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(01/23/92 10:00am)
A federal judge last month dismissed a New York woman's largely incoherent lawsuit that claimed the University and eight other schools unfairly denied her admission. Judge Gerhard Gesell said in his decision that the plaintiff, Maria Sierotowicz, did not establish that the schools had discriminated against her and failed to show that she has a constitutional right to an education. Gesell said he dismissed the case also because there was "no common valid issue" linking the defendant schools together besides the plaintiff's admissions denials. In addition to the University, the defendant schools included three campuses of the City University of New York, American University, George Washington University, Howard University, Trinity College in Washington, D.C., the University of the District of Columbia, Georgetown University and La Salle University. Associate General Counsel Neil Hamburg said yesterday that he was pleased with the judge's order, adding he was confident all along that the suit would be dismissed. Sierotowicz could not be reached for comment last night. Acting as her own lawyer, Sierotowicz filed a grammatically flawed, 16-page complaint in October that accused the schools of malversations, frauds and denying her the right to "have a money, to settle own family." But although Sierotowicz filed several complaints with the U.S. Department of Education alleging the schools discriminated against her, Gesell ruled that the plaintiff never specified the nature of the discrimination. Gesell noted in his decision that the Education Department rejected each of her "so-called civil rights claims relating to denial of enrollment," and added that in each of her complaints "no claim is even suggested, let alone stated." Sierotowicz also contended in the suit that some of the schools violated her constitutional right to an education, a claim which Gesell flatly rejected. "The constitutional claim is, no doubt sincere, but frivolous as a matter of law," the judge wrote. "There is no constitutional right to a free, or indeed any type of education, let alone a higher education . . . ." In the suit, Sierotowicz demanded that top University administrators be imprisoned for life and that the University be shut down. According to papers filed in court by the University, the University rejected Sierotowicz's transfer application from CUNY in 1990 largely because of poor grades on her transcript, including several C's and two D's. The papers said the average successful University transfer has a college grade point average of 3.5. The University also claimed Sierotowicz's application essays were "so incomprehensible and irrelevant that they raised doubts about her comprehension of the English language and further undermined the quality of her application."
(01/20/92 10:00am)
Jonathan Gersch thought his roommate last year, Stanley Schuldiner, was just kidding when he asked Gersch to take his Physics 150 final exam for him in December 1990. Gersch thought that although he jokingly agreed at first to take his roommate's test, Schuldiner would show up in the end to take his own exam. He thought wrong. Schuldiner, then a sophomore transfer student, did not take the physics final and, apparently believing Gersch had betrayed him, embarked on an alleged campaign of vengeance to equal the score. After months of harassment and vandalism attributed to Schuldiner, University officials in late April forced Schuldiner to move out of High Rise North. Schuldiner, in turn, sued the University for allegedly violating his occupancy agreement, breaking the rules of confidentiality several times and causing him various "mental, physical and financial injuries." He lost his lawsuit in Philadelphia Municipal Court in November, but now the slowly turning wheels of justice will carry Schuldiner to at least one more appeal in June before this unusual case comes to a close. · Gersch, a 1991 University graduate, said last week his first inkling that something was wrong came when he found a note that Schuldiner had written to thank him for taking his exam. "No this is not a bribe," said the note, which was entered along with others into the court record for the one-day trial in November. "This is a little thank you gift for a true friend in a time of need. I would have gotten a bad grade, if you hadn't taken the Physics test for me. I will not forget this favor." Then, upon returning to campus after break, Gersch said he found a note from Schuldiner telling him to call his parents in New York and assuring him, "Revenge will be sweet." "Certainly I was alarmed," Gersch said, recalling the day he found the note. Before long, Schuldiner, who is currently listed as a College sophomore at the registrar's office, made good on his promise, according to Gersch and court records. Schuldiner reportedly sent a typed letter in Gersch's name to Elisabeth Levi, a friend of Gersch who was then a College junior, saying that Gersch was "mildly infatuated" with her. Gersch said there were "too many clues in the letter itself" indicating it was a forgery, most notably that Gersch's name was misspelled. When he found a rough copy of the letter on Schuldiner's floor, Gersch said he became convinced his roommate was trying to damage his friendship with Levi. The harassment continued throughout the month and moved into new areas. By the end of the month, Schuldiner reportedly had ordered his roommate more than 30 unwanted magazine subscriptions, dropped several of his classes from PARIS, disconnected his telephone line several times and even deposited human feces and urine outside Gersch's dormitory room door. Court papers say that towards the end of January, Schuldiner voluntarily moved to another room in High Rise North but failed to clear out some garbage from the three-bedroom quad he had been sharing with Gersch. "When I came home later, it was substantially cleaner," Gersch said. "But under further inspection, I noticed stuff behind the refrigerator, in the living room, under his bed. It attracted all sorts of gnats and vermin." Schuldiner, who did not return several messages left at his campus residence this weekend, has consistently denied the allegations of harassment in the past. After months of such alleged harassment, University officials -- including Assistant Judicial Inquiry Officer Robin Read -- decided to move Schuldiner out of his second High Rise North apartment by April 30 and offered him a room in the Law School Dormitory Building. But Schuldiner refused to move to the Law Dorms because he said that would have deprived him of access to a kosher kitchen -- something he alleges the University promised him -- and would have violated Jewish religious law. University officials, however, claimed they did not promise him a kosher kitchen. The University's trial memorandum notes that in the occupancy agreement he signed, Schuldiner only made the following request: "If possible, try to get a kosher roommate." Still, Schuldiner claimed the University had, in effect, forced him to become homeless for 10 days in May and to abandon clothes and books worth $600 by not honoring his request. He also claimed the University gave him only 10 hours notice that he would have to move. Moreover, he claimed he suffered from gastroenteritis because of his exposure to the cold weather during this time. In its defense, the University stressed that Schuldiner was at no time denied alternative housing, and said in its trial memorandum that Schuldiner was seen entering another University dormitory with his belongings. The University also supplied the court with an April 22, 1991 letter from West Campus Assistant Director Nina Shovner that told Schuldiner he would have to move out in just over a week unless he cooperated with a JIO investigation of his alleged harassment. Assistant JIO Read would not comment on the case on Friday. Schuldiner's other complaints include allegations that his Student Health visits and academic records were wrongly reported to the JIO; that University officials disclosed confidential information to his sister Rachel, Hillel Director Jeremy Brochin and others; and that he was wrongly denied access to residential facilities. Last November, Municipal Court Judge Edward Mekel ruled against Schuldiner in his claim, saying the University had not breached its contract and that the $600 damage loss was "incurred as a result of [Schuldiner's] own action in discarding the items." Mekel also ruled against the University on its counterclaim for the $448.50 in vandalism damage the University said Schuldiner committed, saying the University had not established "by a preponderance of the evidence that these damages were caused by" Schuldiner. Schuldiner appealed the ruling and an arbitration board -- composed of three Philadelphia lawyers -- will hear his appeal in June. If he loses in June, he has the right to at least one more appeal.
