Search Results
Below are your search results. You can also try a Basic Search.
(10/09/91 9:00am)
The University has no immediate plans to re-invest in companies doing business in South Africa, despite recent reforms of that country's apartheid system and the end of U.S. sanctions barring trade and investment there. Stephen Heyman, chairman of the Board of Trustees' Committee on University Responsibility, which handles the University's divestment policy and will discuss the issue at its quarterly meeting tomorrow, said last week that the South African government still has not met all the conditions outlined in the University's 1987 divestment policy. He said the government there has not released all political prisoners and has not rewritten its constitution, which denies blacks the right to vote and concentrates political power in the hands of the white minority. "It doesn't matter what President Bush said, because we have our own guidelines that we adopted," Heyman said, referring to President Bush's appeal this summer that colleges begin reinvesting. "Our moral interest has to be higher than our desire for the income." The federal sanctions, which President Bush lifted in July, called for an end to the state of emergency in South Africa, the repeal of the laws forming the foundation of the apartheid system, the legalization of banned political parties, the release of all political prisoners and the start of negotiations between the government and the black majority. But ironically, the nationwide moral debate which led to economic sanctions and divestment in the mid-1980s may be irrelevant now, as companies weigh economic and political factors -- not moral ones -- when deciding whether to re-invest. This is important because even if the University eventually changes its divestment policy, there must also be companies willing to re-invest for the new policy to be significant. Jennifer Kibbe, a research analyst with the Investor Responsibility Research Center in Washington, said companies are still restricted by a bevy of local and state laws which automatically cancel valuable municipal contracts with banks and companies that establish business ties to South Africa. She added that the "selective contracting laws" currently on the books in five states and 42 cities, including Los Angeles and New York, extend beyond the terms of the federal sanctions and will apply, in some cases, until blacks gain the right to vote. The federal law, passed by Congress in 1986 over President Reagan's veto, said nothing about power sharing or voting rights. Kibbe said re-investing may be more difficult now because European and Japanese firms have already moved into South African and filled the vacuum created in the last few years by the departing American firms. She also said the emergence of new world markets, such as those in Eastern Europe and the Pacific Rim, might make investing in South Africa even less attractive to U.S. companies. Another concern among business leaders in the U.S., according to Kibbe, is continuing domestic violence among rival black South African factions, because that could increase the risk of investing. But Kibbe said since the South African market has great potential for growth in the next few years, there is growing support for re-investment. Jean Mayer, the president of Tufts University, has urged Tufts' trustee board to abandon their divestment policy because he said investment by American firms would lead to jobs which blacks badly need. While the Committee on University Responsibility will hear a routine report on conditions in South Africa tomorrow, Heyman said there will be no change in the University's policy. The Trustees voted to divest in 1987 after concluding that the South African government had not made "substantive progress in dismantling the legal structure of apartheid," and said any move to re-invest would only come after the government had taken "meaningful steps to ensure the effective sharing of political power in South Africa with all nonwhites." Lucy Momjian, Associate Treasurer for Investments, said the University at the time had holdings in just three companies, Tenneco, Caterpillar and Boeing, which were doing business in South Africa. She said the University sold its stock in both Tenneco and Caterpillar, which opted not to pull out of South Africa, and retained Boeing after the company sold its subsidiary, Boeing International.
(10/07/91 9:00am)
Ben Franklin, champion of education for rich and poor alike, would not be pleased to hear the news. The University, increasingly burdened by the high costs of financial aid, may have to abandon its policy of need-blind admissions sometime this decade unless new sources of revenue can be found, according to top-level University administrators. Administrators stress that any change in the current policy, under which students are admitted to the University regardless of their ability to pay, would come only as a last resort and with tremendous reluctance. But come it may. Here's why: · Federal financial aid has not risen over the last ten years, and the University's relatively weak endowment has not been able to pick up the slack. As a result, the University must now devote three times as much of its annual operating budget to financial aid as it did in 1980. · At the same time, growth in other areas of spending, such as faculty salaries and benefits and the uncertainty of future state funding make it more doubtful the University can continue to afford the rising costs of financial aid without new revenue sources. The University has attempted to minimize the potential effects of what Provost Michael Aiken called "major dilemmas several years down the road" by focusing on increasing the endowment for undergraduate financial aid and streamlining bureaucracy. But administrators acknowledge that although these efforts may be successful, the added revenue will probably fall short. "There is the possibility of having to make decisions about what's more important and what's less important," Senior Vice President Marna Whittington said. "We are going to have to prioritize." Administrators say that since the quality and diversity of the student body is a top priority, all efforts will be made to keep need-blind admissions. But they add there are other top priorities that have to be funded, such as quality research and quality faculty. And while Aiken insists this is not an "all-or-nothing situation," he concedes the University may be "on a collision course with tradeoffs" some years in the future. "We're at the point of recognizing that in the long term our resources are not going to sustain the vision we have," John Gould, executive director of the president's office, said last week. Faced with problems of this magnitude, administrators from several University offices -- including budget, provost, planning, student financial services, admissions and senior vice president -- have been searching for solutions. So far, while the problems are all too clear, they