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(01/12/98 10:00am)
After a nearly two month-long search, Philadelphia Police arrested a man suspected in the November 17 shooting of College senior James McCormack on the 4200 block of Pine Street. Philadelphia resident Keith Schofield, 33, was arrested Thursday night on the 5500 block of Pine Street, police said. Schofield allegedly shot McCormack in the abdomen after demanding the keys to his silver Ford Taurus, which was parked outside the house of McCormack's girlfriend. Schofield had long been the "prime suspect" in the crime, according to University Police Det. Commander Tom King. The search took longer than initially expected because the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives bureau "wanted to make sure" that they had the right suspect, he explained. Schofield's last known residence, the 4500 block of Pine Street, was just three blocks away from the crime scene, a block a resident described in November as "neighborhoody." Most residents said in November that the shooting did not make them feel unsafe on the block, which they said is patrolled every 10 minutes by University Police and security guards. Crime on and near campus had declined significantly since the fall 1996 crime wave, which culminated in the September 25 shooting of then-College senior Patrick Leroy at 40th and Locust streets. When McCormack was shot, a University Police car was less than a block away, a symbol of the increased police and security presence in the area. It is unclear whether or not McCormack refused to give his assailant the keys to his car. At the time, University President Judith Rodin told The Daily Pennsylvanian that there was a "behavioral lesson" to be learned from the shooting: that students should always "give it up" in a robbery. But McCormack said the original report that he had refused to hand over his keys was "false." He said he didn't believe that "students should just give up" and automatically hand over their belongings in a robbery. In a November 20 interview with the DP, McCormack criticized the University for trying to "gloss everything over," and stressed that safety on campus has "just gone from horrendous to worse" despite improved crime statistics this semester. After the bullet lodged in McCormack's thigh, he was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Doctors decided to forgo surgery to remove the bullet, and he was released later in the week. McCormack's shooting was the second such incident near campus last semester. The first occurred September 6, when a 23-year old resident of Frasier, Pa., was robbed and shot on 41st and Sansom streets.
(01/12/98 10:00am)
Sam Jeantel, 31, was killed December 30 near 34th Street and Civic Center Blvd. The 3400 block of Civic Center Boulevard is only seconds away from the 18-story Penn Tower Hotel, two hospitals and the University Museum. A student might come here to see an exhibit, get a yearly check-up or meet visiting parents. Philadelphia resident Sam Jeantel, 31, went to the the block to meet an unknown acquaintance after receiving a page late on the night of December 30. And a few minutes after midnight, it was where he met a violent, untimely death, according to police. A five-year old girl first alerted the police to Jeantel's murder. After watching her father figure get shot at least five times, she walked into the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and reported the crime, police said. The child, who family members identified as the daughter of Jeantel's girlfriend, was not injured in the incident. "She's all right, she's just traumatized," said Louis Jeantel, Sam Jeantel's cousin. Philadelphia police found Jeantel inside a van with gunshot wounds to the head, back and legs. Ambulances quickly transported him to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he remained in critical condition for several hours. At 11:20 a.m., doctors turned off the respirators and pronounced him dead, police said. Jeantel, who lived on the 1600 block of Roumfort Rd. in a working class neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia, was buried Saturday at the Chelten Avenue Haitian Evangelical Baptist Church. Philadelphia homicide detectives are investigating the incident. Police have not yet made any arrests, nor have they determined a motive for the homicide. Jeantel's parents, who also live in Northwest Philadelphia, declined to comment. Jeantel made a living in the computer industry, according to his cousin, Eddy Jeantel. "This guy is sharp," he said. "He graduated from Temple [with a degree] in computer science." Charles Jowers, a contractor who lives on Jeantel's block, said he last saw him working at the Allegheny University Hospital at 3300 Henry Avenue. But he knew little else about Jeantel, who he said he "rarely saw." "He'd only lived here a few years and [I heard] he didn't own his place," Jowers said. Neither police nor Jeantel's cousins could provide further information on his girlfriend, who Eddy Jeantel said had been dating Jeantel for a year. Jeantel's friends and family believe that the person who paged him is connected to the murder, although the detectives investigating the murder were unavailable for comment. Eddy Jeantel stressed that he was confident police would soon arrest a suspect in his cousin's murder. "[Police] said the [detectives] got his pager, so they can work out who called him at the time to find out who killed him," he said. Jeantel's murder is one of a handful in the last few years on and near Penn's campus. University Police last summer responded to the off-campus slaying of a man unaffiliated with the University, though no further information was available at the time. In October 1996, University biochemist Vladimir Sled was stabbed to death in a robbery attempt near 43rd Street and Larchwood Avenue. Fifth-year Mathematics graduate student Al-Moez Alimohamed was shot to death in August 1995 by a group of teenage males. And in December 1994, a man standing in front of the Thriftway supermarket at 43rd and Walnut streets was shot and killed by two men.
(01/12/98 10:00am)
Continuing a trend of decreasing crime on and around campus last semester and over the last three winter breaks, 24 percent fewer crimes were reported to University Police this winter break than during the same period last year. Just 62 incidents were reported to University Police between December 19 and January 9, compared to 82 reported during the same period from 1996 to 1997. This year's figure represents a four-year low for winter-break crime within the Penn Police jurisdiction, which spans the area between Market Street and Baltimore Avenue and between the Schuylkill River and 43rd Street. The figures mirror statistics obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian for the period from September 1 to November 15, which showed most crimes were down significantly from last year's numbers. The most notable winter-break crime was the murder of a man from Northwest Philadelphia on the morning of December 31. He was shot multiple times in the head, back and legs by an unknown person on the 3400 block of Civic Center Boulevard, police said. Philadelphia police are investigating the homicide. The man was carrying a beeper and had received a page shortly before he was murdered, police said. His girlfriend's five-year-old daughter, who was unharmed, walked into the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to report the incident, police said. Three assaults were reported during the three-week vacation period, compared with two a year earlier. In one incident on December 20, a man was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after punching a University City District safety ambassador and a police officer at 36th and Walnut streets, police said. Richard Lewis, a Dental School employee, was also arrested for aggravated assault after punching a police officer in the face outside the Dental School, police said. Lewis, 39, was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the incident. Robberies, down 26 percent early in the fall semester, also fell during winter break, from six last year to four this year. In a January 3 incident at Abner's Cheesesteaks on the 3800 block of Chestnut Street, an employee was held up at gunpoint and instructed to get into the freezer, according to University Police Det. Commander Tom King. Two men then robbed the store of between $1,200 and $1,500 in cash before fleeing the scene. A Philadelphia Police officer from the 16th District caught one of the men at 41st and Chestnut streets and recovered the money, police said. The man, who had been accidentally shot in the foot by his partner, was arrested. The accomplice remains at large. And a student living on the 4000 block of Baltimore Avenue was robbed inside his house at gunpoint of $45 in cash and a PennCard by a man on December 22, police said. Thefts decreased 28 percent, from 47 incidents last winter break to 29 this year. The most recent incident was Friday's theft of a green 1993 Mercury on the 100 block of South 33rd Street, according to police. Winter break again brought unruly shoplifters to the Gap store on the 3400 block of Walnut Street. Last year, three male suspects attempting to steal shirts assaulted two store employees, according to police. This year, a woman attempting to steal two pairs of jeans from the Gap was caught by a store security guard December 19, police said. The woman pulled a syringe on the guard before being wrestled to the ground. A Philadelphia Police officer came to arrest her, police said.