(01/16/92 10:00am)
Officials at local copy centers said this week that students will have no problem buying bulkpacks this semester despite last fall's copyrighting confusion that led to higher prices and long delays. But at least one professor is still waiting on his bulkpack a month after giving a copy center his materials, and several professors said they will try to avoid using bulkpacks for their courses in the future because of last semester's problems. The confusion stemmed from a federal court ruling last spring that required copy centers to begin securing permission from publishers before using any copyrighted materials in bulkpacks. Prior to the ruling on Basic Books vs. Kinko's Graphic Corporation, much of the bulkpack material was printed without publisher consent because copy centers felt the material fell under the "fair use" clause of 1976 copyright laws. This clause outlines the purposes for which people can reproduce copyrighted works. Now, after a semester of experience dealing with the ruling, officials at both Kinko's Copies and Campus Copy Center say publishers are granting permission more quickly and charging smaller royalties. "Last semester was quite a learning experience for everyone in this industry," said Michael Drake, the permissions manager at Campus Copy Center. "This time it went much smoother." At the start of classes last semester, many students had to wait weeks for bulkpacks because publishers could not keep up with permission requests. The delay forced some professors to revamp their course outlines. And because many publishers began charging royalties in exchange for the permisssion to copy articles, the price went up as well, sometimes by as much as fifty cents per page. Drake said prices have "settled down a little bit," averaging only between three and five cents per page in royalties. He said the highest per-page royalty he has seen this semester is 27 cents, down from 50 cents in September. He added that the response time from publishers has been cut to an average of between 10 and 12 working days. Adrianna Foss, a spokesperson for Kinko's national, also said that the second time around was much easier because the copy centers, publishers and professors all knew what to expect this semester. "We learned a lot during the first transition term," she said. "The second term has been going much more smoothly. Everybody was prepared for the increases in permission requests." But for Communications Professor Joseph Turow, advance preparation has not helped much so far. He said he dropped off bulkpack materials for a course to Kinko's in mid-December, but was told recently that it is still not ready. A worker answering the phone at the copy center yesterday said Turow's bulkpack could be delayed more than a week because the store is still awaiting publisher permission. Complaining that the process is very "cumbersome," Turow said he would try to use bulkpacks "more sparingly" in the future. Assistant English Professor Herman Beavers said he decided against using a bulkpack for his American fiction class partly because of the difficulty involved in securing permission to use older material. And Anthony Kroch, an associate linguistics professor who pledged in September to put more material on reserve, also said he plans to avoid using bulkpacks in the future because of the hassle. But despite last semester's problems, Drake said Campus Copy increased its sales recently. He attributes the better business to Campus Copy's policy of securing publisher consent for professors free of charge unlike Kinko's, which charges $15 per item.
(01/15/92 10:00am)
A former philosophy professor filed suit against the University in federal court late last semester accusing administrators of breaking a 1982 promise to grant him tenure during the 1987-88 academic year. Plaintiff Izchak Miller, who spent over four years unsuccessfully appealing his tenure denial through University channels, also claims in his suit that Provost Michael Aiken limited his chances of gaining tenure on appeal. University General Counsel Shelley Green said last night she "is not going to discuss any specific allegations" of the suit, and Assistant to the Provost Linda Koons said Aiken will not discuss any personnel matters. The November 27 suit demands that the University name Miller a tenured associate professor of philosophy retroactive to September 1989, and pay him more than two years' worth of back wages and benefits. University General Counsel Shelley Green said yesterday that the University has not yet decided how it will respond to the complaint, but added that "the University is prepared to defend this vigorously." In his complaint, Miller claims he was hired as an assistant professor of philosophy in 1982 with the understanding that he would receive tenure after a tenure review during the 1987-88 academic year, assuming he demonstrated "intellectual leadership." Pointing to a three-year reappointment in 1985 and an above average salary increase the next year, Miller contends the University must have had ample evidence of his "scholarly accomplishments and valuable contributions to the University community." But Miller says he was informed by the philosophy department in December 1986 -- several months after the reappointment and raise -- that he would not receive tenure. The complaint argues that the tenure denial constitutes a breach of a promise he said the University made in 1982. It also claims Miller's achievements demonstrated intellectual leadership, both in research and in teaching. "The department claimed his research and his work was not particularly relevant at the time," Sheldon Tabb, Miller's lawyer, said recently. "Then they ran an ad looking for a person doing the same kind of thing." The suit alleges that Aiken, who was then dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, hindered Miller's appeal first by refusing to review the philosophy department's decision. Miller alleges in the complaint that Aiken refused to examine the decision to see whether any information had "either been overlooked or inappropriately evaluated," as SAS policies and procedures mandate. Following what he describes as Aiken's "refusal to address the issue," Miller took his case to a faculty grievance panel. In February 1990, the panel ruled that Miller had legitimate grounds for an appeal and ordered a personnel committee to make a final decision on the tenure bid. But the suit claims that Aiken, by then the University's provost, again attempted to hinder the appeal when he barred the personnel committee from examining documents the grievance panel considered in its determination. Citing Aiken's actions on the two occasions, the suit complains Aiken was "then able to insure that the members of the Personnel Committee would not endorse a promotion of [Miller] to tenured rank." The suit is one of two recent cases involving a University professor's tenure dispute to reach federal court. Former Veterinary School professor Ann Jeglum is suing the University for denying her tenure because of what she claims is sexual discrimination. Tabb said he expects the University to respond to the Miller suit next month.
(01/13/92 10:00am)
Wharton senior James Dunsmore, a former star high school athlete, died suddenly December 26 of a heart attack while jogging near his home in suburban St. Louis. He was 21. Dunsmore was actively involved in the Sigma Chi fraternity -- "It was his life," his father said -- and played freshman football at the University. He also took part in the PennWatch campus security program. Dunsmore's parents said Friday that a pathologist's early findings indicate their son's death was caused by a congenital heart defect -- "acute angulation of the left coronary artery" -- that had gone undetected until the sudden exertion of the jog. They said their son, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound athlete who seemed to be in good health throughout his life, apparently died when the artery suddenly constricted, cutting off the flow of blood to his heart and killing him before he hit the ground. "He said he was just going to take a jog," said his father, James Dunsmore Sr. "He said he'd be back in about half an hour. But he didn't come back." A Mass and memorial service will be held this Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Newman Center. Dunsmore's parents and two of his four sisters will fly here for the service. Shocked by the tragedy, friends and family members have struggled to find the right words to describe the person who meant so much to them, delivering impromptu eulogies they never thought they would have to make. They uniformly described Dunsmore as a warm and easygoing person, and emphasized his gentle and funny nature. His father, referring to his son as "Gentle Jim," called him a "very kind person who worked hard and loved to play hard." University graduate and Sigma Chi alumnus J. Cogan called Dunsmore a very funny guy who was "very easy to warm up to." He said while it is common for people to praise those who have died as great people and sprinkle them with superlative descriptions, there could be no exaggeration with Dunsmore. "I can't find any faults with the guy," he said of Dunsmore, who was known to friends as "Jim" or "Jimmy." Wharton senior Scott Brion, one of Dunsmore's Sigma Chi brothers, said his first reaction to the news was to think that it was "some kind of mistake." After learning of the death the day it happened, Brion and about 15 other Sigma Chi brothers went to Missouri to attend the funeral and spend time with the Dunsmore family. At a memorial at Dunsmore's prep school, the St. Louis Country Day School, one brother delivered a eulogy which Dunsmore's mother, Susan Dunsmore, called "incredibly moving." In 1986 and 1987, Dunsmore played offensive and defensive tackle for the Country Day Rams, which won a state football title in 1986. He was an all-district offensive tackle in 1987. He played freshman football at the University, but according to his father, decided not to continue playing after the season. He remained active by playing on intramural teams. "He was in great shape," his father said. Dennis Guilliams, the head of Country Day's upper school, remembered Dunsmore as a "warm, caring, big teddy bear-like person who was very much full of life." "Jimmy was always the kind of guy who, if he did anything wrong, would say, 'Yeah I did it, I'll take my licks,' " he said last week. "That's why I admired him so much, because of his honesty." Guilliams taught Dunsmore in sixth grade and remembers him as a student who was "never satisfied with just a satisfactory grade and always worked to achieve at an exceptional level." Dunsmore continued to excel at Wharton, where he majored in multinational management with an emphasis on Russian studies. He was fluent in Russian, having studied at the University of Moscow for a semester and taken Russian for eight years, his father said. The elder Dunsmore said his son planned to start a business career in Washington, D.C. after graduating in May. Management Professor Franklin Root taught Dunsmore in his "multinational entry strategies" course last semester. He expressed shock at the news of his former student's death, recalling that Dunsmore "seemed to be strong physically." "He seemed to be a very honest student who applied himself and often had something very intelligent to say," Root said Friday. "He also worked very effectively with a team of students on a project for the class." As a third-generation Quaker, Dunsmore was part of a great family tradition at the University. His grandfather graduated in 1921, followed several decades later by his father and four uncles. Both his parents graduated in 1961. The younger Dunsmore was the only one of his 60 cousins to attend the University, his father said. In the days following Dunsmore's death, his parents said there was an outpouring of support and condolences from their community. His father said over 300 cards have arrived to date and there was an overflow crowd at a memorial Mass held in St. Louis on December 30. "There is no greater tragedy than what has happened [to Dunsmore]," Guilliams said. "The only thing others can do to pay tribute is to recognize that they are vulnerable and every day counts. Too often, people think, 'It can't happen to me.' But it can. As someone told me recently, life comes with no promises." Dunsmore's parents have asked that donations in their son's memory be made to the University.