say the solutions have been maddeningly elusive. · If the University abandons need-blind admissions in the future -- and many administrators said they doubted it would at least for several more years -- it would join a growing list of schools that no longer admit all their students need-blind. At such high-powered schools like Brown University, Smith College and Bryn Mawr College, to name a few, applicants are admitted need-blind until funding runs out, meaning only a small number are admitted with ability to pay as one of the factors. At Smith, which ended need-blind admissions last year, admissions officers considered ability to pay for just the final three percent of students accepted into the class of 1995, according to Mira Smith, the college's director of financial aid. She said the best students were accepted without financial considerations, while only students "on the fence" were not admitted need-blind. Whittington said such a policy would be one alternative to the University's current admissions policy. But several administrators said even that kind of system would violate the "principle" of need-blind admissions. Gould, playing the devil's advocate, suggested the University could still perhaps attract top-notch students if "we let the market work" and made every applicant's wealth a consideration. But he said this system would not protect the University's "educational mission" to provide a learning center for people from all walks of life. · The University's lofty aim to admit the best students -- not just the richest -- has come with an equally lofty price tag, because the University promises to satisfy the financial need of all its students. This means the University agrees to help cover whatever costs remain after the parental and student contributions, and outside scholarships and grants, by providing Penn Grants. Over the past 10 years, stagnant federal aid levels have made this commitment steadily more expensive because the annual total cost of attending the University has jumped 163 percent, from $8600 to $22,600 per student. While federal and state grants to University undergraduates totaled $6.4 million in 1979, by 1990 the number had actually dropped to $5.9 million. To compensate, the total value of Penn Grants soared from $8.5 million to almost $29.7 million -- a 249-percent increase. Financial aid officials are cautiously hopeful that the current reauthorization of the federal Higher Education Act may expand the federal Pell Grant program for the neediest of students, and more importantly, expand and reorganize the Guaranteed Student Loan program, which has remained largely unchanged for years. William Schilling, the University's director of financial aid, said between 36 and 40 percent of undergraduates receive Penn Grants, while 55 percent of the student body receives some form of aid, including federal Stafford loans. Schilling said he would like to see the maximum loan available to students increased. He said that although the move would force students to shoulder the burden later on, the loans would make it easier to attend the University and would ease the pressure on the University to provide grants. The rising dependence of financial aid on the University's unrestricted funding -- money not earmarked for specific purposes -- becomes even more precarious considering some of that money comes from the state. In the wake of the recent budget crisis in which Gov. Robert Casey proposed cutting the University's $37.6 million 1991-92 appropriation nearly in half, some administrators say the University cannot count on receiving as much state funding in the future. Aiken said losing state funding in the next year or two would compound the problem by "telescoping" what the University may experience in ten years, and "bring us back to the brink of tradeoffs." In a worst-case scenario, administrators could be forced to choose between allowing the quality of some programs to drop or cutting some out completely to ensure uniform excellence at the University. Whittington said under such circumstances, she "would hope [the University would] choose to do a smaller number of things well." Gould agreed, saying selective mediocrity might be "more harmful to the school's reputation." But he said any such cuts could be made so the University could "still protect the academic core."
(10/01/91 9:00am)
The University's request for nearly $41.2 million in state funding for the 1992-93 fiscal year took weeks of planning by University administrators, but the waiting and uncertainty have only just begun. Although the funding request was sent to Harrisburg last week, the first clear indication of how much the University can actually expect to receive from the state next year will not emerge until February, when Gov. Robert Casey releases his budget proposal. And, by all accounts, it is still too early to determine if the University will receive the full amount or face a budget crisis similar to the one last summer, which threatened to cut this year's $37.6 million allocation nearly in half. "It would be premature for us to speculate on any funding requests since the budget review process is extensive and has just begun," Casey spokesperson Sue Grimm said yesterday. One key factor clearly will be how much revenue is generated by several tax increases that were included in the current budget. "Revenues will be a critical determinant in next year's budget," said Mary Soderberg, a budget analyst for the state House Appropriations Committee. "And we don't have a clear enough reading of what those revenues will be." Several legislative aides in Harrisburg said the tax revenues are close to last year's predictions, but they added certain sales taxes have not been implemented yet. Soderberg said some programs, possibly including funding for higher education, would have to be cut if the tax revenues come up short. "You either have to take money from someone else or you have to increase taxes," she said. "We're not going to see any tax increases, I can guarantee you that." Senior Vice President Marna Whittington said last week she realized another budget crisis would make it more difficult for the University's request to pass the legislature intact. But she and other University administrators said next year's request, which is 9.5 percent higher than this year's allocation, is needed to offset a decrease in the real value of the state's allocation, which has barely risen over the last two years. Soderberg said the governor's budget proposals always have "a kind of theme," emphasizing different programs from year to year. She said despite the governor's recommended cuts for higher education last February, colleges and universities could fare better this time around. House Minority Leader Matthew Ryan (R-Delaware Co.) said in a statement that although the University's requested 9.5 percent increase "would seem high," he was hopeful Casey would be more supportive considering the governor's "sparse support for higher education this year."