(12/11/97 10:00am)
After months of renovations, today's reopening of the Kelly Writers House will be marked by speeches and a concert. In the kitchen, cornbread is baking. A jazz percussionist's friend critiques his poetry at the kitchen table. Two artists stand on chairs in the dining room, hanging newly framed masterpieces beneath the freshly painted molding and burgundy trim. Inside the living room, affectionately dubbed the "Arts Cafe," an esteemed publisher shares wry words of wisdom from 30 years in the business. "You can get a six-figure salary starting out with Morgan Stanley, and if you're lucky, you'll probably end up with that as an editor in publishing," he says, laughing. Most of those in the Writers House -- freshmen, sophomores, graduate students and staff members alike -- are the ones who aren't at Penn so they can one day take home a big paycheck. But they are accompanied by a few who are -- and that kind of diversity is the point of the Writers House. After six months of renovations financed by a $1.1 million gift from University alumnus Paul Kelly, the Writers House at 3805 Locust Walk celebrates its reopening today with a day-long "open house." There are the English majors -- and the Finance majors and the Psychology graduate students and the Nursing staff -- all united by the heady aroma of coffee beans and the yellow glow of brand-new lighting. "We just attract all kinds of people," said Writers House Director and English Professor Al Filreis. "We seek diversity." "There's a sense and a spirit associated with [the house]," he added, noting that the student, faculty and staff collaboration in running the house makes it "probably one of a kind." Since it reopened October 27, the Writers House has been the site of a seminar, workshop, meeting or jazz concert nearly every day. Next semester, six writing classes will hold regular meetings there -- quite an achievement for a program that operated out of a suite in High Rise South for six months during the renovations, hosting functions in locales like Houston Hall and Chats. While the program was in exile, several speakers and students indicated that they were eager to move back to the 19th century edifice, which formerly housed the University Chaplain. "I feel kind of gypped," said Philadelphia magazine executive editor Mark Cohen, a 1984 College alumnus who was forced to speak to the community last September in Houston Hall because of the Writers House renovations. "I remember from my days that Wharton and pre-Med really seem to dominate the agenda, and this really puts writing and the liberal arts at the forefront," Cohen said. College senior Nate Chinen,who serves as the house's assistant director, added that it's "certainly a place where things happen." "But it's also just a place where you just hang out, and that's how I [originally] got to know the spirit of the house," he added. "I spent 12 hours there today." Kerry Sherin, a 1987 College alumna who both works and lives inside the house as its resident coordinator, is equally enamored of the house. "There was never a space and a place for writers and readers to come and claim their territory and say, 'We matter'," she said. With then-English Department Undergraduate Chairperson Filreis as its leader, the writing community received the keys to the house in November 1995 from University President Judith Rodin and Provost Stanley Chodorow as part of an administrative effort to create nonresidential program hubs. Sherin, the only person who actually lives in the house, said that students involved with the program take on an "amazing sense of ownership." Indeed, anyone is welcome to sip coffee inside the house, host an event or become involved with the planning committee. When the time came to furnish the house, each member of the planning group was budgeted $50 to find a wooden chair that suited his or her "personal taste." For a house with an 850-member e-mail listserv, its programming is amazingly flexible. "Let's say you're on the planning committee," explained Chinen, referring to the open group that schedules events for the house. "So you really like, for example, James Tate's poetry. Just ask around, send him a letter, see if he's willing and how much he'd need for a stipend. More often than not it works out." Such was the case when Chinen asked veteran Philadelphia saxophonist Julian Pressley to perform with The Virgin House Band -- for which Chinen is a drummer -- during one of their weekly Thursday night Writers House gigs. For $200, Pressley agreed -- and he and the band played to a packed Writers House November 20. What is the place of jazz in a house devoted to writing? Like coffee, it has always been a natural accompaniment. And the performance was a perfect example of the varied purposes the House has taken on. Poetry readings with jazz interludes spawned a monthly midnight radio show on Penn's FM radio station, WXPN. The artwork of the Artist's Guild is often on display. And today's festivities include a marathon poetry reading as well as a performance by the Virgin House Band. Even the writing workshops have shown remarkable diversity. On Tuesday, Donald Lamm, chairperson of W.W. Norton & Co.'s trade-books division, gave the last in a series of lectures by officials from the publishing company. And David Breskin, who has written for GQ and Esquire magazines, gave a poetry reading two weeks ago. But not everyone is impressed by the diverse community and variety of activities at the Writers House. Gilbert Sanders, a 1949 College alumnus who writes a monthly column for The (Baltimore) Sun, said that after speaking to a Writers House group in October he was disappointed with the lack of interest in nonfiction writing. The Writers House seems to attract only "people interested in writing poetry, manuscripts for television and movies," Sanders complained. "You go into that Writers House, which is sort of la-la land," he said. Sherin conceded that "a journalist's sensibilities are a lot different from a poet's." But she disagreed with Sanders' notion that a journalist-creative writer dichotomy existed, adding that she thinks the planning committee will continue to define its mission through the guest speakers it invites to the house. "We continue to have discussions as to what is the Writers House and what we want to spend our money on, and do we want to bring in screenwriters, theorists, journalists," Sherin said. "Our conclusion is really no conclusion -- just that it's working right now," she added.
