't get a $20,000 check to build a house." At a time when most University students are securely tucked away in their beds, Wharton senior and chapter President Ed Zane meets his crew at 8:20 a.m. sharp every Saturday and does not return to campus until 4:30 p.m. "By dinnertime, I feel I've accomplished a lot," Zane said. College senior Shanika Samarasinghie -- who helped renovate the house during spring break -- praised Habitat as a unique experience. "It's an opportunity to do something you don't normally get to do, like working with power tools and standing on a roof," she said.
(04/18/97 9:00am)
Arthur Caplan, director of the University's Center for Bioethics, has come a long way since teaching his first medical ethics class as a Columbia University graduate student. "It was a bomb," Caplan remembered. "The students laughed at me." But the disheartening experience did not deter Caplan from pursuing a medical career in 1976 and discovering a "moral laboratory" during his medical school rotations. According to Caplan, the atmosphere was one of "hard choices with real outcomes" where medical decisions were burdened with a newfound ethical content. He recalled the 1970s as a decade consumed with ethical questions surrounding test-tube babies, euthanasia and organ donation. And, as Caplan noted, the issues have not drastically changed. Assisted suicide, genetic intervention, organ rationing and AIDS testing in pregnant women are at the forefront of bioethics debates today. In response to increased student and faculty demand for a forum in which to discuss the ethical implications of new technologies, the University's Health System created the Center for Bioethics in 1994. The center works in conjunction with the Medical School and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, in addition to communicating with the various schools on campus. Caplan, his eight colleagues and 20 additional faculty members receive about 2,000 inquiries a year -- mostly from high school students, medical students and the media -- on a range of topics. And the center's World Wide Web site -- which features articles from top experts in the field -- caters to 30,000 visitors a week. Caplan noted that the site received 50,000 visitors in the first few days of the sheep cloning controversy. As Sociology Professor Paul Wolpe noted, "bioethics thrives on crises." Since the center was founded, it has integrated more ethics into the curriculum than any other medical school, according to Caplan. Citing the center's recently initiated "Curriculum 2000" as an educational plan, he stressed the importance of physician-patient interaction. He said the center seeks to achieve a medical environment that reinforces values of sensitivity and quality of work rather than efficiency and speed. But Caplan worries that significant changes in the medical curriculum will not be enough to combat the real-world constraints of managed care and cost containment. "You can teach somebody to be a good communicator, but if they only have a minute to see each patient, they're not going to have much of a chance to use those skills," he said. As Caplan explained, "Good bioethics is pro-active -- good bioethics stays right up where science and medicine is at, and Penn is a good environment for that." Before the media exposed sheep cloning as a potentially fateful step in the slippery slope of genetic manipulation, the center was aware of the possibility of cloning animals, Caplan said, who perceives the public's frenzy over cloning as a reaction based on the public's lack of understanding of the "social genetic evolution" and its distrust of science. He compared the cloning to the Wright brothers' first airplane flight. Since no one knows how to do it safely and reliably, the technology will probably not be applied to human beings any time soon. "We made Dolly and we made about 10 or 12 deformed female sheep," Caplan said. "That might be OK if you're talking about lamb chops, but we're talking about people here." Insisting that bioethicists are not just a group of "Ayatollahs" looking to tell people what to do, Caplan said they are "Socratic" in their approach to raising questions about morality and dignity. He recommends that students suffering from the "bioethics bug" should investigate the center's new graduate program in Bioethics through the College of General Studies. But he warned that obtaining a job as a bioethicist entails a degree in another field, such as nursing, public health or philosophy. For interested undergraduates, the center is currently negotiating with the History and Sociology of Science Department to develop a concentration in Bioethics as early as next fall.