(12/05/91 10:00am)
The University still has not selected a developer to finance the construction of a $100-million power plant that will eventually provide nearly all the electricity and steam used on campus, administrators said this week. Vice President for Facilities Arthur Gravina said the University still is "in the process of truly understanding all of the elements" in proposals from three different developers that have been vying to build the plant for more than a year. About a year ago, the University narrowed the field from five teams to the current three. Administrators said at the time that they hoped to pick the final candidate sometime during the first three months of 1991. But Gravina said the complexity of the proposals has slowed the process, adding that he was not sure when the final selection will be made. He said once a team is picked, the design process will take 12 to 15 months, followed by two to three years of construction. "We would like to complete the process fairly soon, but we have been saying that for a while," Senior Vice President Marna Whittington said yesterday. "It is important that we complete [the selection process] as expeditiously as possible, but also as thoroughly as possible." Kemel Dawkins, the University's director of project management, said "a whole host of issues" has slowed progress on the cogeneration plant -- so called because it will use natural gas fuel to produce both electricity and steam energy simultaneously. Dawkins said the factors being examined include the experience of the developer team, the strength of its proposal, the probable reliability of the plant's service, and the "stream of benefits" the proposal would yield the University. Gravina said there are two main reasons the University is building the plant. First, he said the plant will be a reliable source of steam, meaning the University will no longer be affected by what some administrators have called inconsistent service and the occasional steam outages by Philadelphia Thermal Energy. Second, he said the plant will trim the University's huge utility costs, which have been costing the University about $30 million a year. Dawkins said it is unclear how great the savings would be since each of the proposals is different, but he added the cogeneration process is generally more efficient and less expensive than conventional production methods. Another reason the power plant would probably cut costs is that under the plan, the developer will sell the University electricity and steam at a discount after the plant begins functioning. In return, the University will promise to buy the utilities for several decades, making the investment profitable for the developer team, which would have to put up the $100 million in construction costs. Gravina said Murphy Field, located on the southern edge of campus near the Schuylkill River, has been selected as the site of the plant. The field currently is used as a practice field and the site of intramural sports events. Gravina called Murphy Field the "best of our available sites" and said the University's only expense would be giving up the use of that land. The developer would pay all of the design and construction costs. Dawkins said the Philadelphia Electric Company will not completely lose the University's business because the University will still rely on PECO for back-up energy. Administrators declined to name the three teams still in the running and said only that each had experience with constructing cogeneration plants in the past. The plant was first proposed in 1985 in a joint project with Amtrak. But in September 1989, the University and Amtrak broke off four years of protracted negotiations and the University started considering their own cogeneration plant. The cost of the plant has also risen from the original prediction of $40 million to $100 million.
(11/26/91 10:00am)
While many economists continue to predict hard times for the state's economy and discuss the spectre of a "double dip" recession, another ominous sign has emerged from Harrisburg this week. As part of a $130 million state funding freeze affecting a whole host of aid recipients, Gov. Robert Casey has placed in reserve at least $200,000 earmarked for the University's equipment budget this year. The freeze will also affect the availability of funding for several other University-affiliated programs, including the Ben Franklin Partnership, which has had $4 million of its funding put in reserve. And if the economy continues to worsen, state officials said Casey could jeopardize a large part of the University's $37.6 million state allocation by extending the contingency plan to include the state's "non-preferred appropriations," which includes the University. Senior Vice President Marna Whittington said last night that the University would be able to "cope" under the governor's current plan, but added she was "very concerned" that a further downturn in the economy might lead the state to freeze part of the University's general allocation. Whittington said an abatement of any part of the $37.6 million allocation would put an even greater strain on the University because it was not increased from last year. It therefore represents a slight decrease in real terms because of inflation. "I think that our appropriation is contingent upon the economic health of the Commonwealth," she said. "And frankly, I'm not counting on it being 100 percent safe because I don't think the economic signals are clear at this point." Casey spokesperson Sue Grimm said yesterday the equipment funds have been put "on hold" as part of "a contingency against a possible decline in the economy," adding the University would receive the allocation sometime in the next few months, assuming there is no shortfall in tax revenues. Grimm said tax revenues collected so far are "pretty much on target," based on estimates made last summer. But she said that since the estimates assume zero growth until next spring, any negative growth could cause a revenue shortfall and force the state to spend the money now on hold. For now, Whittington said the University will put half of its equipment budget on hold until it receives the rest of the money from the state. The equipment money allows the University to provide classrooms with computers and other teaching equipment. Until all the tax revenues are collected, there is little the University can do except hope that the economy picks up, or at least avoids dipping back into recession as many economists think is happening. "I think this is one where we just have to wait out the fiscal year and see how the tax receipts go," Whittington said. "The state has a hard time appropriating money it doesn't have." But Economics Professor Gerard Adams, who has studied past recessions, paints a more hopeful picture. He said that although the economy has "slowed down and appears to be dead in the water," he does not think a double dip recession will result. Adams predicted the recovery would continue to be slow, but he said the economy would probably improve by sometime next year, when "we'll all feel better."