(11/24/97 10:00am)
The Progressive Action Network aims to better coordinate student activism on Penn-related issues. The University has been "pissing off" Peter Chowla for three years. But while the left-wing Wharton and Engineering senior has resisted the campus-wide "apathy" he said plagues the Penn campus by forming the Free Burma Coalition last year, he hasn't yet focused his activism on University-issues. Neither had Penn Environmental Group head Melissa Pfeffer -- until last Friday. With College Green as their stage, Pfeffer and friends formally launched the Progressive Action Network by passing out angry flyers and denouncing the University's "corporate ties." The brainchild of Pfeffer and Chowla, PAN -- which holds its introductory meeting Tuesday night in Houston Hall's Graduate Student Lounge -- will be the first organization in years to protest primarily Penn-related issues. But PAN will not be starting from scratch -- it is already fortified with members of several existing activist organizations. "Most progressive, activist people I know are interested in more than one cause," explained PAN co-founder Maria Arlotto, a College junior representing the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Alliance. One of six groups for which PAN will serve as a pseudo-"umbrella" organization, the LGBA has been instrumental in forming the group. "Penn always seems so apathetic, everyone always seems so interested in themselves," she continued. "This way, we can all come out to support each others' groups." But Arlotto acknowledged that not everyone in the LGBA "wants to be activist in nature" -- and the same, inevitably, holds true for the other five organizations, leaving many aspects of PAN undefined. Specifically, while PAN will serve as an umbrella organization similar to organizations such as the Performing Arts Council, it will not necessarily affect the operations of the groups underneath it. And while phrases like "corporate ties" and the "polarization of wealth" are commonly listed among the founders' grievances, PAN leaders are careful not to take a stance on behalf of the entire group until all of its members have met. "It's kind of up in the air right now with so far as what PAN is going to be, so we kind of decided to leave it open [until the first meeting Tuesday]," said College senior Katie Cooper, a representative from the Penn Environmental Group. One thing is for certain -- the group is "progressive." But exactly what that means has "not yet settled," according to Penn Women's Alliance representative Melissa Goldstein, a College senior. Originally, when "progressive" was not a prerequisite for joining the group, Pfeffer, an Engineering sophomore, e-mailed leaders of about 25 organizations ranging from the Penn Republicans to Hillel about joining a new activist organization. At the same time, Chowla decided to target "progressive groups" for a similar organization, eliminating "more conservative" groups in an attempt to help the fledgling group avoid vast schisms in opinion. Because of the small size of Penn's activist community, Chowla and Pfeffer crossed paths last year and agreed to start the network. But its launch was delayed until the "exciting events of the previous weeks," such as the visit of noted left-wing linguist and political critic Noam Chomsky last week, according to PAN's mission statement. While many PAN members express cynicism and disgust as the widespread apathy of Penn students, the group's founders looked at the demonstration protesting Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to campus three weeks ago as a galvanizing moment for uniting Penn's progressive community. "The protest was really moving," Cooper said. "We had this realization that there is activism on campus, even if it is sparse and it needs something really big like the Chinese president to inspire it." The October 30 demonstration, organized by Amnesty International but also incorporating Free Burma and the Penn Environmental Group, attracted about 75 people -- a number not seen at a student demonstration since the days of the Progressive Students Alliance in the early 1990s. Back in the 1980s and lasting into 1993, the Progressive Students Alliance's raison d'_tre was similar to that of PAN -- protesting decisions by University administrators. In 1990, the PSA protested the "preponderantly white, all male" fraternity presence on Locust Walk during Greek Week. In 1991, the same group held a "Wedding from Hell" during a speech at the Wharton School by then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, in protest of military recruitment and the Air Force investment in the construction of the Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. Though such protests have all but disappeared over the last four years, military funding of the now-finished IAST building is again at the forefront of the activists' agendas. And recent issues such as the controversial outsourcing of facilities management to Dallas-based Trammel Crow Co. and the University's continued soliciting of national retail chains are also things PAN hopes the student body will begin "asking questions" about. "I know our group will take a stance on the University's treatment of local businesses," Chowla said. Coining the phrase "the New Jersification of West Philadelphia" to describe University efforts to bring national retail to campus, Chowla criticized the Sansom Common project. "The thing I most want to see happen is for people to realize that there are links between the injustices that are happening," he said. "They all happen because of a few people, a few corporations."
(11/19/97 10:00am)
Edwin Mansfield died of cancer yesterday morning at his home. Almost until the final hours of his life yesterday morning, Economics Professor Edwin Mansfield was devoted to a teaching career that defied the law of diminishing marginal utility. The 67-year-old professor, who taught at the University for 22 years, died of cancer in his home in Wallingford, Pa., yesterday morning. Mansfield stopped teaching three weeks ago, and his Economics 1 students were told just last week that their substitute would take over for the rest of semester. "That he was teaching until three, four weeks ago shows how dedicated he was," Economics Department Chairperson Mark Rosenzweig said. Students in Mansfield's class, who were notified of the professor's death via e-mail yesterday, said they were surprised by his abrupt death. "[Mansfield] didn't really seem like he was run down by disease, he just seemed like he was getting on in years," said College freshman Daniel Carlin, one of the Mansfield's students this semester. But most of Mansfield's students remembered how he had sat behind a desk throughout class and wrote notes on the board ahead of time. They took his frailty and his strained voice as a sign the professor was past his peak. In his heyday, Mansfield wrote an Economics textbook that sold over 1 million copies, according to Rosenzweig. College freshman David Caldwell said that Mansfield "was a little intimidating, in how long he's been on the faculty and the fact that he had been teaching out of his own textbook, so he impressed me." "But he was fun," Caldwell added. "He was like a grandfather. I couldn't hear him and he didn't care, he told great stories and had an incredible mind." In recent years, Mansfield, who received a doctorate in Economics at Duke University, focused his research on industrial organization and technological change in relation to the economy. After conducting research with the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mansfield published a series of papers on technology development in 1995 and 1996. He was also responsible for developing many of the Economics Department's graduate courses, according to Rosenzweig. "He was a stalwart of the [Economic] principles course," Rosenzweig said. Many students who took Mansfield's class emphasized his "grandfatherly" good-naturedness and his obvious brilliance, saying they felt "honored" to be in his class. "In general, he seemed like he was an amazing man," said College freshman Brendan Moriarty, who is currently in Econ 1. "I would've loved to have gotten to know him better, to invite him to a 'take your professor to dinner' thing? and just sat down and had a conversation with him," he added. Caldwell described the professor's low tolerance for quitters and strong personality despite his advanced age. "I didn't have a strong background in calculus, so I approached him after class and he just said 'to hell with you! We'll see what you can do'!" he said. "It made me want to work harder -- I knew that I should either put up or shut up, and I did not want to quit the class."
(11/18/97 10:00am)
The Federal Communications Commission shut down WSKR 97.7 for operating without a license. For two years, West Philadelphians had a disc jockey who played the hip-hop they liked, ruminated about the issues that interested them, and allowed them to sing on the air -- once they got through to his single phone line. His name is Napolean Kinkaid "Superstar Jackson." As a disc jockey and spokesperson for the local FM station WSKR 97.7 -- a "pirate" radio station shut down last Wednesday for operating without a Federal Communications Commission license -- he estimates he reached 500-700 listeners nightly from the station's 52nd Street offices. "Superstar" Kinkaid, who interviewed neighborhood celebrities and discussed issues ranging from date rape to "women wearing big earrings" on his 6-10 p.m. hip-hop show, is off the air. And until he and station CEO Mike Stone -- who chose not to comment on the situation -- can get a license, the station will stay that way. The station must scrounge up $2,300 for a preliminary "construction permit," without which the FCC will keep the transmitter and antenna it confiscated. "'Pirate radio' may constitute a serious threat to public safety and cause annoying interference to transmissions of legitimate, licensed broadcast stations," FCC officials said in a written release. In the case of WSKR, the "legitimate" station whose airwaves it interfered with was WPST 97.5 FM, which broadcasts out of Princeton, N.J. "I don't see what all the fuss is. Princeton is all the way in damn New Jersey," Kinkaid said. "But this has happened. What we gotta do is pull ourselves up by the buckstraps and start walking again so it comes back as a legitimate radio station." While a regional FCC spokesperson expressed doubt as to whether the station will be able to obtain a license in the crowded Philadelphia FM market, Kinkaid claimed that the problem is primarily a financial one. But the "money problem" isn't limited to his own difficulties with the fledgling station. It's part of a national "mindset" that he feels is perpetuated by modern hip-hop icons like Sean "Puffy" Combs. "With this new Generation X, Puff is the man. I don't think that highly of him, I don't get nothin' from his songs. But that's what everybody's mindframe is into, is getting money and spending money, getting to whatever your goal might be with money." Shutting down the station has brought him and Stone publicity -- most of it positive. After an article in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore station WOLV broadcast the two of them over the phone for "about an hour," according to Stone. Last night, Channel 6 called them to set up an interview. "It's a strange situation that something so negative would get a positive response, but maybe this is an indication that we didn't do anything wrong," Kinkaid said. "We didn't tell people to kill people, we didn't tell people the wrong things to do. Our message is positive," he continued, adding that crime in University City "has to be stopped." "This reminds me of Jesus, the way he got crucified on the cross," he said. "He didn't have a lot of money or power per se, but he was a messenger of love and nobody wanted to believe it. Nobody wants to believe WSKR was trying to help the people. We was doing what Jesus was doing."