(04/08/97 9:00am)
Guest lecturer Hugh Crawford discussed the two moral implications of a hammer last Friday at a Ware College House celebration in honor of the famous poet, pediatrician and 1906 Medical School graduate William Carlos Williams. Crawford, a professor at Georgia Tech University and author of Williams, Modernism and Medicine, explained that a hammer embodies the values of forgiveness and learning, since one eventually learns to pull out nails only after bending them repeatedly. Students and faculty began the event by reading selections from Williams' works, including "The Descent," "The Rose," "Portrait of a Lady" and "Desert Music." After the readings, Crawford spoke on the issue of "How Williams continues to speak to us today, even though we may not listen." Crawford's hammer analogy supported his theory that mute objects often reveal complex social relations. He suggested that Williams' persistent reference to porcelain objects in his poems reflected his interest in "sanitary management" and his faith in the elevated "status of the thing." Comparing Williams' poems to Thomas Eakins' The Agnew Clinic, Crawford argued that Williams' "diagnostic eye" was essential to his image as a "fundamentally moral writer." But History Professor Alan Kors warned against intense scrutiny of Williams' poems, noting that "modernist criticism killed the soul of poetry." Kors added that Williams' early work resembles an impressionist painting in its ability to capture a moment of fleeting sensation. And English Professor Al Filreis said that Williams -- who was a Ware resident -- was "willing to let anything move him." He noted that Williams' "The Catholic Bells" illustrates the poet's emotional response to the ringing church bells even though he was not a religious individual. Williams' dual role as doctor and poet was a complementary relationship, according to English graduate student Jane Penner. As Williams explained in his autobiography, "My medicine was the thing which gained me entrance to these secret gardens of the self." Williams -- one of the first specialists in pediatrics -- received a Pulitzer Prize for his poetry, awarded posthumously in 1963. The poet formed friendships with fellow writers Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore and Hilda Doolittle during his time at the University. Pound, who abandoned his post-graduate work in 1906, used to recite poems to Williams in his Ware dorm room, Penner said. "I could never take [Pound] as a steady diet," Williams noted in his autobiography. And Director of Academic Programs in Residence Chris Dennis said that "modern poetry was invented in the Quad at Penn" when Williams lived there. English Professor and event coordinator Rita Barnard expressed her desire to make the Williams celebration an annual event. After the celebration, Bioengineering graduate student Peter Trinh noted that "we were all sitting there? and we were listening to animated readings of William Carlos Williams and I thought to myself, 'This is what I imagined college would be like'."
(04/03/97 10:00am)
Three rabbis guided 12 eager participants on "an exciting voyage of Jewish discovery" Sunday afternoon in the first installment of a lecture and luncheon series sponsored by Sinai Seminars and the University's Hillel Foundation. The lecture, "Intermarriage: The Erosion of the Jew," considered the question of marriage between cultures from an intellectual perspective. Guest speaker Rabbi Sholom Kaminetzky defined marriage as an institution where two separate people unite in mind, body, will and emotion. He said intermarriage complicates this fusion process because the two parties are often incompatible. Expanding on an analogy from Fiddler on the Roof, he noted that "the bird and the fish may fall in love but never can they entertain the concept of marriage." Kaminetzky examined inherent differences between Jewish and non-Jewish lifestyles, but stressed that discussions about such differences are often equated with racism. He based his argument against intermarriage on the concept of a distinct Jewish identity -- which he quickly noted should not be confused with Jewish identification. Kaminetzky explained that while Jewish identity centers around the development of lifelong values, Jewish identification deals more with the cultural flavor of Judaism. He compared the concept of Jewish identity to a baseball player who actively participates in the game, as opposed to a baseball fan who is relegated to the stands -- his definition of identification. Once Jewish identity "kicks in," intermarriage is "doomed to failure," he said, adding that the divorce rate for intermarriage is double that of the average divorce rate. And although society encourages its members to test out the "melting pot," Kaminetzky advises against dating between religions since it acts as a "means to an end." Third-year Villanova University law student John Morgenstern argued that dating between religions is like "playing with fire. Fire can be good if you don't get burned. But Kaminetzky countered that "asbestos gloves are not always available." Another of the panelists, Rabbi Dov Wachman, noted that "many believe that by the year 2075 there may not be a significant population of Jews in America." Both rabbis agreed that research is the key to making any well-informed decision -- including important ones such as those of marriage. And as Wachman concluded, today's learning opportunities allow Jews to "discover the value, the beauty, and the meaning of our own heritage. "Today is not the end of the journey -- it could be the beginning," he added.