(11/25/91 10:00am)
Several students who say Van Pelt College House officials allowed them to live in coed suites, despite violating Residential Living guidelines, will be asked to move after a fact-finding investigation is completed, a University official said yesterday. Christopher Dennis, the director of the college house program, said last night that although officials are still gathering facts in the case, Residential Living will ask the students to move "if it is determined that they are not in compliance with their occupancy agreements." In addition, Engineering senior Aaron Fuegi and College senior Sharon Jackson are listed as living in Van Pelt's Room 114. Residential Living guidelines specifically prohibit people of the opposite sex from living together in dormitories, unless they are married. Dennis said last night it is too early to tell whether any employees who knew of the situation hid the violations, and said he could not predict if Residential Living officials would be disciplined or fired. He added that the "early indication" is that some college house workers, including Van Pelt Administrative Fellow Catherine Johnson, might not have initially realized the arrangement broke the rules. But he added, "it is not crystal clear when people knew that." Dennis said Residential Living officials only became aware of the situation after the DP reported on the incident on Friday. It is not clear whether all of the students, or just either the males or females, would be asked to move. It is also unclear how much time the students would be given to move out. Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone refused comment yesterday, saying only that an investigation is underway. She would not speculate how long the investigation might take or what the results might be. But Dennis said the current arrangement will not be allowed to stand despite the students' allegation that Van Pelt workers told them they were living together as part of a pilot program evaluating coed dormitory living. None of the students, who are friends and are not involved romantically, would comment on the situation yesterday. In interviews conducted last week, however, the students maintained that they did not realize they were violating University policy and thought that the rules had been changed for the pilot program. College senior Gerst said she discussed the proposed coed apartment last year with then-Van Pelt Administrative Fellow Andrew Miller. "Van Pelt really didn't have a problem with it," Gerst said, but she added she and her suitemates "had to do a little bit of finagling." "This was proposed to us as an experimental living situation," she said. College junior Davidson said he and his three suitemates thought that "the rules had been changed," adding, "We were not aware that this was unofficial and we weren't given any cautionary advice."
(11/22/91 10:00am)
Construction crews have begun work to transform 37th Street between Locust Walk and Spruce Steet into a brick and stone pedestrian walkway by the end of April. The $2.1 million project, partially funded by the Class of 1962, is the final phase in the University's construction of the Wharton Quad, which is located on 37th Street between Lauder-Fischer and Vance Halls. Arthur Gravina, the University's vice president for facilities management, said yesterday the project will also include the construction of a new service drive running from Spruce Street almost up to the back of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. He said the service drive, which will cut about a 15-foot wide strip just to the east of 37th Street, is necessary for trucks to make deliveries to area buildings and will not restrict access either to the nearby SEPTA station or the park area between the Wistar Institute and Steinberg-Dietrich. Gravina said the extension of the walk itself will cost just over $1 million and will feature bricks and stone, but in a pattern different from that of Locust Walk. Although no other extensions are currently planned, Gravina said that 37th Street to the north of Locust Walk would probably become a pedestrian walk after the campus center is built and that 36th Street at Spruce Street could also be changed sometime in the future. The start of construction has forced a long-time fruit vendor at the University, known to students as Al the Fruit Man, to look for another place to open shop. Gravina said last year that the University would try to work with other vendors like Al so that as many vendors as possible are able to continue selling their products. But it is not clear whether the University has actively pursued an agreement with any vendor. One Walk denizen sure to be relocated is the statue of Ben Franklin sitting in the bench. Gravina said that while the statue may be fenced inside the construction site for the time being, it will be permanently placed in a "little alcove" just beyond the Walk after the construction is finished in the spring. "He's valuable to us and we want to protect him," he said.
(11/20/91 10:00am)
After taking his computer there in September for repair work the store eventually said it could not do, the Fine Arts graduate student went to the store's only location on 40th and Walnut streets last month to pick up the still-broken IBM clone. But when he got there, he found the door locked and the window covered with brown paper. He tried calling, only to find that the store's phone was disconnected. Now, two months after his first trip to the store, Chalfen said he has not heard from the store's owner and is still waiting for his computer to be returned. "I want my computer back," he said Monday. "That's $1000 I don't have." Dan Shaffery, the owner of the Penn Computer Store, could not be reached for comment yesterday, and what he plans do now remains a mystery. Real Estate Project Manager Helen Walker, who manages the University-owned building, said Shaffery told her a month ago he was closing his store. She said he told her two weeks ago that he would begin contacting customers to arrange for them to pick up their equipment. As of last night, however, the doors remained locked and the customers' equipment was still inside the store. It is not clear how many other customers have found themselves in Chalfen's position since the store closed. But the sudden closing has inconvenienced at least some who did business with the store, including Campus Computer Rentals Inc., a Massachusetts-based company which rented Macintosh computers to students through the store. Paul Martecchini, the company's president, said yesterday that he received "no advance warning" the store would close and that a small amount of his company's inventory was still inside the store. Martecchini said he was "really quite upset about the whole thing" and his company would look for another campus-area computer store to rent its computers. Until then, he said students could rent and service the company's Macintosh models at Temple University's bookstore. A representative from the company was in town yesterday to look into the problem. Walker said the store was not very far behind on its rent payments, adding that what probably forced the store to close was its inability to compete with cheaper mail order companies and other stores in the area.
(11/13/91 10:00am)
Troy's Restaurant and Deli, a popular student hang-out for more than 20 years, will probably close its doors on 39th Street for good sometime within the next two months. John Kollias, the owner of Troy's, said Monday he has had "no luck" raising enough capital to pay debts totaling more than $43,000, adding, "I really don't think we're going to make it through the semester." In September, Troy's filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of federal bankruptcy law. Kollias said at the time he would use that "breather" to reorganize his business and look for ways to raise money. But due to the lack of capital, Arthur Kyriazis, Kollias' lawyer, said his client has agreed to a voluntary conversion from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy law, which calls for a court-appointed trustee to liquidate the restaurant's assets to pay creditors. Secured creditors will be the first to receive payments. Other creditors, including University City Housing, which owns the building, will be paid only if any of Troy's assets are left. Kollias said he intends to reopen Troy's at another location as other area restaurants, including Smokey Joe's and Kelly and Cohen, have successfully done in the past. "I'm not going to curl up my tail and walk away," he said. Kollias said Troy's has not been the same since May 1990, when the restaurant lost its liquor license and was closed the next day for operating with an expired retail food permit. He said since reopening Troy's last December with a refurbished interior and a modified menu, many former Troy's customers have not returned, and he blamed much of the dip in patrons to the current recession. Other stores to the north of campus, including the Athletic Department clothing store and Barley and Hops restaurant, have also felt the effects of the recession. Both closed within the last year. But Kollias has blamed several other factors besides the poor economy for his restaurant's current problems, including what he calls the University's attempt to maintain rent in the area at "artificially high" levels and "keep the locals" out of the area. He also said he was disappointed that students, who have long cherished Troy's eggels and gravy fries, did not come out in support of the restaurant with "public demonstrations." He suggested that the number of student customers has declined in the last few years because many are afraid to walk there at night and because the restaurant has not had a liquor license since May 1990. Once Troy's closes its doors on 39th between Walnut and Chestnut streets, a long family tradition will come to an end -- at least for now. Troy's has been in the Kollias family since 1970, when his parents opened the restaurant.