(09/27/91 9:00am)
Troy's Restaurant & Deli, a student favorite for over twenty years, has filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of federal bankruptcy law. John Kollias, the owner of Troy's, said he hopes to use this time to reorganize the business and look for ways of raising enough capital to pay debts totaling more than $43,000. He said he had not decided on a "clear-cut way" to raise the money, but added he might see whether University alumni would be willing to invest in the restaurant. He added Troy's, which is still open for business, needs the support of University students now more than ever. "Without some kind of campus support, I don't think there's any other way to stay in business," he said. Arthur Kyriazis, Kollias' lawyer, said filing for bankruptcy has given Kollias about four months to develop a reorganization plan. If Kollias has not raised enough money by then, the owner of the building, University City Housing, can force the liquidation of Kollias' assets. Kyriazis said he thought Troy's has "a pretty good future" and predicted Kollias "will be able to reorganize." He said the restaurant might move to another location nearby if enough money is raised. Saul Krenzel, lawyer for University City Housing, would not discuss the case, saying only that "we are proceeding in accordance with the law." Kollias blamed a littany of factors on his restaurant's current problems. He said Troy's has not been "what it once was" since May 1990 when the restaurant lost its liquor license and then was closed for operating with an expired retail food permit. He said shortly after he reopened the restaurant last year, the onset of the recession made it even more difficult to pay bills. Another factor, according to Kollias, has been what he calls the University's attempt to keep rent in the area "artificially high" and "keep the locals out" of the area. If Troy's does close its doors, it will mark the end of a long family tradition. Troy's has been in the Kollias family since its doors opened in 1970 on 39th Street between Walnut and Chestnut streets. Kollias said his mother has passed away and his father has retired, leaving only him to keep the restaurant open.
(09/27/91 9:00am)
The University has requested nearly $41.2 million in state funding for the 1992-93 fiscal year, hoping to increase this year's $37.6 million allocation by 9.5 percent. The proposal calls for increased funding for all University programs which currently receive state money -- including the Veterinary School and related programs, the Medical School, the University's dental clinics and $16.6 million in unrestricted dollars -- and asks for two new line items for the Vet School. Administrators said this week that although the increase would exceed the rate of inflation, it is needed to offset a decrease in the real value of the state's allocation, which has barely risen over the last two years. And they said the budget crisis in Harrisburg this summer, which threatened to cut this year's allocation nearly in half, did not affect the level of the University's request. James Shada, assistant vice president for Commonwealth Relations, said the proposal simply reflects the University's current needs. "We feel we can make the case for what we're asking for," Shada said. But Senior Vice President Marna Whittington acknowledged the University's request could have trouble passing the legislature fully intact if a crisis similar to the one last year develops. She said it was important not to appear "greedy," while at the same time presenting an honest appraisal of the University's needs. The request stresses that the University is the city's largest non-governmental employer, helps attract industry to the area through research and technological developments, and educates thousands of Pennsylvania residents every year. The largest single component of the request would add over $1 million in unrestricted funds to the University's allocation, raising the level to $17.7 million. Administrators say this money is important because it is not earmarked for certain programs and can be used in areas where it is needed. The request lists three "strategic priorities" for this part of the allocation: undergraduate education, student financial aid and "research excellence." The financial aid budget has grown increasingly dependent on unrestricted funds in recent years because, while costs have risen, other sources of revenue have remained flat. Several parts of the request, totaling over $17 million, are related to the Vet School, whose financial stability is closely linked with state funding. The requests include $4.3 million for the New Bolton Center, $2.3 million for the Center for Animal Health, and $1.4 million for the Center of Animal Health and Productivity. The two new lines would include $477,000 for the operation and maintenance of animal health diagnostic and research programs, and $423,000 to help fund public health research in the Vet School, which is the only school of its kind in the state. The University now must wait until February, when Gov. Robert Casey unveils his budget proposal, to determine how the allocation likely will emerge in the final budget.