(04/03/97 10:00am)
Apex, Vertex, Scribe, X-Checker and Tangent. No, this is not high school geometry class -- these are the official titles given to the officers of Hexagon, a senior service society in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Hexagon alumni, current members and 25 new inductees gathered Thursday night at Associate Engineering Dean David Pope's Chestnut Hill home for a formal invitation dinner. The members of Hexagon work with the Office of Admissions and Recruiting at the Engineering School to ensure that prospective freshmen receive personal attention on their campus visit. The "customized visit," developed two years ago by the Office of Admissions, includes meeting with a faculty member and a luncheon date with a Hexagon member. Hexagon also leads tours of the Engineering School and handles mailings, phone-a-thons and focus groups geared toward prospective freshmen. Members are especially active during Penn Preview Days, a campus-wide event in mid-April designed to lure future students. Citing Hexagon's commitment to face-to-face interaction, LeAnne Bergey, recruiting and admissions coordinator for the Engineering School, said the group is Engineering's number one resource in recruiting. Pope called Hexagon the Admissions Office's "secret weapon," emphasizing that this year's increase in Engineering applications was largely a result of the organization's efforts. "People convince people to do things, not pieces of paper or buildings," Pope said. According to Engineering senior and Rush Chairperson Jake Dubroff, members of Hexagon are considered to be the "best ambassadors of the school." Hexagon membership is limited to 10 percent of Engineering's senior class. Prospective members hand in a copy of their resume and an application to be evaluated by current members, followed by an interview. About 40 students apply each year, and most learn about the society through their friends. Seniors are accepted in the fall and juniors in the spring. Members pay a one-time $75 fee to become a part of Hexagon for life. While the service aspect of Hexagon is vital to the Admissions Office, its social aspect is essential to the members. "When I came to Hexagon I had a lot of school apathy, but through Hexagon I now have an alma mater that I can be proud of," 1994 Engineering graduate Maurice Enoch said. Most members agreed that Hexagon is the outlet that promotes interaction among the more social people in Engineering. "We're the life of the Engineering School," Engineering senior Stephen Sabatino said. Social events include luncheons and barbecues at either Pope's or Engineering Associate Dean John Keenan's house, happy hours at Cavanaugh's and bowling trips. According to newly admitted Engineering junior Vinaya Valloppillil, "It's a great way to network among other students in the Engineering School on a more sociable level." Given the success of the Hexagon-Admissions partnership, admissions officers hope to take Hexagon members on the road with them to visit high schools as early as next year, according to Pope. He added that, through Hexagon, the University does not seem so "cold and forbidding" to prospective students. The students are "enveloped in a familial relationship."
(03/28/97 10:00am)
"Is that recyclable?" Wharton and Engineering sophomore Lori Werfel urges University students to ask themselves that question each time they take out the trash. And after the success of a recycling program instituted in Van Pelt College House last November, the Undergraduate Assembly's Recycling Committee will implement a similar program in Ware College House this fall. Werfel heads the Recycling Committee Club, a subdivision of the Penn Environmental Club. She is currently working with Residence Life and the University's Recycling Group to ensure that glass bottles, aluminum cans and paper products are deposited in appropriate locations in Ware and other campus residences. Last November, Werfel and College junior Josh Rockoff devised a pilot program that distributed blue recycling bins to every suite in Van Pelt. Rockoff based that program on a 1986 Princeton University study showing that recycling increased by 175 percent after recycling bins were placed in each upper-class dormitory suite. The Recycling Committee chose Van Pelt because it is a small, controlled environment with its own garbage collection facilities, Werfel explained. She attributed the small increase in the quantity of paper recycled at Van Pelt to the "convenience and ease" of having a bin in each common room as opposed to a central bin in the lounge. While the committee did not notice a dramatic increase in the quantity of recycled materials, the quality of such goods increased dramatically. Werfel added that there is a certain level of acceptable contamination in recycling bins around campus. If the contamination exceeds that level, the bins are refused and the University must pay to dispose of the paper as trash, at a typical rate of $70 per ton of garbage. She noted that only one Van Pelt bin has been considered an "impure mix" since the program was instituted, adding that the committee expanded the program to Ware because of the dorm's small size. Although setup costs are high, Werfel hopes to expand the program to include the rest of the college houses. She said, however, that it is unlikely that the high rises and most of the Quadrangle will participate in the program. Since even-numbered floors of the high rises are already equipped with yellow recycling bins for paper -- located down the hall from the trash rooms -- Werfel said it would be too costly to offer each room a separate recycling bin. "The time and money will be better spent informing people in the high rises about the trash rooms," she explained. And Physical Plant Recycling Superintendent Al Pallanti added that "the key is to start slow and small. "Recognize your mistakes first and try to remedy them," Pallanti said. The University began its recycling effort in March 1990 by placing recycling bins for office paper in the Franklin Building. And Pallanti noted that the University saved $210,000 last year by recycling 2,719 tons of mixed paper and 144 tons of plastic, glass and cans. The University recycles 30 percent of its waste, while the city of Philadelphia recycles only 13 percent. Pennsylvania recently initiated a recycling mandate requiring institutions to recycle 25 percent of their waste stream each year. Pallanti added that recycling is "cost-effective and environmentally sound," explaining that recycled products are a commodity whose value rises and falls in connection with market demands. And he pushed students to purchase recycled notebooks and glass to increase the demand for recycled products and encourage companies to purchase more recycled paper.