(11/06/91 10:00am)
Jannie Blackwell began accepting congratulations even before the polls closed last night at 8 p.m. "I am confident," Blackwell explained simply, adding there was no need to wait for confirmation that she had been elected to replace her husband, Lucien Blackwell, as the new City Council member for the University's district. She was right to be confident. Jannie Blackwell steamrolled to an easy victory over her Republican challenger, Howard Williams, a retired Philadelphia police officer and part-time door guard at the Van Pelt Library. With 56 percent of the votes counted, Blackwell had tallied an overwhelming 91 percent of the vote, compared to just seven percent for Williams. A third candidate received two percent of the vote. Blackwell, whose husband vacated the seat after four terms in the City Council to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, spoke to a wildly applauding crowd at Lucien Blackwell's headquarters following his victory speech. Responding to pulsing chants of "Jannie, Jannie, Jannie," she thanked all of her supporters and said she "couldn't have made it without all of the volunteers." In interviews before and after the speech, she said she would continue the work she helped her husband accomplish during the 16 years she worked as his administrative assistant. She added that she would focus on such issues as housing for the homeless, education and cleaning up the city, saying at one point, "Cleanliness is next to godliness." And she said she hopes to get some assistance from her husband in Washington, D.C. in securing more federal funding for Philadelphia, especially now that the city is in a "money crunch period." But she denied the suggestion by some that Lucien Blackwell would still exert control over City Council by using her as a sort of puppet, even now that he is headed for Capitol Hill. "Absurd to even consider it," she said bluntly. While admitting she would draw on his 20 years of experience in public office for some guidance and retain both his staff and office, Blackwell said she could lead effectively on her merits and qualifications alone. "Certainly I know this community," she said. "I know what their concerns are. I know what matters." Marva Sother, a minister at the New Hope Outreach Center on Wayne Avenue, said she supported Blackwell because "she's her own person." "She has a lot of experience, and she seems to carry her own weight pretty well," Sother said. Although the night and the office on the 3900 block of Walnut Street clearly belonged to Lucien Blackwell, the new member of Congress made a point of sharing the spotlight with his wife and credited her with much of his success. While he announced his victory amidst a throng of cheering supporters, Lucien Blackwell said he wanted to thank his "dear wife." "I want to thank her for being my strength, for being my hope and for being my joy," he said. "She's such a wonderful person. And she's a winner too."
(11/04/91 10:00am)
The administration has repaid the federal government $930,462 in research overhead costs which auditors determined the University should not have received over the past five years. Vice President for Finance Selimo Rael said Friday that the University and the U.S. Health and Human Services Department reached agreement Wednesday, and the University handed over the money on the same day. Six universities from across the country have returned money to the government for improper overhead allocations, but according to government officials, the University's reinbursement is the largest to HHS so far. Budget Director Stephen Golding said the University would pay the money back by drawing on balances in bank accounts so that departments within the University would not have to bear the brunt immediately. He said departments would have the next several years to help reimburse the accounts, adding there would be "no immediate impact on any programs." "It's a lot of money at any time, and in particular now that universities don't have excessive funds available to them," Rael said. "But we hope to be able to spread it out in a way to minimize impact on any one area." Between fiscal years 1988 and 1992, the University was paid $65 for every $100 of research money it received from the government to pay for "indirect costs" -- administrative and maintenance costs incurred while conducting federal research. But a government audit completed this summer concluded the University's 65 percent overhead rate was too high because the proposal used to calculate this rate included "questionable costs" totaling $1.25 million from fiscal year 1987. These costs included expenditures for alumni relations, fundraising activities, entertainment, upkeep of the president's house, chaplain activities and public relations -- all costs auditors felt were not supporting research as federal guidelines require. Rael said HHS reduced the $1.25 million of "questionable costs" in the cost pool to $1.1 million after negotiations with the University, deciding that costs for the University's federal relations office and some of the upkeep of the president's house were allowable under federal guidelines. But because the federal government only pays a portion of all the indirect costs the University incurs through its research, much of those "questionable costs" were actually paid by the University or other sources. Therefore, only $186,000 of the $1.1 million in costs the University improperly included in its proposal was paid by the federal government. Under the agreement with HHS, the University will return this $186,000 for each of the five years the 65 percent rate was in effect. This equals the $930,642 that was returned. While not "de-emphasizing" the amount of money returned, Rael said the total reimbursement represented less than one half of one percent of the $219 million in federal research overhead payments for the last five years. Rael said if the University had not been able to negotiate down, the government could have requested the University to pay back as much as $1.5 million. Contrary to popular belief, the government has not claimed that the University misspent any money recovered as indirect research costs. They have simply claimed that the amount the University received was too high because it was based on faulty figures. The federal government has not audited the University's spending between 1988 and 1992, relying instead on the rate proposal using the 1987 figures. How the University actually spent federal overhead money from '88 to '92 was outside the scope of the HHS investigation. But Rael said last week that although questionable costs were used to determine the 65 percent rate, "almost 100 percent" of the recovered money was returned to academic departments, and not spent on "questionable" items like alumni relations. Rael said the inclusion of questionable costs in the rate proposal resulted largely from the "complexity of federal costing guidelines as well as the vague nature in which they were written." He said the recent revision of the guidelines by the Office of Management and Budget "will clear up a lot of ambiguity that left things up to personal interpretations." He admitted, though, that the national scandal which led to the new guidelines could also make negotiating a new rate "tougher because of the environment." He said the University would seek a new overall rate of 65.9 percent. Rep. John Dingell (D.-Mich.), chairman of the oversight and investigations subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, had scheduled hearings for Thursday to hear the results of audits conducted at the University and several other schools. But Gary Talesnik, an official with HHS in Washington, D.C. said the hearings have been pushed back to next month.
(11/01/91 10:00am)
A long-awaited overhaul of the federal Higher Education Act moved a little closer to completion this week, as House and Senate versions of the bill passed out of committee on their way to floor debates later this year. The two bills contain many similar general provisions, including increases in the maximum awards for Pell Grants, designed for the neediest students, and for Guaranteed Student Loans, which are aimed more at students from middle income families. If a single version of the two bills is passed and then signed by President Bush, funding for both federal grants and loans would be substantially increased for the first time in many years, mollifying years of criticism by colleges and universities across the country. Frank Claus, director of Student Financial Services at the University, said he was "very pleased" with the proposed increases in the limits, calling both "essential" to students who depend on financial aid. Over half of all University students receive some kind of federal financial aid, including grants and loans. "So far we think there are some very good things happening," Claus said. The maximum Pell Grant, currently set at $2400, would rise under the House plan to $4500 in 1994-95, while the Senate bill would increase it to $3600 for 1993-94. Both bills call for annual increases to keep up with inflation after the raise. In the case of federal loans, the current $2625 maximum loan for freshmen and sophomores would be increased to $6500 in the House bill and $3000 in the Senate version. Maximum loans for upperclassmen, which are now $4000, would rise to $8000 in the House and $5000 in the Senate plan. An issue certain to occupy the spotlight during the floor debates is the bills' cost. Both versions call for expanding programs withough cutting eligibility, meaning funding for higher education must be significantly increased to cover the costs. While some members of Congress have argued the cuts in defense spending could provide needed additional funding, others have countered that the plan is too lavish given the "economic reality" of federal deficits and fiscal restraint. Despite similarities, the two bills -- which may be amended during full floor debates later this year and then combined during a House-Senate conference before a final vote in the spring -- are also different in several key areas, most notably in the way student loans are distributed to students. The House bill would eliminate the Stafford loan program in favor of a direct-lending approach. Such a plan would transfer the role of banks and lending agencies, which currently dispense and collect the loans, to the federal government and schools. Senators Paul Simon (D-Ill.) and David Durenberger (R-Minn.), the sponsors of a similar proposal for the Senate bill, decided not to push for a committee vote on the measure this week after a lengthy debate suggested the amendment would be rejected. The amendment could be added to the bill during the floor debate, and David Carle, Simon's press secretary, vowed, "We will take the fight to the Senate floor." Supporters claim the new system would be less cumbersome and could save the government anywhere from $400 million to $2 billion annually, because the process would be more efficient and the government can borrow money at lower rates than commercial banks. They say the savings could be returned to higher education programs, thereby satisfying critics who contend that much of the new legislation is not realistic because of the costs involved. But opponents, which include the Bush Administration and many on both sides of the aisle in Congress, question the claims of possible savings, saying neither the Department of Education nor the schools are equipped with the resources to handle such a large administrative task. Opponents also argue the direct-lending system would not decrease the problem of loan defaults, currently estimated at $3.8 billion, despite suggestions that the Internal Revenue Service replace collection agencies and that payments be built into income tax payments. The banking industry also has been resisting the plan because guaranteed student loans are lucrative for the banks, both due to the large volume of loans and the federal guarantee in the case of default. Deputy Education Secretary David Kearns warned the Senate Committee on Labor Resources on Tuesday that President Bush would veto any bill including a direct loan process. The other source of contention is whether to change Pell Grants from "discretionary" grants to "entitlements," meaning that any student who meets eligibility requirements would be awarded the money. Under the current system, only some eligible students receive the grants. The House bill would phase in Pell Grant entitlements by 1994-95. In the Senate version, the Pell program would not become an entitlement until 1997, in an attempt to keep costs down.