(09/23/91 9:00am)
Several hundred copies of a facebook for upperclassmen arrived on campus Friday, about two weeks later than originally planned, the book's managing editor said yesterday. College senior Joe Koltun, a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, said delays at the printer and later with the shipping company pushed back the delivery date, which was originally scheduled for "September 1 or maybe a couple of days later." Koltun said students who want to buy the $10 book, called Faces in the Crowd, or pick up the copy they already ordered can go to a table that will be set up on Locust Walk from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, for the next two weeks. He said about 200 copies of the book have been sent to the homes of students who paid an extra $3 to have the book shipped home. Koltun said although former Alpha president Geoffrey Cousins is the facebook's editor and developed the project with his fraternity last year, Cousins handed the project over to Koltun over the summer after Cousins graduated and "there was no one else to keep things going." Koltun said the sale of the book "is no longer a charity function," adding that most of the profits will be used to pay the publisher, University Allied Publishers. He said he and Cousins, possibly along with some ATO brothers now working on the project, will divide the remainder of the profits. The book, modeled after the Freshman Record, contains photos of sophomores, juniors and seniors, along with their home address and school in the University. Koltun said a student's freshman year photo was used if the student did not send in a new picture, and because that happened in all but 300 cases, the majority of the book's pictures are old. "Hopefully we'll get more new pictures in the future," he said. He said 70 students expressly requested that their picture not appear in the facebook at all. In those cases a large "P" fills the space reserved for the picture.
(09/23/91 9:00am)
The state's decision ends a probe launched in February after two students asked the Attorney General's office to help them and over 120 other subscribers seek refunds from Penn News due to the newspaper delivery company's spotty service. Several calls made to the JIO's office last week were not returned, and Monk, a Wharton senior, said yesterday he had not been contacted by either the JIO or the Attorney General's office. But Galloway, the investigating agent on the case for the office's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the case was closed because the investigation had been at a "standstill" since the spring, when Monk failed to appear at three scheduled meetings and did not bring key documents to another. Galloway added he could not contact "some other players" involved in the case, apparently including Mark Stanley, the former owner of Penn News. Monk has accused Stanley of selling the business to him after its financial problems had already started and of misspending Penn News money. The agent said Monk's lack of cooperation and the confusion over who was involved made it impossible for his office to find all the answers in a case which Galloway has said all along belongs in the JIO's office. While it is unclear what might result from an investigation by the JIO, Monk's problems do not appear over. In mid-April, Monk announced he had finally raised enough money from friends and relatives to begin refunding customers who had paid in advance for spring delivery and those who complained during the fall about the quality of service. But Monk never fulfilled his promise because his friends and relatives "went back on their word and left me out in the cold" without enough money," he said yesterday. And he has yet to pay off debts to several Penn News creditors, including The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and USA Today, to whom he owes more than $24,000. Because Penn News is not incorporated, Monk is personally liable for all debts the company owes. Monk has blamed the University for many of his company's problems, which began last fall when the door-to-door delivery system grew increasingly unreliable. At the time, Monk accused Penn Student Agencies, the University-affiliated agency which had previously run the newspaper delivery operation, of not regularly supplying the delivery vans and drivers that he alleged University officials had agreed to provide. Later in the semester, when only a few subscribers had paid their bills and Monk could not pay the newspaper companies, Monk again blamed the University. He said Deputy Vice Provost George Koval initially agreed to let Penn News bill students through the University's Bursar's Office, but later reneged on the deal. By the time Monk could bill students over winter break, many customers were unwilling to pay for newspapers which they said had been delivered only infrequently, and the newspaper companies had stopped supplying Penn News with papers. Koval and other University officials deny Monk's allegations, saying Penn News knew before school started last year that vans would be provided only when available and that students could not be billed through the Bursar's Office. Meanwhile, PSA has resumed on-campus newspaper delivery this year, but the door-to-door system has been abandoned in favor of drop boxes.
(09/20/91 9:00am)
University students who paid in advance for an upperclass facebook, which they were told would be ready early this school year, said last night they are still waiting for the book to arrive. They said no one from the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., which is publishing the book to raise college scholarship money for area high school students, has contacted them to say when the books will be on campus. But Tony Frazier, the president of Alpha Phi Alpha, said last night the students could expect to receive their copies of the $10 book, called Faces in the Crowd, later this month or early next month. But Frazier would not explain the cause of the delay or say why students had not yet been notified, saying, "I can't speak on that at this time." Many students said they ordered the book because, like the Freshman Record, it would make matching names with faces much easier. Many said they expected the book to be ready by now and that it would have been distributed through CUPID or other start of school activities. "It seemed like a very good idea: an updated directory with pictures," said College senior Jonathan Bing, who said he paid for his copy this summer. "But I don't like spending money for something and not getting what I paid for." Bing said because he respected Alpha Phi Alpha for its involvement in past community programs, he was even more surprised by the fraternity's handling of the situation. Besides the delay, some have wondered what the book's producers have done in cases where students have not provided new photos of themselves. A campus mailer last spring said a student's freshman picture would be used unless a new photo was supplied. But former Alpha president Geoffrey Cousins, who organized the project and has since graduated, said at the time he had not confirmed this with the publishers of the Freshman Record. Albert Moore, the University's assistant director of student activities, has said the fraternity would not have access to the actual pictures used in the Record because he does not keep them once they are used. He said if the new book contains freshman year pictures, as one Alpha brother said they "probably did," they were likely taken from a copy of the Record.