(03/05/97 10:00am)
Wharton junior Jerry Krause founded Cookies & Creams, a wholesale ice cream company. Watch out, Ben and Jerry's. There's a new ice cream connoisseur on the block -- and he's half your age. Wharton junior Jeremy Krause attends lectures on Entrepreneurial Management and Finance Tuesdays and Thursdays and devotes the rest of the week to putting his professors' theories to the test. Krause is founder and president of Cookies & Creams, a wholesale ice cream company he established last May. Cookies & Creams -- which combines gourmet cookies from the Famous Fourth Street Bakery with gourmet ice cream -- is sold in the Penn Commissaries as well as local convenience stores. Krause financed his entrepreneurial adventure by playing the stock market. And he singlehandedly runs every aspect of the business -- from designing the packaging to telephoning retailers and developing marketing strategies. He said he hopes to revitalize the presently stagnant ice cream world by creating a new subcategory in the industry. As he noted, "it's easier to catch fish in a dirty stream." Krause derived his "microbatch" concept -- combining a "unique flavor niche" with scarcity of product -- from the "microbrew" concept previously instituted by such beer giants as Samuel Adams and Pete's Wicked Ale. By creating three distinct flavors and only selling his product in target locations, Krause's company is able to operate on a personal level while retaining a prestigious, reputable image. "The market is too saturated for another commonplace product," Krause explained. "We are trying to stake out our own territory." Although Krause formally uses the term "we" when referring to his company, he is quick to point out that "it's just me -- and I don't even pay myself yet." Cookies & Creams is a division of Strive, Inc., the corporate entity Krause developed to aid diversification of the industry in the future, should his operation expand to include more than one company. But he has no intention of becoming just another multinational conglomerate. "I've seen enough of corporate America to know that I don't want to be a part of it," he noted. His contempt for large, bureaucratic organizations spurred Krause to build his ice cream empire at an early age. The prospect of working on Wall Street after graduation did not appeal to him. "My ambition is to be a career entrepreneur and to have my own enterprise upon graduation," Krause said. But he will not be lured into sacrificing his education for his newfound fame. Although he admitted that "it's damn near impossible" to balance the demands of school and a business, he aspires to obtain a doctorate in entrepreneurial management and teach at the university level. But Krause noted that he did not go into the business for purely altruistic reasons. "I'm a Wharton student," he said. "The concept of money is always going to be there." Keeping an eye towards the future, Krause is currently modifying the packaging and texture of his product. As Wharton junior Juan Dominguez explained, "He will have another chance and another chance -- and that's what makes entrepreneurs." Krause is presently working with the University to allow his ice cream to be sold in McClelland Marketplace and Chats as early as this summer. But he said he has encountered some difficulties from contractual obligations with the University's Jack and Jill distributor. The ice cream will be picked up by three N.J. supermarkets next spring under the new brand name, Jeremy's Cookies & Creams. Krause's ice cream is currently available for $3.50 a pint. And Krause noted that for a limited time ice cream lovers receive a special complementary cookie on top.