(10/29/91 10:00am)
In fiscal year 1987, the University spent $6098.40 on cocktails and dinner for University Trustees. That same year, the University kicked out $1099 for an employee in the provost's office to take an unexplained trip to Australia. An employee in the senior vice president's office traveled to London during that period to attend a conference at a cost of $1736.16, which the University covered. And, the University spent $13,357 to pay the Marshall and Rice Association for their assistance in the University's search for a new Vice President for Development. These expenditures appear to have no relation whatsoever. But they do. In each case, government auditors say, the University included the expenditure in its indirect cost proposal to the federal government for fiscal years 1989 through 1992. This means that, while the University was not billing the government for these costs, it was using these and numerous other expenditures, which auditors have determined to be "questionable," to boost its indirect cost rate for future years -- funds that the government did pay. Vice President for Finance Selimo Rael said last night the effect of using questionable expenditures totaling more than $1.25 million in determining the rate was negligible and inflated it by only two-tenths of one percent, to 65 percent from 64.98 percent. And except for $782,531 spent on alumni relations, which the University has agreed should not have been included, the University has disputed many of the findings in the government audit. University officials argue that regulations on what qualifies as billable overhead are ambiguous and that costs such as upkeep of the president's house and the chaplain's office are valid under the rules. But the University also agreed that many of the costs identified in the audit as questionable should not have been part of the proposal. These include: · 35 transactions totaling $22,713 that were for entertainment. These included dinner reservations for the Women's Way 10th anniversary dinner, charges to the president's office general account at the Faculty Club, charges for cups and napkins, wine and cheese, deli buffet, and cocktails and dinner. · Eight transactions totaling $11,275 for public relations or memberships in a professional public relations club. · 10 tickets to a Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday observance costing $500. · $732.85 spent on a Trustees' wives luncheon. · $500 for costs of a seminar in Poland and Israel, which an employee in the provost's office attended. · Several bills to the Philadelphia Flower Shop, valued at $39, $38 and $124.25. · A $117.50 charge at the Barclay Hotel for the dean of the Graduate School of Education. · A dinner at the home of the provost, costing $374.85. · $397.10 worth of advertising in The Daily Pennsylvanian. · $525.80 for wine and cheese at development activities. Other expenditures were determined to be questionable by government auditors, but not necessarily by the University. These include: · The printing and framing of "A Map of Philadelphia and Parts Adjacent" as a gift for a "Mr. O" and valued at $625. · A $98 videocasette, entitled "Tuition Cost Interview With the President." · Annual dues at the Cosmopolitan Club, totaling $185.24. · Several one-time expenditures in preparation for the University's 250th celebration.
(10/29/91 10:00am)
The federal government will probably ask the University to repay some of the federal money it has used to pay for research-related costs since July 1988, University officials said yesterday. From fiscal year 1989 to 1992, the University was paid an additional $65 for every $100 of research money it received from the government to pay for "indirect costs" -- administrative and maintenance costs incurred while conducting federal research. But a government audit completed this summer concluded that this 65 percent indirect cost rate, which was based on spending in 1987, was too high because it included "questionable costs" totaling $1,250,620 from fiscal year 1987. These costs included expenditures for alumni relations and development activities, entertainment, upkeep of the president's house, chaplain activities and public relations -- all costs determined by auditors not to support research as federal guidelines require. Vice President for Finance Selimo Rael said he will meet with government officials today in Washington, D.C., to "resolve" the audit, adding "it is very likely" the government will ask for a reimbursement. Rael refused to predict how much the University may be asked to repay, saying the "negotiations are at a point now where I wouldn't want to jeopardize the process." But he did say the use of the questionable 1987 costs had "almost no effect" on the calculation of the 65-percent rate, which he estimated probably should have been in the range of "64.98 percent." "The University doesn't have overly abundant dollars for any purpose and any reimbursement would be problematic for the University," he said. "But I think it's not going to have an overly significant effect." And Rael said although questionable costs were used to determine the rate, once the rate was in place "almost 100 percent" of the recovered money was returned to academic departments and not spent on "questionable" items like alumni relations. Periodically, universities throughout the nation negotiate indirect research rates with the federal government based on what overhead has cost in the past. Government audits conducted over the past year revealed that a number of schools have padded these figures by including expenditures that were not linked to research overhead. The most egregious case, and the one which set off the government audits, was at Stanford University, where school officials included approximately $200 million in inappropriate costs over 10 years. The University's audit, conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, which distributes most of the University's federal grants, listed as questionable all costs that did not meet certain criteria in the Office of Management and Budget's guidelines governing indirect cost rates. The criteria, which require that costs be "allowable, allocable and reasonable," have been criticized by both University and government officials for their ambiguity, which many blame for the recent scandals. About $1.1 million of the "questionable" expenditures at the University fall into five accounts: the chaplain's office, the president's house account, alumni relations, maintenance on the exteriors of sculptures, and federal relations. The remaining $182,392 of questionable costs were spread out over 13 other University accounts. The University agreed that alumni relations costs, which totaled more than $782,000, should not have been included in the proposal, and said in a letter to a senior HHS auditor that the University "inadvertently failed to eliminate this account" from the proposal. But the University defended its inclusion of the other four accounts. In the letter, signed by University Comptroller Alfred Beers, the University argued the $98,000 in chaplain's costs were allowable under OMB guidelines because the chaplain does not hold denominational services and has a "primary function" of providing counseling services to the University community. The University said the nearly $59,000 spent on the president's house could be justified because the first floor is a "public area used for many official functions of the University" and the bulk of costs included in the proposal were used "primarily for housekeepers and cleaning supplies." The University defended including the Office of Federal Relations costs, which totaled over $122,000 in 1987, because the office keeps University officials aware of relevant legislation and allows the University to follow new legislative mandates from Washington. Finally, the University said including the expenses "associated with the cleaning and painting of exterior sculptures" is allowable under OMB guidelines. One source of the dispute has been the University's assertion that auditors were basing many of their conclusions on OMB guidelines that were proposed last spring, long after the 1987 numbers were used to compute an overhead rate. But claims from officials at other schools accused of abuses that many of the expenditures are valid under ambiguous federal guidelines have largely fallen on deaf ears on Capitol Hill. A staff member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's investigations and oversight subcommittee, who did not want to be identified, said universities have used that excuse only to exploit the rules. He agreed some of the guidelines are vague, but accused many universities of blatantly ignoring the laws, which he says were intended for honest administrators who would not abuse them. "When you leave your house you might ask your children not to play with the stove," he said. "But it would never occur to you to tell them explicitly that they shouldn't set fire to the cat or invite 400 people over for mud wrestling. There is a presumption that there will be reasonableness." "To say something is legal is not to say it is appropriate," he continued. "Just because it is not explicitly prohibited does not mean it is proper." Despite disagreeing with the government over interpretations of the guidelines, University officials have agreed to exclude all questionable costs, except those connected with the chaplain, from future requests. And University officials voluntarily agreed to cut membership and dues accounts, worth $97,000, from future proposals even though the auditors recommended only that $9,665 be cut. Rael said the University's new indirect cost recovery rate would not be set until some time next summer, but he said the University has proposed an overall rate of just under 66 percent. He said the administrative portion of that rate, currently 30 percent, would be reduced to under 26 percent. This is important because new OMB guidelines, approved earlier this month, have capped the administrative rate at 26 percent.