(11/18/97 10:00am)
Part of the $250,000 will establish Penn's first gay targeted scholarship. Many facets of the University's gay community will soon receive a boost, fueled by a $250,000 donation from a gay couple who made their fortunes with Microsoft and Goldman Sachs. About $100,000 of the donation will go toward establishing the first Penn scholarship specifically targeting gay and lesbian students. Another $100,000 will fund general financial aid. And the remaining $50,000 will name a room in Perelman Quadrangle for the gay and lesbian community. The two donors, domestic partners who live in Seattle, cite their "positive experiences" at Penn as the reason they have maintained an active involvement in the University, particularly its gay community. College graduate David Goodhand returns to campus often and still reminisces about the "intellectual experience," the friends he made living in Hill House and the urban contrast to growing up in rural Pennsylvania. He admits that his memories are colored by the love he found in 1985 with Wharton graduate Vincent Griski, who has lived with him since their years in Stouffer College House. Goodhand and Griski hoped their donation, announced Homecoming Weekend, would spawn similar gestures from other gay graduates. Already, an anonymous donor has matched their gift with $50,000 for financial aid. The couple has received "highly positive" feedback from members of the University community, including University President Judith Rodin, the Office of Alumni Affairs and University Trustees, according to Goodhand. Lesbian Gay Bisexual Center Director Bob Schoenberg called the donation "an extremely positive development" for the gay community. "I frankly think that there's quite a bit of money out there that the University might be able to access from alumni if they knew that it was being used to support gay programs," Schoenberg said. But gifts from gay alumni are not always welcomed -- especially if they involve "conditions" as to how the money is spent, Schoenberg added. While "some" institutions have similar scholarships available for lesbian and gay students, he cited Yale University's refusal of alumnus and AIDS activist Larry Kramer's offer of his $5 million estate in exchange for establishing two endowed chairs in gay and lesbian studies. And other institutions have objected to starting gay-lesbian alumni networks in fear that it might offend older alumni. But, according to Goodhand, Penn's response to his donation has been "eye-opening." "I came in with a perception that I shouldn't really trust the administration or Trustees," he said. "And maybe I'm older or maybe my perception was just wrong, but they really do care about the University." Goodhand and Griski have have also pledged $10,000 to the LGBC, and have expressed a desire to support the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance, which is currently in debt. "Vincent and I met at a LGAP [Lesbians and Gays at Penn, the LGBA's predecessor] dance, and it seems the LGBA now is a little hard-pressed for money," Goodhand said. Although the couple has not donated money to the LGBA for fear of jeopardizing its funding from the Student Activities Council, Schoenberg said he was "aware" of their intention.
(11/14/97 10:00am)
Chainsaw in hand, a goggled University President Judith Rodin inaugurated the Performing Arts Council's new scene shop yesterday by cutting a plywood "ribbon" in two. PAC members who crowded into the fluorescent-lit, high-ceilinged workshop for the ceremony dressed warmly for the occasion, as the shop at 4100 Walnut Street still lacks heat. And although the space is far better for storing costumes than for performing, the Intuitons, Quaker Notes and Penn Singers celebrated the long-awaited opening with snippets from recent and upcoming shows. Originally scheduled to open in July, use of the shop above Urban & Bye Realtors was delayed for three months while the University waited for city approval. But despite the wait, PAC members say they are quite happy with the new space, which replaces the technical, costume and prop shops they lost when Irvine Auditorium closed for renovations. "It's really nice because it was designed for us, with high ceilings and a lot of outlets," PAC Chairperson Elizabeth Scanlon said. "It was built with set building in mind, which the basement of Irvine wasn't." "That, and we don't have any pet mice in the new shop," the College senior added. Now settled in and using the shop nightly, PAC members see the opening as a positive, if tardy, symbol of the University's willingness to help performing arts groups find alternatives for the spaces they will lose and have already lost due to widespread campus construction. "This is a case where we just told the University what we wanted, and they gave it to us," PAC Co-Chairperson and Engineering junior Ron Isaacson said. Rodin added that if construction created difficulties for PAC initially, it ended up working for the better. "You guys were handed some lemons, and you really made lemonade," she said. Afterwards, eager students feasted on hummus and cookies and mingled with Rodin, who was monopolized by one admiring Mask and Wig member. "I would have to say, we really liked the long hair, though? I mean, we had wigs like that," said College senior Brian Levine, joking that Rodin's shorn head was harder for the comedy group to imitate. "Why do you think I cut it?" she replied.
(11/11/97 10:00am)
The Kensington Achievement Foundation letters asked more than 1,500 students to send $15 to apply. More than 1,500 University students were praised for their "academic success" in a mysterious letter from the "Kensington Achievement Foundation" last weekend that is under investigation by University Police as a possible fraud. Promising students the "opportunity to partake in a broad range of activities" and "numerous employment and scholarship opportunities," the letter sheds little light on the goals of the society, while asking interested students to send $15 and an application to 3741 Walnut Street -- the address for Mailboxes Etc. And although the letter is on Penn stationery, it is signed by Nathan Gierke, who doesn't work at or attend the University. He doesn't even live in Philadelphia -- or on the East Coast, for that matter. Gierke is a junior at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who, along with College junior Brian Deshur and a few friends from Milwaukee, is trying to form a national honor society with chapters at each of their schools. "There are no honor societies on a macroscopic level here," Deshur explained as his reason for starting the foundation, adding that Gierke's name is on the letter because of his valuable "advice." But with Penn serving as the foundation's first testing grounds, the budding honor society has gotten off to a dubious start. "I think a lot of people tend to be suspicious at this school," said Assistant Director of Student Activities Beth Hagovsky, noting that she and the Office of Student Life have received many inquiries regarding the foundation in the past few days. "It was literally just, 'We're a club, please send us money'," said College junior Emily Lieff, one of those on the mailing list. "It gave absolutely no details as to the purpose of the group, what I could gain from being a member or what qualifications had to be met in order for me to be a member." Other students were similarly confused -- but because only Gierke's name is on the letter, they had no one to contact. A few bewildered recipients searched for the foundation on the University's World Wide Web pages and found Deshur on the student activities contact list. University Police Det. Gary Heller was one such person. "He was concerned that it was some sort of scam," said Deshur, adding that the distrust surrounding his venture is getting "frustrating." University Police officials were unavailable for comment yesterday. "I put a lot of effort into this and the last thing I want is to rip people off," he said. Despite the concern from students and University Police, Deshur's tactics for approaching the University have been completely legitimate from the beginning, according to Hagovsky. "He's never been afraid to tell us who he is, [he did] all the right things," she added. She said Deshur registered with her office earlier in the year and was persistent about obtaining a mailing list of likely candidates. Although she advised him against approaching the University Registrar for a mailing list, stressing their high cost, Deshur paid up. After requesting the names and addresses of all sophomores and juniors with grade point averages of 3.3 and above -- about 1,500 students -- Deshur individually mailed each one a letter with an application to join the society. Deshur explained that the application fee will cover the costs so far: the mailing list, postage and KAF logo design. Any leftovers he receives will "go right back into the organization," he said.