(09/19/91 9:00am)
Russel Giles was a homeless man who lived on the streets of West Philadelphia. Jeff Harvey was a music producer who lived 30 miles away in Montgomery County. The two men had nothing in common until they met one night outside the Chestnut Cabaret. They became friends that night during a long conversation in the theater's parking lot, and after many subsequent visits to West Philadelphia, Harvey asked Giles to leave the streets and move in with him. Harvey said he now plans to make a similar offer to other homeless men in University City and has founded a group called "Homeless Not Helpless." The new non-profit organization hopes to establish a group home in Montgomery County for twelve men by sometime this winter. He said the men, who may include "victims of circumstance" and recovering drug addicts, will live in the home for one year as part of a "recovery program" designed to help them "gain a greater sense of self-worth, develop a tremendous work ethic, and restore their dignity." The house will be located outside Philadelphia, he said, because homeless need to leave "their environment and all the temptations" and spend time "in a calmer atmosphere, where there are trees." After a year, he said, the men will move to a house closer to Philadelphia, where they will spend another year living together and helping each other while they return to society as "productive members of the community." In order to qualify for federal funding and various loans, Harvey said Homeless Not Helpless is in the process of incorporating and seeking non-profit status. He said the program would likely cost at least $160,000 for the first year. Harvey said he is also organizing an album containing original music by several area artists, possibly including the Hooters, which would benefit all homeless advocacy groups in the city. Until then, Harvey said he will continue spending his own money to supply area homeless with food, toiletries and clean laundry once a week. He said he also meets regularly with some of them to discuss their behavior on the streets, hear their experiences and get their feedback. But Harvey said he knows providing housing for twelve homeless men will not solve the problems of all the city's homeless, which he said number about 35,000, because many homeless would remain in University City once the home's spaces are filled. To broaden the influence of Homeless Not Helpless, he said he is beginning to meet with local business owners to try to ease tensions between them and the homeless people, who often panhandle in front of stores. One suggestion he will pitch to the owners is an arrangement under which homeless men would agree to stay away from storefronts in exchange for free food or several hours of paid work each week. He said the men would sign contracts and wear identification cards to prove they are part of the program. Harvey, who said he has been "touched for years by the homeless epidemic," said he had no plans to form Homeless Not Helpless until he met some of the men Giles had lived with during his two years on the street. Although Giles adjusted quickly to life off the street, Harvey said Giles "felt real anxiety about the guys he had left behind." The two men began returning to Philadelphia with sandwiches for the homeless men, and in the process, Harvey said he realized that what he had done for Giles could be done for others. "I started meeting some really magnificent human beings out there," Harvey said. "They weren't all drug addicts and they weren't all what we think are simply losers. A lot of them just had economic problems." Sam Frisby, who said he has been homeless off and on for several years, said he thinks the program will help both the homeless people and their image. "We're not just out here pandhandling," he said. "We have a goal now, and that's the difference."
(09/16/91 9:00am)
The public's growing awareness of acquaintance rape in recent years has spawned a nationwide debate on the topic, but many University students still seem to have widely varying perceptions of the problem's extent on campus. The average prediction was 24.1 percent, coming close to many national estimates that suggest that as many as one in four women may be victims. Responses also ranged widely in the number of women students who said they know victims, with some saying none and others saying "all of them who are sexually active." Overall, 37.5 percent of respondents said they knew at least one rape victim and 46.6 percent said they knew a sexual assault victim. But only 3.7 percent of female respondents said they have been raped by someone they know. Just over 20 percent said they had been sexually assaulted. The discrepancy between these results could be attributed to several factors: that some students may have felt uncomfortable answering the questions truthfully with friends watching, and that a relatively small number of juniors and seniors were polled. Among seniors polled, for example, these percentages increased to 5.5 percent and 33.3 percent. There are no accurate figures for the number of rapes that occur on campus because victims rarely go to University Police, often looking to other groups if they report them at all. Women's Center Director Elena DiLapi said during the 1989-90 school year, the Women's Center saw 20 victims of sexual assault, who then went on to the Victim Support Services department of University Police. Students Together Against Acquaintance Rape reported seeing 40 to 45 during the same time. But between 1987 and 1990, only one student reported a rape to University Police, Commissioner John Kuprevich said. STAAR executive board member Tristan Svare said last night he was not surprised to learn that student estimates of date rape ranged from very high to very low. "Everyone has different experiences," he said. "And many people just don't know how prevalent a problem it really is." He said it is also not surprising that the percentage of women who said they have been date-raped was lower than many national surveys have reported, saying he doubts if all the respondents were honest since many answered the questions while eating lunch with friends. "A lot of the time people aren't really willing to admit [they have been assaulted], especially for something they are going to see in the newspaper." He added the use of the word "rape" in several of the poll's questions may also have affected responses because he said some people are "reluctant to label it rape." The 1,265 students polled on Thursday also expressed strong convictions on several other important questions, including what constitutes rape, who is to blame, and why so few women report the crime. They also gave their opinions on the impact of alcohol on date rape and differences between men and women's sexual activity. The survey also indicated that continuing publicity of the problem has changed their views. More than 80 percent of juniors and seniors who