(10/25/91 9:00am)
Dozens of Quadrangle residents returning to their rooms yesterday morning found less personal property damage than expected, just twelve hours after a broken sprinkler head flooded Butcher and Speakman dormitories Wednesday night and forced them to spend the night elsewhere. And although approximately 1300 gallons of warm, brown water were released during the flood, Ronald Jasner, a claims supervisor in the University's risk management office, estimated the flood caused less than $5000 in structural damage to the building, mostly to walls and floor tiles. Residential Living officials said they were investigating the cause of the flood, which is believed to have begun when a lacrosse ball struck a sprinkler head on the fourth floor of Butcher. Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone said she learned yesterday that one of the students involved had come forward. She said any kind of disciplinary action the University might take against the students "will be determined" sometime in the future. Many residents said only their carpets and some clothing had been soaked by the water, which began flowing from a sprinkler head on Butcher's fourth floor just before 8 p.m. and continued to flow until Physical Plant workers shut off the water nearly 20 minutes later. Even Wharton freshman Geoff Lee, who said he returned Wednesday evening to find his room "dripping all over the place" and his stereo making "popping sounds," said last night that his stereo was already in fine working order. But some students living on the third floor, where most of the leaking brown water traveled first before dripping all the way down to the basement, reported such problems as malfunctioning telephones and, in one case, a damaged computer. "It was a bad situation -- I can't deny that," said James Miller, director of Fire and Occupational Safety at Physical Plant. "But the total damage is not as bad as I expected under the circumstances." Residential Living's Simeone agreed that structural damage to the building appeared to be limited, but said she was concerned that students' personal property had been damaged, even if only slightly. Jasner said the University would not reimburse students whose property was damaged or ruined, because the University's occupancy agreement stipulates that students are responsible for their personal property. When University officials realized that the 120 students on living on the third and fourth floors of Butcher and Speakman would not be allowed to returned to their rooms anytime Wednesday night, arrangements were made to house them in High Rise East for the night. But Vice Deputy Provost George Koval said only about 10 students took the University's offer. Most of the affected students found accomodations with friends, and about 25 students spent the night around the corner in a lounge in Ashurst dormitory. During the flood Wednesday night, many students complained that officials did not act quickly enough to shut off the water. But Residential Maintenance Director Lynn Horner defended Physical Plant, saying the department could not have acted faster because an operator first had to be called to the Quad from another part of campus. She said workers then had to wait until a Philadelphia Fire Department unit responding to a fire alarm caused by the flood could determine if there was a fire.
(10/24/91 9:00am)
A damaged sprinkler system in the Quadrangle sent water cascading through the Butcher and Speakman dormitories last night, causing thousands of dollars in damage and forcing dozens of angry and upset residents to spend the night elsewhere. University Police, Philadelphia Fire and Physical Plant crews responding to a fire alarm at 7:48 p.m. arrived to find the sprinkler system ruptured on the fourth floor of Butcher dormitory. It was not immediately clear what caused the break, but several residents said last night that the deluge began when an errantly thrown lacrosse ball knocked off a sprinkler head in the hallway. University Police Sergeant Michael Fink said he also had heard that explanation "from a couple people," but added that there was "nothing concrete yet." Officials evacuated both dorms because of the "electrical hazard" and began work to shut the water off, as the sprinkler system continued to shower the fourth floor with warm brown water. Officials said the spray lasted between 15 to 30 minutes before being fixed. By that time, two inches of water had accumulated on the fourth floor and water was streaming down to hallways and rooms on lower floors through walls, ceilings and stairwells. One stairwell in Speakman took on the appearance of a tropical waterfall, as torrents of warm water plummeted through the center of the stairwell and smacked the pavement five stories below. Residents scrambled to stop the approaching water from reaching their rooms by barricading their doorways with towels, sheets and, in some cases, dirty clothes. Most students had little time to react. College freshman Jesse Hergert, who lives on the fourth floor of Butcher, said she was talking on the phone with a friend, when she noticed the approaching water. "There was a river of blackness spewing under my door," she said. Layla Gilbert, a College freshman also living on the floor, thought she had curbed the water's advance by sandbagging her door with towels, only to realize the water had found another way into her room -- seeping through the wall. "I was leaning out the window talking to a friend, thinking I was safe," she said. "Then all of a sudden I was standing in a puddle." Some residents feared leaving their rooms immediately after the break because they could not gauge the temperature of the water flowing into their rooms. Ben Greenstein, a College sophomore who was working at the front desk at the time, said he received calls from several residents who were standing on furniture out of fear that the water in their rooms was scalding hot. One resident on the fourth floor of Butcher, who requested anonymity, said he was trapped in his room for ten or fifteen minutes after a "big stream of water came zooming under the door." Police officers and residential advisors told students on the third and fourth floors of Butcher and Speakman to turn off all electrical appliances before leaving and prevented anyone from returning to those hallways. Many students worried that they might be electrocuted by walking through the water, but police later said it was unnecessary to turn off electricity in the building. "There really wasn't that much of a risk," Fink said. Physical Plant brought in several large wet vacuums to remove the water, but the air in the dorm remained hot, humid and foul smelling even after the cleanup. Many students, some of whom were not at home when the flood occurred, said they were worried that personal property such as computers, rugs and clothing had been soaked. "It looks like Lake Michigan," said fourth floor Butcher Residential Advisor Scott Starks after some of his students asked him to assess the damage in their rooms. There was no official estimate last night of structural damage, but several students estimated property damage would exceed thousands of dollars. Wharton freshman Geoff Lee returned from an evening exam to find his third floor Speakman room "dripping all over" and heard "popping sounds" coming from his stereo. Residential Living officials asked residents of the third and fourth floors to find another place to stay and offered others couches in High Rise East rooms to sleep on for the night. Although the water reached the lower floors of Butcher and Speakman, damage was limited to the third and fourth floors, and most residents of the basement, first and second floors were allowed to return to their rooms once Physical Plant had turned off the water. But many students said since they could not get books and notes from their rooms, the disruption would affect their ability to study for midterms or complete homework due today. College senior Kristin Peszka, a residential advisor on Speakman's fourth floor, sought to reassure frantic students that they would be allowed to make up any missed assignments or reschedule midterms without being penalized. Therese Conn, executive assistant to Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson, said last night that students would probably be able to make arrangements with their professors or school deans. For several hours after the accident, students gathered in the stairwell outside their hallways and commiserated about the damage and inconvenience. Some swore as they sympathized with each other, and at least one student cried. "At least I'm not in Hill [House]," one sophomore said. Residents of upper floors talked about what might have been damaged in their rooms or could not be reached because they were not allowed to return. One student included vodka in the list of items she could not reach. "It's not like I need a drink, but it would be helpful," she said.