(11/03/97 10:00am)
Chinese President Jiang Zemin's speech at Harvard was a stark contrast to his low-key appearance at Penn. China's size, influence and importance have caused American politicians to allow it to act in ways the U.S. would otherwise object to in order to keep the nation's support. But Chinese President Jiang Zemin's speech at Harvard University Saturday was proof that the school's prestige and influence could convince him to make similar compromises. Indeed, he set aside extra time during his short Sino-U.S. summit visit for a detour to Boston precisely "because it's Harvard," he told The Boston Globe. In contrast to Penn, which kept Jiang's visit secret for several weeks and invited a small, exclusive guest list to his address, Harvard held a lottery for interested students and allowed 80 members of the press to cover the speech. Jiang not only allowed a larger, less-selective audience at Harvard, but he took questions from the floor and tolerated huge protests. Yet his visit to Harvard was greeted by none of the cordial remarks on his "leadership," the glowing support from politicians or the monogrammed jerseys that marked his four hours in Philadelphia, when the city seemed to take the world leader's mere presence as an honor. During his visit to Drexel University, U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) presented him with a Flyers jersey. At Penn, University President Judith Rodin praised his economic reforms. There was neither time nor motivation to confront Jiang with human rights concerns in public, and the largest crowd of demonstrators in the city numbered only approximately 350. But Jiang's arrival at Harvard's Sanders Theater Saturday was greeted by almost 4,000 demonstrators, a larger contingent of protesters than at any of his other summit stops, according to some news sources. Protesters were far from Jiang's biggest challenge. Due to Harvard policy, questions for the president were mandatory. After giving a lecture on Chinese history before the 800-plus audience, Jiang acknowledged the throngs of protesters he had encountered on his trip, the diversity of his country and admitted that his country had made a few "mistakes." Jiang also made what some call the closest a Chinese leader has ever come to apologizing for his government's massacre of unarmed student protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. "It goes without saying that naturally we may have shortcomings and even make mistakes in our work, but we are constantly aiming to improve," he said. And in a subtle reference to the human rights activists he'd met during the trip, Jiang said he had gained a "much more specific" understanding of American democracy -- "much more specific than the books." Predictably, neither comment appears in mainland Chinese transcripts of the speech. To his nation, Jiang's trip showed him to be a strong leader who defends the Chinese government's tough stance on human rights and Tibetan independence. Indeed, much of his speech at Harvard was boilerplate rhetoric and subtle reaction to common chides from the U.S. "People of all nationalities enjoy full rights and freedoms," he said at one point. "In places where there is a high concentration of minority nationality people, regional autonomy is in practice." Jiang's host Ezra Vogel, co-chairperson of Harvard's East Asian Languages and Civilizations Department and a noted "friend of China," was instrumental in convincing Jiang to come to the university. Vogel reportedly invited the leader in 1996, long before summit plans were set in stone. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, also an American figure beloved by the Chinese, also encouraged Jiang to make the trip. At Harvard, Jiang was not the radiant, venerated "leader" who did not meet a single reference to "Tibet" or "Tiananmen" at his brief Penn appearance. But he handled the "Free Taiwan" T-shirts in the audience and the crowds of demonstrators outside the building -- the largest on campus since the Vietnam War -- well. "I have no choice but to speak louder," he said in reference to the din of the demonstration.
(10/31/97 10:00am)
Jiang spoke to 150 in Chinese and English, while Rodin praised his leadership without reservations. If cynical analysts noticed President Clinton's failure to dub this week's Sino-U.S. summit "historic," the rhetorical void was filled by University President Judith Rodin last night as she welcomed Chinese President Jiang Zemin to campus. "Huanying nin," Rodin began in an awkward -- though well-received -- attempt to greet Jiang in Chinese. "We welcome you for this historic occasion," she continued. Standing at a podium decked in triumphant red satin inside an auditorium suffused by the muted crimson glow of spotlights, Jiang replied with "best wishes to the faculty and students of the University of Pennsylvania" in both English and Chinese. One reason Jiang had for praising the University lies in the $250,000 "financial aid" the Wharton School is giving the country for an executive management program to train Chinese government officials. Indeed, Jiang lauded the University's "extensive exchanges and cooperation" with China. He made no mention of his tense interaction on Capitol Hill with human rights advocates -- ranging from President Clinton Wednesday to 50 members of Congress yesterday and punctuated by flocks of protesters every step of the way. Instead, he spoke of "fruitful talks with President Clinton" and the formation of a "strategic partnership" with the U.S. As he moved from a scripted speech in Chinese to English, hailing the event as a "brilliant page to the annals" of U.S.-Chinese cooperation, it seemed that his talk of "partnership" was best-suited for the school itself. For the radiant president, only slightly hoarse from days of travel, Philadelphia was undoubtedly easier than Washington. A smattering of protesters showed up at Drexel, a few more at Penn and 60-80 at Independence Hall. Rodin also proved an easier hostess than those championing China's human rights in Washington. She praised Jiang for his country's economic accomplishments and for leading a country "of 1.3 billion people." Director of International Programs for the Graduate School of Education Cheng Davis, a mainland Chinese native with a significant role in the University's cooperation with China, translated Rodin's comments into Chinese. "The power of your leadership [is] evident," said Rodin to Jiang. "It is especially fitting that you chose to honor the University of Pennsylvania with your visit today," she continued. "[Penn was] the nation's first university, in the home of one of America's earliest leaders, Ben Franklin." The warmth of the lighting, the auditorium and Rodin's greetings exemplified Penn's tradition of close and friendly ties with the People's Republic of China, which she mentioned in her welcome. "Six of our schools currently enjoy collaborative relationships," Rodin said, emphasizing Penn's recent undertaking to help improve the efficiency of China's state-owned enterprises -- a difficult task. In a project announced Monday, Wharton will help to fund a joint effort with the Education School to give executive management training to the officials who run the state businesses -- which make up the majority of the Communist nation's corporations. The project will be the first effort by an academic institution to assist the Chinese in such a way, and it is the product of a long history of Penn-China cooperation. Education Dean Susan Fuhrman is now in Shanghai leading a delegation of researchers on a tour of China. And the Medical School is extremely involved in student/faculty exchanges. In addition, Penn's is a cooperation accompanied by almost none of the suspicion and underlying tension that has characterized the Sino-U.S. summit so far. Inside the Museum, faculty and students -- invited primarily on the basis of East Asian affiliations -- were respectful for Jiang. In contrast to the controversy Jiang's pending visit to Harvard has sparked -- police expect it will draw about 3,000 demonstrators -- those in attendance showed mostly support for the leader. "This is a big event, and I'm glad to be here," said Ruth Chang, a sophomore Asian and Middle Eastern Studies major and member of the Penn Taiwanese Society. "Penn might be a bit too accommodating, but I think it's a good idea to have relations with China." Another Taiwanese member of the audience, Mandarin lecturer Min-min Liang said she did not have anything bad to say about mainland China, and added, "I'm happy to be here." Outside, a crowd of protesters -- advocating human rights, Tibetan freedom and Taiwan separatism -- waved posters. Another group of mainland students, draped in a P.R.C. flag, assembled across the street from the protesters to counteract their angry protests with words of support for Jiang. But a few graduate students shouting "Taiwan, island of freedom" notwithstanding, the Taiwanese community -- like the rest of the University -- seemed welcoming towards Jiang. "One thing that's clear is how seriously Penn is taken internationally," AMES Professor Paul Rakita Goldin said after the speech as Rodin escorted Jiang around the Rotunda for a look at the Museum's Chinese art collection.