responded said they are more likely to believe a woman has been the victim of a date rape than when they were freshmen. Of the 535 females surveyed, 24 said they had been raped at some point in their lives, and all but four said they knew their rapist. Seven of the 24 are freshmen. Of the 110 women who said they have been sexually assaulted, 40 said the incidents happened on campus. In the case of males, 32 students, making up 4.4 percent of all male respondents, said they were victims of sexual assault up to and including rape. Half of those assaults reportedly occurred on campus. Students' responses suggested several possible reasons for this problem, including alcohol use and differing expectations for men and women. Alcohol's role is indisputable, at least statistically. About 75 percent of the men and at least 55 percent of the women involved in acquaintance rape had been drinking or taking drugs just before the attack, a 1985 survey published in Ms. magazine said. Many University students agree. Over 62 percent of all respondents said they think at least half of all rapes and sexual assaults can be partially attributed to alcohol. But at least one respondent suggested too much attention is paid to alcohol. "Alcohol is not to blame for anything," a female senior said. "Stupid use of alcohol to the point of impaired judgement is." Several students maintained that, although drinking alcohol often leads to problems, the person drinking the alcohol is solely responsible for his or her actions. "Rape is not in any way caused by alcohol," wrote one female senior. "It's caused by a blind misunderstanding of what the word 'NO' means." "Drunk or not, the person committed the rape, not the alcohol," said another respondent. Another source of blame may be the different intentions some men and women bring with them to parties. According to the survey, 41 percent of male students go to parties "looking to have sex with someone that night" at least "occasionally." By contrast, 96 percent of female respondents said they rarely if ever have the same intention and more than 83 percent said they never intend to have sex that night. Males tend to have sex earlier in their relationships, too. While over half of the female students "went out" for at least a year before having sex with their last partner, it took more than a third of the males less than a month to reach the same point. Men and women also had some disagreement on the degree of responsibility a woman bears for rape in certain circumstances. Students were asked to rate the degree of responsibility a woman has on a scale of one to five, five being not responsible at all. If the woman is raped after "dressing provocatively," becoming drunk or going to a man's room or inviting a man to her room, the average of responses, falling between 3.4 and 3.9, indicate that students shy away from blaming the woman. If the woman does not say no clearly, men lean towards saying she is responsible and women lean slightly away from that. In all cases, men were more likely to blame the woman than women were. The Ms. survey found that 84 percent of the men who committed rape said what they did was definitely not rape. Thursday's poll produced similar results. Only 18 male University students of 730 polled, or 2.5 percent, indicated they had committed a sexual assault, while over 5 percent gave no answer. And only 7 percent of males admitted they had suspected their sexual activity may have been "questionable" or "could be interpreted as rape or sexual assault." Nearly 19 percent did not respond to that question. These percentages were clearly much lower than the 20 percent of women who said they have been sexually assaulted. One student who said his activities could be considered "questionable" added: "At this school where people bitch about everything, yes!" But one male junior said he does not let it get to that point. "I always make sure of full consent and immediately stop making advances even if a woman is joking about not wanting sex," he said. Results were mixed about the role fraternities play in the date rape problem, with men being less willing to blame fraternities than women. A slight majority of respondents said fraternities do not deserve all the blame which people tend to assign them. "It's not the actual fraternities, but the stigma of how you're supposed to act at their parties," one female sophomore said. "Even one individual in a frat can give the whole system a bad name." The fraternities are not to blame, said another sophomore, "but those male social ideals that so many seek are to blame, and fraternities by definition are epitomes of those cultural attitudes." If such an incident does happen, the victim soon faces the difficult task of deciding whether or not to report the incident, and if so, to whom. Many who remain silent fear their reputation will be damaged. Many students believe, however, there are sufficient services for rape victims at the University and that these services are moderately well publicized. Over 65 percent of the women polled said they feel there is "a stigma against rape victims." Almost 56 percent of male respondents agreed. Less than five percent of women in the survey who said they were victims of rape or sexual assault went to the police, and two who did went more than a year after being assaulted. "You don't want to be the pin-up Barbie," a student said. "It happens and that's life. Make a deal and you will be the whore of Babylon. Men need their pride." DiLapi agreed that women who have been raped are unfairly stigmatized by society. "People think, 'Why didn't you do something to stop it," she said. ". . . It's a defense mechanism for them so they don't have to realize they are susceptible. [Rape is] not a nice subject. People don't want to talk about it." Many women said they were not sure they would report such an incident, citing various reasons. Some women said they not sure if they would even be able to admit it to themselves. A junior who was sexually assaulted said she decided against going to the police to avoid "embarassment, because society still blames the female and I don't want to be hurt by society's snotty views. Why add salt to a wound?" Many victims polled said they did not file a report for several reasons, including that they did not want to pursue legal action, did not want to tell anyone, and wanted to avoid publicity. And according to the Ms. survey, only 27 percent of the women whose sexual assault met the legal definition of rape thought of themselves as rape victims. Only a little more than half the victims told anyone else, and most of them said they did not use on-campus resources such as Women's Center, STAAR and Women Organized Against Rape. And barely one in five told their parents. Fear of reporting rape can also cause male victims not to tell anyone else. A male who said he was raped but did not file a report said, "Who would believe a guy getting raped?"