(03/03/97 10:00am)
With her daughter Caroline nodding off on her shoulder, Nursing School Associate Dean Mary Naylor spoke to an intimate gathering of students and faculty about the "evolving health care system" Thursday night. The discussion, held at Van Pelt College House and sponsored by the Nursing School and the Penn People in Residence program, focused on the opportunities and challenges facing today's health care professionals. Naylor, who has previously worked with the Senate Committee on Aging and received a Kellogg Foundation Fellowship to study health and social policy in countries throughout the world, stressed the value of interdisciplinary work in designing and testing models of managed care. "You cannot be effective in delivering services to people unless you have a very broad understanding of the world and the environment in which they live," she said. Naylor's work focuses on testing alternative models of health care in high-risk populations. Her research concentrates on clinical problems, the lack of basic resources and nutritional and safety issues in elderly populations. Naylor cited problems with delivering community-based care in a system largely dominated by a "medical approach" to treatment. This approach is concerned with the disease process in the body while the "nursing approach" considers the patient from a community perspective. And Nursing freshman Adlynn Parado added that "it is a doctor's job to cure and a nurse's job to care." Naylor emphasized that the present health care system places patients in a "dependent position." While other societies invest adequate resources in "prevention and promotion," the United States often denies health care consumers the opportunity to become fully informed about their illnesses. "Providers are giving the care instead of giving the public the knowledge to care for themselves," Naylor said. She also discussed the "sibling rivalry among health professionals," mentioning the conflict between doctors and nurses over the responsibility of patient care. "A team approach to care is an absolute must," Naylor said. And Nursing sophomore Laura Cobey noted that not only a doctor is able to handle the "entire spectrum" of medical responsibilities. College junior Ali Zaidi sparked a debate by posing a question about the value of a $130,000 Nursing degree from the University. Zaidi, a pre-medical student, remarked that nurses graduating from the University will never receive the expected return on such a large investment as they would if they attended medical school. "Medicine was aesthetically attractive when I was younger, and it's logically attractive now that I'm older," Zaidi said. "On the same note, why spend $130,000 for an English major?" Naylor countered. She cited the Nursing School's distinguished faculty and its association with major health centers as prime reasons for attracting potential applicants. And she added that nurses often earn the highest starting salary of any college graduates -- "but it eventually flattens out." Concluding the discussion, Naylor noted the present "out of the institution and into the community" movement. In the next few months, Naylor will start overseeing a managed-care facility for high-risk elders in West Philadelphia.
(02/21/97 10:00am)
Philadelphia hat designer and teacher Alzie Jackson, 69, died of a heart attack last Saturday, bringing to an end his 40-year tenure as Tau Epsilon Phi's "houseman." In addition to being a mentor for the fraternity brothers, Jackson served as chef, janitor and florist at the TEP house at 38th and Walnut streets. But Jackson did much more than prepare receptions for Homecoming events and tend bar at weekend parties -- he restored a sense of order to the house by "keeping the brothers out of trouble," 1971 College graduate and TEP alumnus Bob Holtz said. Holtz recalled visiting the fraternity house for alumni weekends and "heading straight for the kitchen to say 'hi' to Alzie." And TEP alumnus and 1969 Wharton graduate Steve Lerman said he believes Jackson was the "main attraction" at these gatherings and a "magnet for alumni." Lerman recalled coming down with a 104-degree fever in 1968, and Jackson insisting on carrying him to the hospital. After being diagnosed with mono, Lerman remained hospitalized for more than a month. "If it hadn't been for him, I just don't know if I'd be here," noted Lerman, who was TEP's chancellor during his Penn years. And Holtz said Jackson maintained close contact with TEP alumni even after they became settled in their careers. "He enabled alumni of every age to come back and talk to each other," he said. Jackson came to TEP in the late 1950s and quickly established himself as a permanent fixture in the house. In 1992, the brothers officially initiated "Brother Alzie" into the fraternity during his 35th anniversary celebration with the house. "Alzie was always there to offer a smile," TEP brother and College senior Jeffrey Volk remembered. Although Jackson was less active in the fraternity in recent years due to his struggle with Hodgkins disease and lymphoma cancer, he remains an inspiration to recent generations of TEP brothers. TEP Alumni President and 1994 Wharton graduate Dan Stein described Jackson as "everything from a role model to a father figure to your quintessential brother." Outside of the fraternity, Jackson was known to the fashion community as "Mr. Alzie." He lifted himself up from nothing, according to Holtz. Jackson taught himself the art of hat-making at age 16 to support himself, and his business soon expanded beyond the walls of his basement. He rented a store window on 60th and Locust streets to display his hats and eventually opened his Paris Shop at the same location. Jackson received high acclaim for his artistic creations -- and his hats were featured in a millinery exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1993. Soon after his debut, the Moore College of Art asked him to teach a hat-making course. In addition to providing lessons of perseverance to fraternity brothers, Jackson worked with underprivileged children at Camp Sussex in New Jersey. His commitment to education compelled him to earn his high school equivalency diploma in the 1960s. According to TEP folklore, brothers need to build bridges that pass into the future. Holtz said Alzie Jackson was a "bridge builder ? a link to the past and a link to the future." And many TEP alumni noted that Jackson's lessons of loyalty and determination have filtered down to others -- including his grandchildren. One of Jackson's grandsons, Ari Johnson, a senior at Haverford Preparatory School, was admitted early decision to the University's class of 2001. Funeral services for Jackson are scheduled for Saturday. The TEP house will hold a memorial service March 2 in honor of their friend and brother.