(10/30/97 10:00am)
The Chinese president will only stay on campus for 30 minutes, enough time to laud a deal with Penn. It's the first thing today on Ed Rendell's typically nonstop schedule: "3:25 p.m.: mayor to greet Chinese President Jiang Zemin at airport, gate 55." But today, the mayor's is not the busiest itinerary in town -- Jiang's is. The Chinese president is scheduled to land at 3:25, speak at Drexel's Mandell Theater at 5, appear at the University Museum's Harrison Auditorium at 5:30, be at the Liberty Bell at 6 and leave for New York City shortly thereafter. And while Jiang's planned trip to Penn's ENIAC museum is now "unlikely," according to Wildes, and there is even talk of him skipping his trip to the Liberty Bell to avoid demonstrators, Jiang still plans to find time to gulp down a few sips of tea with his old teacher, Penn Engineering Professor Emeritus Gu Yuxiu, 95. But Jiang's visit to Penn, while brief, will still draw protesters upset with China's human rights record -- and Penn's ties to the government in spite of it. At a meeting last night, Amnesty International members criticized Penn's long-standing policy of "engagement" with mainland China. While many universities currently host faculty exchanges between the two nations, and many more vie for brainy Chinese students, few -- if any -- can match Penn's high level of involvement. Today, Jiang is expected to acknowledge a new "landmark" joint Graduate School of Education-Wharton School program designed to train the administrators of China's state-owned enterprises in free-market practices. "State-owned enterprises face tremendous crisis," explained Cheng Davis, International Programs coordinator for the Education School. "They cannot compete even domestically, much less internationally." But while many see the initiative as a product of Wharton's international reputation, the Education School has dealt with China longer. In 1981, Davis herself became one of the first Chinese students to receive an Education scholarship. After graduation, she worked at Drexel, greatly enhancing the school's ties to China and meeting Jiang Zemin's son, Jiang Mianhong. In 1993, Penn hired her back. Since then, the school has launched initiatives to conduct education research in Shanghai. And today, while Jiang visits Philadelphia to acknowledge a program she helped create, Education Dean Susan Fuhrman is in Shanghai, helping to organize a collaborative education research effort. Fuhrman will also speak to the International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai, in her role as a senior advisor to the Shanghai education commission. "Very, very highbrow stuff. Mucho private planes coming into Shanghai," reads an informal itinerary of Fuhrman's trip. Six schools in the University have ties with China, but it is unlikely that the program Jiang will herald today could exist without the contacts and cooperation of the Education School, which has sponsored faculty exchanges in China since the early 1920s. "We're probably the only college in America with that kind of commitment," Wildes said of the Education-China ties. "Last I heard [Jiang] had 20 or more [invitations to speak]? we're very plugged in."
(10/30/97 10:00am)
Around 15 students showed up last night in Houston Hall's Smith-Penniman room to condemn forced labor, urge compassion for Tibetans, and decorate posterboards in preparation for Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to campus today. For students disillusioned with what Amnesty International Treasurer Josh Marcus, a College senior, called a "remarkable lack of activism on campus," the meeting, while small, offered a welcome change. Members debated, delegated tasks for the next day, and went to work coloring signs. Unfortunately for the small Amnesty-headed group, the Taiwanese Society did not join the cause. "They said that, although China is threatening their security, they did not want to take any political stance," explained Amnesty president, Mark Kahn, a College senior. "My three main focuses would be torture, murder and Tibet," Marcus said as he advised participants on subjects for their posters. "But signs focused on Penn are also appropriate." Marcus emphasized that Amnesty International was "disturbed" by the new Penn initiative, which will train executives of China's state-owned enterprises in the ways of capitalism. But many said they were offended Jiang is coming to the city at all. "It's embarrassing that he's getting to come to the Liberty Bell, while he is leader of one of the most oppressive regimes on earth," said College freshman Martine Apodaca. University spokesperson Ken Wildes said that although the area outside of the University Museum will be closed, preventing protesters from getting too close, the streets will remain open "until the very last minute." Meanwhile, other students will exercise a subtler form of civil disobedience by viewing noted Tibetan sympathizer Richard Gere's new movie Red Corner at a free International House screening at 8 p.m.
(10/30/97 10:00am)
The Chinese president will only stay on campus for 30 minutes, enough time to laud a deal with Penn. It's the first thing today on Ed Rendell's typically nonstop schedule: "3:25 p.m.: mayor to greet Chinese President Jiang Zemin at airport, gate 55." But today, the mayor's is not the busiest itinerary in town -- Jiang's is. The Chinese president is scheduled to land at 3:25, speak at Drexel's Mandell Theater at 5, appear at the University Museum's Harrison Auditorium at 5:30, be at the Liberty Bell at 6 and leave for New York City shortly thereafter. And while Jiang's planned trip to Penn's ENIAC museum is now "unlikely," according to Wildes, and there is even talk of him skipping his trip to the Liberty Bell to avoid demonstrators, Jiang still plans to find time to gulp down a few sips of tea with his old teacher, Penn Engineering Professor Emeritus Gu Yuxiu, 95. But Jiang's visit to Penn, while brief, will still draw protesters upset with China's human rights record -- and Penn's ties to the government in spite of it. At a meeting last night, Amnesty International members criticized Penn's long-standing policy of "engagement" with mainland China. While many universities currently host faculty exchanges between the two nations, and many more vie for brainy Chinese students, few -- if any -- can match Penn's high level of involvement. Today, Jiang is expected to acknowledge a new "landmark" joint Graduate School of Education-Wharton School program designed to train the administrators of China's state-owned enterprises in free-market practices. "State-owned enterprises face tremendous crisis," explained Cheng Davis, International Programs coordinator for the Education School. "They cannot compete even domestically, much less internationally." But while many see the initiative as a product of Wharton's international reputation, the Education School has dealt with China longer. In 1981, Davis herself became one of the first Chinese students to receive an Education scholarship. After graduation, she worked at Drexel, greatly enhancing the school's ties to China and meeting Jiang Zemin's son, Jiang Mian Heng In 1993, Penn hired her back. Since then, the school has launched initiatives to conduct education research in Shanghai. And today, while Jiang visits Philadelphia to acknowledge a program she helped create, Education Dean Susan Fuhrman is in Shanghai, helping to organize a collaborative education research effort. Fuhrman will also speak to the International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai, in her role as a senior advisor to the Shanghai education commission. "Very, very highbrow stuff. Mucho private planes coming into Shanghai," reads an informal itinerary of Fuhrman's trip. Six schools in the University have ties with China, but it is unlikely that the program Jiang will herald today could exist without the contacts and cooperation of the Education School, which has sponsored faculty exchanges in China since the early 1920s. "We're probably the only college in America with that kind of commitment," Wildes said of the Education-China ties. "Last I heard [Jiang] had 20 or more [invitations to speak]? we're very plugged in."