(09/13/91 9:00am)
A House of Representatives subcommittee will propose fundamental changes in both Pell Grants and student loans later this month when it begins writing a new education bill to replace the current Higher Education Act. Colleges and universities across the nation have criticized the Reagan and Bush administration for years for cutting federal funding to student financial aid programs. But under the new proposal, the maximum Pell Grant -- a need-based federal grant -- would nearly double to $4,500 a year from the current $2,400. And student loans, which students now receive through a cumbersome process involving banks and guarantee agencies, would come directly from the federal government to a student's college. Bipartisan support for adopting such a direct-lending approach is strong because the process would be simpler and cheaper, several congressional aides involved in drafting the bill said yesterday. The new system would save the federal government anywhere from $400 million to $2 billion annually, because the process would be more efficient and the federal government can borrow money at lower rates than banks. "There is a desire to make the system less complicated and more comprehensible to students," said Rick Jerue, an education advisor to Rep. Pat Williams (D-Mon.), who is a member of the postsecondary education committee. "It makes an awful lot of sense." Associate Vice President for Finance Frank Claus echoed support for the proposed change, calling the current method "a cumbersome process" that is "more of a hassle for students." A few critics have suggested that the Education Department may not be able to run such a huge program as efficiently as banks, which have a profit incentive not found in the government. But supporters counter that the government would have little difficulty overseeing the program, and discount the skepticism as a weak attempt to kill the proposal. But despite bipartisan agreement on loan redistribution, aides said Republicans and Democrats on the House Subcommittee for Postsecondary Education, which will draft the bill, are already divided over the plan to overhaul the Pell Grant system -- which will cost approximately $3 billion to $5 billion. Officials on both sides of the aisle agree that aid for middle class students must be increased since they are the students most often caught in a financial aid crunch and have been increasingly disregarded in financial aid packages. But they cannot agree whether the aid those students receive should be in the form of grants or loans. Aides say this key difference has developed into a debate that will likely persist until the bill goes to the House floor later this fall. One approach popular among some Republican congressmen would partially fund the increase in grant aid by making fewer students eligible for Pell Grant money, and expanding the student loan program to provide financial aid for those cut out of the Pell program. In short, fewer students would get more grant aid. But congressional staffer Jerue said this would eliminate eligibility for as many as 300,000 students currently receiving Pell Grants, and would force even more students to rely on loans to pay for college. Craig Overfield, a spokesperson for postsecondary education committee member Rep. Tom Coleman (R-Mo.), defended the plan as the only viable option given the current "economic reality" of budget deficits and fiscal restraint. But several Democratic congressmen have criticized the Republican proposal, arguing that grant funding must be increased in order to correct the "grant-loan imbalance." Mike Russell, a spokesperson for Rep. William Ford (D-Mich.), who chairs the postsecondary education subcommittee, said the congressman favors increasing Pell Grant eligibility to include students whose family's combined income is as high as $50,000. Students are currently eligible for grant money only if their family's income does not exceed about $30,000, according to Russell. He said in today's dollars, that income level "is next to nothing" when applied to the rising costs of college tuition. Russell admits expanding Pell Grants would require at least $3 billion more than is currently spent on grants. But he said if "we are serious about education" some funds would have to be cut from other federal programs, possibly including the defense budget, which he called a "juicy target." He added some of the costs could be offset by the money that streamlining the student loan distribution process is expected to generate. Claus said the increase in grant aid would make it less expensive for the University to meet the financial needs of some students, but added that increased loans, while less desirable than grants, would probably help a wider segment of the student body pay their college costs.