(02/11/97 10:00am)
Political Science Professor Henry Teune posed the question, "How do we look at this thing called Europe?" in a speech yesterday in Stiteler Hall's Anspach Lounge. The lecture, entitled "The Three Democratic Political Cultures of Europe," presented a comparative perspective on post-Cold War Europe as the first of four lectures geared towards increasing student interest in European studies. Teune, the undergraduate Political Science chairperson, focused on identifying crucial obstacles hindering modern Europe's quest for an identity, a topic he is developing into a book. In researching his topic, Teune took a random sample of 920 European localities in 82 regions, targeting 15 local political leaders in each locality. The leaders responded to a series of questions about community characteristics, minority rights and political values. The interviews served as the basis for Teune's definition of Europe's three principal political cultures -- Central Europe, Western Europe and Eurasia. "Local democracy is the foundation for the grassroots of democratic institutions," he said. Teune used maps and graphs to highlight each country's raw score on a given set of variables -- value of political participation and economic equality, and desirability of a market economy. From the data, Teune suggested that localities with democratic leaders will be more globally oriented. He also proposed that the political values of leaders have been shaped by historical experiences, and that democratic values are directly related to a leader's stance on pluralism, minority rights and political equality. Teune concluded that the more democratic the country, the more its local leaders assume responsibility for community involvement. He defined revolts as responses to controversial changes initiated by top leaders. Teune studied political conflict, local autonomy and the "normative order of the state" as essential components in the formation of a European political culture. But "the story is more than a twentieth century story," he said. The "story" will be further examined in Teune's book, Democracy Rooted: World Comparisons of the Old and the New, due out in March. Andres Heinemann-Gruder, a visiting professor from Germany, cited the "Teune tribe" -- Teune's research team -- as a driving force in the movement toward viewing local democracies from a comparative perspective. And International Relations graduate student Francis Campbell welcomed this installment of the lecture series as a "genuine attempt to bring Europe back into focus." Future topics in the series include the "European Union," "Three Paths to Modernity" and "Civic Cultures in Eastern Europe."
(02/03/97 10:00am)
More than 100 people came together to honor the memory of Cissie Leary, who died last November at age 42 of cancer. Johann Pachelbel's "Canon" filtered through the Annenberg School Theatre Saturday as family, friends, students and colleagues gathered in celebration of the life of Cissie Leary. Leary -- who coached women's tennis for 20 years -- passed away last November at the age of 42 after suffering from scleroderma, lymphoma cancer and kidney cancer. Approximately 100 people attended the memorial to hear 13 speakers reminisce about Leary's accomplishments -- both on and off the court. "The game of tennis was really only the vessel in which she poured her passion for life and for teaching," University President Judith Rodin said. Players from Leary's first and last Penn teams echoed this sentiment by emphasizing that she was much more than a coach -- she was also their surrogate mother and friend. Former tennis captain Jan Bernstein recalled a smiling Leary in her red and blue sweats and pigtails, instilling her "wardogs" with an infectious excitement for the sport. "Our Penn experience centered around our team and our team was centered around Cissie," Bernstein said. Former player Cynthia Levy remembered Leary skipping through the grass after her team defeated Princeton on their home court. And College junior Andi Grossman said Leary's laid-back style made practice more fun for the players. Grossman read a poem she composed in honor of Leary, "To An Athlete Dying Young." "Go get 'em, go get 'em," were Leary's famous words, and Bernstein noted that "[Leary] never said anything once -- she always said everything twice." Although Leary's career spanned two decades, her devotion to her team and to the University never wavered. Her players were always welcome in the Levy Tennis Pavilion, in the locker room and in their coach's heart, said former player Meredith Stiehm. Colleagues described Leary as sincere, honest and family-oriented. Louise Gengler, a member of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, noted that Leary touched every player and coach she met. Her worst enemies on the court were often some of her best friends off of it. Leary was a "warm and comforting" woman engaged in a "love affair" with tennis, said Athletic Director Steve Bilsky. Bilsky commented on the coach's changing role from the 1970s to the 1990s but noted that Leary refused to transform her coaching style just to keep up with the times. Men's tennis coach Gene Miller described Leary as a "modern-day heroine" for creating a comfort zone of positive reinforcement for her players. Noting that the coach was all "about relationships," Miller described Leary as a simple woman who enjoyed baking cookies with her daughter Katie. Albert Collins, Leary's uncle, concluded the ceremony by conveying some of Leary's wishes. Collins said he called the "switchboard in heaven" and after getting busy signals for over an hour finally connected with his niece. Collins -- on behalf of Leary -- thanked the University for an amazing 20 years and ordered the current team to stay focused. The crowd thanked Leary with a standing ovation before leaving for a reception at the Faculty Club. In a commitment to preserve Leary's legacy of excellence, the women's tennis team held an All-Star Invitational yesterday afternoon in honor of Leary -- a coach with "gusto." After graduating from Rollins College in 1972, Leary obtained a coaching position at Penn in 1977. Catherine "Cissie" Collins Leary was inducted into the Rollins Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 and received a master's degree from Penn in 1994.