(10/21/91 9:00am)
Some faculty members are having "second thoughts" about a deal they reached last spring with the administration to limit their salary raises this year to about four percent, Faculty Senate Chairperson-elect David Hildebrand said yesterday. Although faculty leadership agreed to the four-percent increase because of what appeared to be an impending budget crunch, Hildebrand said many faculty were "somewhat disappointed there was not some kind of salary adjustment" after the University's state appropriation was restored and an immediate crisis was averted. In February, Gov. Robert Casey proposed cutting the University's $37.6 million appropriation nearly in half. The state legislature restored the funding over the summer, but not before the University planned for the cuts. While faculty members said they were willing to take the cut in raises to help the University during the crisis, many said they had expected the raises to be reinstituted when the state funding was reallocated. Provost Michael Aiken, who has been sensitive to criticism that the administration has treated the faculty unfairly on the salary issue, defended this year's salary increase plan. Aiken said the faculty leadership agreed in the spring to the four-percent increase instead of waiting until after the University's state appropriation had been decided to negotiate salary increases. He stressed the agreement expressly stated that the administration would not make any mid-year salary adjustments regardless of the final level of state funding. He said he was "aware that we were not able to do as much for the faculty as we wanted to," adding the administration would "try to be more generous in the future." Hildebrand agreed with Aiken on the terms of the deal, but said many faculty were critical of the decision because "faculty leadership are not dictators" and do not necessarily represent the views of all faculty. "In hindsight, one could argue we made a foolish choice," he said. Many of the faculty's concerns stem from the decision by the administration to spend $1.5 million of additional state funding on "one-time" expenditures rather than use that money for raises. Although the decision was within the bounds of the agreement made with the University, many faculty said the move raised questions the administration's commitment to keeping a strong relationship with the faculty. At the October meeting of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, Senate Chairperson Louise Shoemaker said some faculty expressed "real disagreement" with the administration's decision. Solomon Pollack, the faculty liaison to the Trustees' Budget and Finance Committee, raised the issue of salary increases at the committee's October 10 meeting. Bioengineering Professor Pollack said at the meeting, which was attended by some of the University's highest-ranking officials, that the administration was damaging its relationship with the faculty by not restoring salary increases to pre-budget crisis levels of as much as six percent. Pollack said although the faculty "agreed to help" the University during last semester's crisis by accepting lower raises, the administration did not grant even a small additional increase "at least to say thank you." On Friday, Pollack said he was even more concerned with the process the administration used to decide how to spend the restored state funding than with the actual outcome. He praised the administration for involving faculty last spring in the process of finding ways to cut costs, but said it did not properly involve faculty once the crisis was averted and the additional money had to be reallocated. He said there has to be "a kind of two-way discussion built on trust" to deal with future crises at the University. "I feel strongly about the partnership between the faculty and the administration, and it concerns me when something happens that could erode that relationship," Pollack said. President Sheldon Hackney, addressing Pollack at the committee meeting, said he understood the faculty's concern, adding the administration would try to "make up any ground that we lost" by building the difference into future salary increases.
(10/11/91 9:00am)
The faculty liason to the University Trustees' Budget and Finance Committee blasted the administration at the group's campus meeting yesterday for not reinstating faculty salary increases after the state restored the University's appropriation this summer. Bioengineering Professor Solomon Pollack said at the Faculty Club meeting, which was attended by some of the University's highest-ranking officials, that the administration was damaging its relationship with the faculty because of the move. He said although the faculty "agreed to help" the University during last semester's crisis by accepting lower raises, the administration did not grant even a small additional increase "at least to say thank you." "What happens the next time the University asks the faculty to take a pay cut?" he asked administrators, suggesting faculty may be less willing to accept lower raises. President Sheldon Hackney said he understood the faculty's concern, adding the administration would try to "make up any ground that we lost" by building the difference into future salary increases. But he also defended the administration's decision not to restore the increases and suggested faculty were fortunate the administration decided not to "zero out" faculty increases altogether "as many schools would have." In other business at the meeting, Senior Vice President Marna Whittington told Trustees about the plan for the University to join a group of other not-for-profit institutions in lending Philadelphia $90 million to help the city ride out a cash crisis. Trustees asked Whittington probing questions about the plan, including how secure the investment would be for the University. Whittington assured the Trustees numerous times that the money which the University may loan the city -- which could amount to $10 million -- would be safe, because liens totaling the value of the loan could be placed against future city revenue. Whittington said the security of the investment would be further ensured because the University could always reduce payments of its city wage taxes by the amount the loan the city could not repay. One Trustee expressed some concern that if the University and the other not-for-profits start making such loans to the city annually, the University earn less of a return on the money than with other long-term investments. Whittington said the University would make sure the money would be lent at competitive rates and would try to negotiate a discount wage tax rate. Such a possible long-term relationship would benefit both the city and University, Whittington said, because the city often runs short of money in the fall until property tax revenue begins arriving in the early spring. She said the University, which does have cash this time of year in the form of tuition payments, would benefit because its cash reserves usually run low in the spring, when the loan would be repaied. Trustees also discussed the administration's failure to restore faculty salary increases to levels that were planned last year but abandoned during the budget crisis. The Committee on University Responsibility spent over an hour discussing the University's current policy prohibiting investment in companies that do business in South Africa. Some committee members suggested the 1987 policy be amended at some point to include a "sunset clause," which would end the policy after a certain period of time unless conditions in South Africa worsened before then. The current policy includes no such provisions and calls for the white minority South African government to begin substantial power sharing with the black majority before the University can re-invest in companies which have business ties to South Africa. Trustee John Harkins said it was his "gut instinct" that there has to be economic activity in South Africa to help solve many of the problems facing blacks there, which include housing shortages and inadequate educational opportunities. He said the committee should consider ending its continuing debate on the morality of the issue, especially now that much of the legal structure of apartheid has been dismantled. Steven Heyman, the committee chairman, said he would support adding a sunset clause only if contingencies were also included to ensure that divestment would continue if reforms in South Africa do not proceed. He said he wants to be sure the University is making the right choice, adding the University would not be the first university to abandon its divestment policy.