(10/28/97 10:00am)
Americans know relatively little about Chinese president Jiang Zemin, who replaced the late, better-known Deng Xiaoping last year. Little, that is, except for the fact that he leads a country with a none-too-immaculate human rights record -- and he hasn't gone out of his way to reverse the trend. For this reason, students at Penn and Harvard, two of the three universities Jiang will visit this week during his U.S. summit tour, have planned demonstrations against the controversial Chinese leader. Drexel University, the third school Jiang will visit, will see no organized protests. At Penn, about 100 University Trustees, faculty members, staffers and a group of mostly Chinese students, chosen by the University, will meet with Jiang inside the University Museum Thursday. Meanwhile, Amnesty International members -- with the help of a "showing of solidarity" from the Free Burma Coalition and the Penn Environmental Group -- will protest outside, according to Amnesty International President Mark Kahn. The protesters may later follow Jiang and his entourage to other sites, Kahn said. "We know that [after he leaves Penn] he plans to ring the Liberty Bell, which is tremendously offensive to people who love concepts like liberty? Jiang Zemin is the leader of a nation that has shown no regard for human rights," he said "Everything we're doing is a reaction as we hear more news," he added, emphasizing that because the University made no formal announcement of the visit until Friday, the groups -- who will meet Wednesday night in Houston Hall to organize the protest -- were caught off-guard. In contrast to Drexel -- whose World Wide Web page jubilantly proclaims a bilingual welcome to the president -- Penn has remained decidedly low-key about the visit. While selected students were e-mailed a message regarding the possible visit October 8, word did not seep out to Penn's student body until October 22. And as of last night, the press releases on Penn's Web site -- which hails former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's May Commencement address -- did not include news of Jiang's visit Thursday. "There's been a tremendous disinformation campaign [on the part of the University]," Kahn said. "They're not really going out of their way to publicize this, and it seems they're doing whatever they can to avoid a demonstration." But University spokesperson Ken Wildes said welcoming Jiang enthusiastically would not be Penn's "style," adding that such an approach would be "Drexel's style." "Here's the difference -- this is not the first leader to come here; it will not be the last to come here," he said. "As much as we'd like to say this is a big deal, is it a much bigger deal than [President Clinton] coming [last year]? Not really." Reaction to Penn's late announcement of the visit stands in sharp contrast to the response at the other two schools he will visit this week. At Drexel, where his visit has been heralded positively and prominently, the only formal protest so far has been a History professor's letter to the Drexel Triangle, the school newspaper. "People [I've talked to] have either no comment or think it's just business as usual," Drexel student council president Ed Gillison said, adding that while some students have been "gathering steam," no formal protests have been established. Conversely, the Harvard campus, which Jiang will visit Friday, is abuzz with controversy surrounding his scheduled speech. Adhe Tapontsang, a former Tibetan prisoner, spoke on the school's Cambridge, Mass., campus last Wednesday, inciting support for the numerous protests to come. Harvard's student government has allotted funds to publish a schedule of the planned demonstrations, which include a hunger strike for the duration of Jiang's stay in Boston. Amid the preparations for Jiang's visit, further information emerged yesterday about the Wharton School's recent agreement to teach free-market business practices to the leaders of China's state-run businesses. Because Chinese officials insist they can't afford to fund the classes, Wharton will pick up the $250,000 cost of teaching national leaders in Beijing. Provincial leaders from Jiangsu will pay $300,000 for a six- to eight week course taught in Philadelphia, and Shanghai will pay Wharton between $12,000 and $15,000 for each student enrolled in its two- to three-week class in China.
(10/24/97 9:00am)
Next week, retired prof Gu Yixui will reunite with his former pupil, Chinese leader Jiang Zemin. The man who will play host to journalists, the Secret Service and Chinese President Jiang Zemin next week nonetheless says he leads "a simple life." At 95, Engineering Professor Emeritus Gu Yuxiu spends most of his days in his Center City apartment reading. He stopped driving, so he doesn't get to his office -- or Chinatown -- as often as he used to. And the owners of Noodle Heaven, the Chinese restaurant down the block, deliver food now. Yet while he claims his memory isn't good, Gu remembers the momentous May 4th movement of 1919 like it was last Moon Festival. He was just 17, Sun Yat Sen's democracy had already fizzled and the Treaty of Versailles had handed a big chunk of China over to Japan. Students in China were beginning to resent the West, Japan and the Confucian values they had been brought up with -- and Gu was among them. So he understands that students protest when controversy rises. And he knows that his former pupil Jiang, who is visiting campus briefly next Thursday, is not a wholly benign figure. "It's probably a good thing for U.P. to try to keep [Jiang's visit] confidential," he said. "Maybe they think there will be demonstrations. But it's a free country." After extending Jiang an invitation in July, University officials said they will make a formal announcement today about the details of his visit. But Gu defends Jiang, whom he taught Electrical Engineering at Shanghai's Jiaotong University in the 1930s. "Jiang is good. He didn't have anything to do with Tiananmen," Gu said, referring to the Tiananmen Square massacre, when the Chinese army quashed a pro-democracy revolt and killed several demonstrators on June 4, 1989. "Jiang was mayor of Shanghai then. In Shanghai, [June 4] was peaceful," he added. Now that he's retired, the emeritus professor reads four newspapers daily. The Renmin Ribao, the premier Chinese newspaper, started sending him his subscription for free after he'd lived in Philadelphia for 45 years. But while his apartment is crammed with various media publications, Gu maintains he is "not a politician." "I am an engineer," said the 1925 Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, pointing to various accolades from the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. But on the same wall with his scientific awards and pictures of his children are shelves of his own published poems and plays -- a testament that Gu is truly a "Renaissance man." Despite his position in China's Ministry of Education in the pre-communist 1940s, and his emigration to the United States, Gu's accomplishments have earned him several invitations back to his homeland. In 1973, just a year after President Richard Nixon made his ground-breaking visit, Gu was one of the first American citizens allowed in China, where he was honored by Premier Zhou Enlai. "I've met Zhou, Deng [Xiaoping, former president who died last year] and of course Jiang -- three Chinese leaders, but I never met Mao? [he was] a dangerous man." Not wanting to be detained in China, however, Gu became a U.S. citizen "for protection" that year. Retired since 1972, Gu still keeps tabs on the University, where all five of his children attended school. "We keep moving up? number seven this year!" he said of the infamous U.S. News & World Report college rankings. "But we can do better, we don't have to be number one, but maybe three or four. We need to not spend all our money on buildings and pay the faculty more!" Gu said he loved teaching, and although he might have made more money working for General Electric or RCA, for which he consulted in 1950, he wanted to be in academics. So was Jiang, one of the first he taught, a stellar student? "It doesn't matter," Gu said. "Look where he is now."