(08/01/96 9:00am)
uncertain. Well, hello there. So glad you took time out from combing the classifieds to listen to my tale of woe. Yes, it is already early August, and instead of fantasizing about the Publisher's Clearinghouse Prize Patrol arriving on my doorstep, I harbor the idealistic notion that tI will eventually land a decent summer job. But I've traveled this path before?flashback to sophomore year in high school when the words "15 years old" and "employable" did not go hand in hand. After being hired to work as a cOshier in a local pharmacy, I thought, "Hey, this will be a breeze. I'll be given the opportunity to chat with cute Haverford College guys while reading Seventeen magazine all day long." It turns out that my original plan failed to account for the masses of ancient, withered men screaming about he unintelligible directions on the Mylanta packets. "Okay," I thought, "I'll just sit tight until I turn sixteen, and then my worker's permit will be my ticket into a world of fulfilling employment." And so with the first sign of increased humidity and swarms of mosquitoes, I searched far and wide until an almighty force directed me toward my true calling -- retail! At The Maxx for the Minimum,T.J. Maxx, I actively embraced my impressive title of merchandise sales associate, with the special perks of unlimited access to the intercom, and a fifty-cent raise. But the grandeur eventually wore off with lugging around heavy racks of clothes and interacting with displeased, stodgy ladies in9e women's fitting room. Yes, my friend, I've done it all -- from chasing after terrifying toddlers at Har-Zion day camp to stumbling after evil shoplifters throughout King of Prussia mall, (a mere extension of my sales duties at Tape World). Yet I am not one of the privileged few who, upon returning home after a hard day's work, kick back, sigh and declare, "Today was satisfying, mentally stimulating, and I actually earned enough to afford a measly Gap tee!" Unfortunately, my work duties have not been an extension of my noble academic pursuits. While they partially finance my frequent mall excursions and occupy those long, lazy days separating the spring and fall semesters, my sociologicOl self has been largely denied in the workplace, except when I divert from Cocoa the Catipillar's autobiography in The Nature Company's story time hour in order to analyze the effects of childhood socialization on a youngster's attention span. Each summer I travel into the ever-so-competitive job market, armed with added education, job titles and references, and each time I am told that my skills are just a wee bit under par. I fill out that double-sided application with renewed hunger, endure the tedious interview process, and then just wait. And wait, and wait and wait! That "we'll call you" line gets old real fast once you've heard it twenty times and that phone just doesn't seem to be singing its familiar tune. Why can't they just let me know right off the bat? "Sorry, but you're not qualified, we don't' want you, so don't bother sitting idly by the phone for the next few days with an optimistic mind-set that will eventually be shattered with out implied rejection." That's it -- I've had it! No longer will I reduce myself to applying for positions where counting change is not a prerequisite, where the primary responsibilities include annoying customers with gift suggestions and organizing one-woman puppet shows for ungrateful children. However, tragically enough, I must accept my lot, for I am an 18 year-old college student with credit card bills and insurance payments dancing over my head and only two months to spare. So I admit it, I'm stuck in the retail rut, reduced to folding polos and organizing potpourri sections while life passes me by. But I figure that by the age of 21, When I have earned the right to flash my big fancy Penn degree, these uptight businesses will just be begging me to grace their workplace with my charming presence and innovative ideas. On second thought, all of my managers and most of my co-workers in my present retail adventure earned college degrees from respectable universities, and their road to upward mobility is virtually nonexistent. Hmm?Does anyone know if the Dress Barn is hiring?