(10/23/97 9:00am)
The first lady spoke to the Trustees Council of Penn Women yesterday. More than 420 lucky students joined the Trustees Council of Penn Women -- and a few dozen reporters -- yesterday to hear an address by first lady Hillary Clinton. Approximately 100 of the students in attendance were specially invited "student leaders," selected by the Office of Student Life, the United Minorities Council and Greek organizations. The other 320 included slightly over one-fourth of the 1,200 students who entered a Connaissance-run ticket lottery last week. Despite the delays caused by Secret Service inspections, the crowd had packed the 900-capacity Zellerbach Theatre by 12:30 p.m. As they waited for Clinton to appear, students chatted excitedly, the Counterparts a cappella group performed and some old friends reunited. While local photojournalists exchanged friendly greetings in the theater's rear, members of the Trustees Council -- which celebrates its 10th anniversary this week -- embraced and caught up on old times. And although Trustees Council members range in age from their late-20s to their mid-70s, many of those in attendance were friends from their college days. Before introducing the guest of honor, 1969 College for Women graduate Terri Gelberg and Midge Rendell, who graduated a year later, noted that they had been roommates and sorority sisters. Clinton's last visit to the University was in 1993, when she received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree as Commencement speaker. Yesterday, the pale blue-clad Clinton immediately warmed up to her audience, joking about meeting University President Judith Rodin at "some other Ivy League school" -- Yale, where Rodin was once provost and Clinton attended law school. And she spouted Quakerisms like a regular Penn guru. Clinton began by telling the story of Carrie Bernham Gilmour, the first female graduate of Penn's Law School. Gilmour, who gained admittance in 1881 after repeated attempts, was a model of how women can "chart our own futures," Clinton said, noting that the same message is appropriate to the Trustees Council, which represents 40 different career paths. To laughter and applause, Clinton then informed the audience that she was a big fan of Ben Franklin. "Perhaps he had foresight? that his school would one day educate women, for one of his pseudonyms was a woman's name," she told the audience. "It was 'Silence Dogood'." Beyond being amused by the tongue-in-cheek irony of their University's founder, the audience members were also impressed with Clinton's knowledge of the obscure tale. "Wow, she really did her homework," said Trustees Council member Mary Hadar, assistant managing editor at The Washington Post and a 1965 College of Women graduate. And Allison Cannady-Smith, the event's administrative director, confessed she didn't know all the Penn stories the first lady did. "I can tell you," the 1991 Wharton graduate said. "I didn't provide [Clinton] with half that stuff." After wowing them with her wisdom, Clinton held a question-and-answer session for the large audience. The question topics ranged from phonics to the late Princess Diana -- and as former council chairperson Elsie Sterling Howard marveled, answers were entirely off the cuff. "We said, 'Oh, we'll have the questions written down for you,' and [Clinton] said, 'Absolutely not! Set up the microphones, and whatever the question, I will answer it'," she said.
(10/22/97 9:00am)
Penn officials want controversial Chinese leader Jiang Zemin to visit the campus on his upcoming visit to Philadelphia. "A cordial welcome to Jiang Zemin, coming to Drexel University!" reads a beaming red Chinese banner on the World Wide Web site of Drexel University, which has been planning a visit by the president of the People's Republic of China for months. But Drexel, where Jiang's son received his doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering, is not the only Philadelphia university with a connection to the president -- and it may not be the only one he visits while in the city. Penn is also trying to arrange a visit from the Chinese president, University spokesperson Ken Wildes said. "We have been in discussions with the State Department and others, and expect to have some announcement shortly," Wildes said. Jiang's visit to Philadelphia is a special stop on his China-U.S. summit itinerary -- which begins this Sunday in Honolulu -- because he is visiting two close, long-lost friends. One is a former classmate of the 71-year old Jiang -- Drexel Electrical Engineering Professor Hun Sen. The other is one of his former teachers -- Penn Electrical Engineering Professor Emeritus Gu Yuxiu, 95, who taught Jiang at China's Jiaotong University in the 1930s. Gu later emigrated to the United States and began teaching at Penn in 1952, three years after the Communist revolution, while Jiang became an engineer who eventually realized political aspirations. Gu taught at the University for over 20 years and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1972. But while Jiang, who does not have a doctorate degree, would surely appreciate receiving one from Penn, Wildes said it is no longer University practice to bestow them outside of Commencement. This is a double disappointment for the leader, because while many news sources, including the September 27 Philadelphia Inquirer, claimed Drexel "wanted" to give Jiang an honorary doctorate -- putting him on educational par with Taiwanese President Lee Tung-hui -- Drexel spokesperson Phil Taranova stressed yesterday that the school was not following through with the plan. Temple University is still considering honoring Jiang with a degree, although Temple officials were unavailable for comment yesterday. Academia aside, Jiang plans to tour Philadelphia for its business prospects and its historic sights. Local institutions -- from the Barnes Foundation to the Delaware River Port Authority -- hope to gain license into China's booming market. Jiang -- who granted an interview to The Washington Post last weekend -- is practicing his English. And as excitement mounts on both sides and residents momentarily forget China's human rights woes, surprisingly little protest has resulted. No Drexel students have demonstrated about the upcoming visit, according to sources at Drexel's student newspaper, The Drexel Triangle. Jiang accepted an invitation to visit the school last month, after Drexel President Constantine Papadakis led a Philadelphia delegation to Shanghai. Jiang has maintained that after the summit, China will release either Wei Jingsheng or Wang Dan -- both high-profile political prisoners in the totalitarian country -- as a sign of compromise and growing freedom. But perhaps the biggest symbol of increased liberty for China will occur during Jiang's trip to Philadelphia, when he visits the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, because according to yesterday's South China Morning Post: "Mr. Jiang is also eager to have his picture taken in Philadelphia, so that the photo can be seen in China."
(10/22/97 9:00am)
As the "rain" in the High Rise North lobby slowed to a gentle drizzle yesterday afternoon, a 10th-floor resident, armed with a can of E-Z Cheez and some crackers, returned to her room. A burst pipe behind the toilet in HRN room 202 caused water to flood the floor and seep through the first-floor offices down to the lobby. "This is what I had in my hand when the bell started ringing," said the student as an hour-long evacuation of the building ended. "And they didn't tell us [the flood] didn't affect the upper floors." The flood damage was limited to the lower floors of the building. Pools of water accumulated on the lobby floor as a few ceiling tiles fell and someone set out a trash can in a futile attempt to catch some of the water. The front doors of HRN were closed for hours, and people seeking entrance to the building were dismayed to find their lobby soaked. "I think I'm really gonna cry," said one student, upon realizing she had to enter through the back door. But the HRN staff remained calm. At approximately 4 p.m., about 70 minutes after the pipe burst, Physical Plant worker Howell Chadwick, wet-vac in hand, had already assured students that the worst was over. College sophomore Jason Zoldessy, who lives in HRN room 204, showed no signs of distress. "[Howell's] been vacuuming for an hour now, he's working hard," Zoldessy said. Meanwhile, other staff members attended to the problems downstairs. "It's been an exciting day," a front desk worker said. "I'm like, incident report -- great. But the response was good." And while the "storm" was quite a spectacle, staffers emphasized that it was not as damaging as it looked. "It only looks this bad because it's in the lobby," said one. "But at least student rooms aren't being drastically affected -- besides the ones on the second floor." Dormitory floods "don't happen that much," according to Chadwick, and it is especially rare that everyone knows about it. But while yesterday's incident was quite visible, its effects paled in comparison to last year's repeated flooding in the basement of the Quadrangle's Speakman dormitory. The Quad floods last April, which one student compared to "the 10 plagues of Passover," covered the hall floors with brown sludge. One incident did not receive a response from residential maintenance for five hours. Students do not live in that hall of Speakman anymore due to its repeated problems with mice and flooding.