(09/09/91 9:00am)
Wearing a shirt emblazoned with a college's name and logo has long been a source of status and school pride for students, as well as free publicity for the school. But a growing market for collegiate merchandise -- ranging from shirts and hats to pens and paper to trash cans and bumper stickers -- has yielded another benefit to many colleges in the last ten years: big bucks. As the total annual sales of these products around the world approached $1 billion, most colleges began licensing the use of their name and logo to manufacturers both to ensure the tastefulness of the products and to cash in on a share of the profits. Cheryl Smith, an official with the Collegiate Licensing Company, which represents 122 schools in negotiations with sportswear manufacturers such as Champion and Russell, said the "main reason fans buy merchandise is the success of sports teams or name recognition." And buy they have. Smith said CLC's five top-grossing schools for 1991 were Georgetown University, the University of Michigan, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, the University of North Carolina and Florida State University, with each making about $1 million in royalties after taking a cut of 7.5 percent from total sales and paying CLC its share. Harvard and Yale universities, which enjoy high name recognition in the academic excellence arena, have fared about as well as the athletic powerhouses. Yale was ninth on CLC's list of top-grossing schools, the highest among schools without widely followed athletic programs. Harvard, which does not use an agent such as CLC, made about $1 million last year, according to Sylvia Struss, Harvard's trademark licensing officer. Steven Murray, who handles product licensing for the University, said the University earns about $20,000 annually from royalties, all of which goes into the general fund. By contrast, more Georgetown products are sold in New York and Los Angeles than in Washington, D.C., according to Brian McGuire, who oversees licensing for the Washington school. But Murray said although the University makes relatively little in added revenue, it is still important to make sure that the trademarks are used "properly." He said the University owns rights to the name "University of Pennsylvania," the blue and red split "P", the University's shield and circular logo, as well as the word "Penn" when used with the other registered trademarks. The University, like all schools, must first give a manufacturer permission to produce a certain product. Murray said the University rejects proposals "three or four times a year because somebody has tried to modify the logo or has merchandise that's in bad taste." But Smith said not all manufacturers follow the legal process of seeking prior approval from schools, adding that some products in the stores are not officially licensed. To eliminate the illegal competition, Smith said that besides accounting, royalty tracking and licensee auditing, CLC devotes substantial time to enforcing product licensing. She said CLC representatives "shop the market" all over the country in an attempt to root out illegal products and remind retailers not to buy unlicensed merchandise. In fact, Harvard University began licensing its name and logo only when a Japanese company tried to register trademarks for Harvard for a new clothing line. Struss said the Harvard Corporation, which had resisted "selling the Harvard name" for years, finally agreed to work with the Japanese group because "we decided we might as well have some control over it if it would be done anyway." That agreement led to the Harvard University line of clothing, complete with suits bearing the Harvard label, and has since earned Harvard $200,000 annually. Harvard, too, is vigilant in its efforts to control all Harvard products. Struss said the university sends representatives into the stores, gets information from manufacturers and retains attorneys who have "investigators" around the country. Struss added that while there have been "some problems" with unapproved merchandise, there have not been "enough to bring a lawsuit yet. And I emphasize 'yet.' " Each university decides how to use the profits earned on the sale of its products. Smith said the various uses include athletics, building funds and scholarships. Struss said Harvard, which she said does not really need the added revenue, has devoted all of its profits to matching scholarship grants. The only groups exempt from licensing restrictions are not-for-profit campus groups, including fraternities or extracurricular organizations. These groups still must receive prior permission from their school, but they are not required to pay royalties.
(09/05/91 9:00am)
The emergency budget cutbacks adopted by the administration last spring will be scrapped now that state funding to the University has been restored to last year's level of more than $37 million. But Stephen Golding, the University's budget director, warned that an uncertain economy, coupled with across-the-board belt tightening in Harrisburg, still leaves the University at risk of losing some of its state funding in future years. In March, Gov. Robert Casey proposed cutting the University's allocation by $18.6 million, and administrators adopted a budget to compensate for the loss. Golding said now that the University has recouped the money, it will be spent on the following priorities: · Erasing a $6.7 million deficit which the University's Board of Trustees approved in March. The deficit would have been the first of its kind in 15 years. · Returning nearly $3 million to the Provost's Subvention Fund, an account that pays for long-range academic projects such as a proposed social sciences research institute, undergraduate research and graduate fellowships. · Earmarking $1.5 million for deferred maintenance projects, such as the ongoing renovations to College Hall. Officials have also ended a moratorium on all major building and renovation projects, freeing the Law School to proceed with construction of its new library once the design is completed later this year. Many projects, including the campus center and the new University Police headquarters, were not affected because construction is at least a year away. It is unclear what effect the restored funds will have on the decision made last spring to eliminate 300 faculty and staff positions through attrition and some layoffs. Golding said those personnel decisions were up to each school's deans. One measure that cannot be changed is this year's tuition increase. This year was the first time in five years the percentage increase for tuition did not fall, although the dollar amount has risen every year. This year's tuition, like last year's, increased by 6.7 percent. Golding said about $5 million will be left over and University officials will determine if it will be distributed throughout the University to make up for across-the-board cuts that were announced in March. If not, Golding said some of the funds could be used to pay for academic programs and initiatives that are "non-base-building," or one-time expenditures. This would include new equipment for libraries or other special projects. But Golding said he is not sure whether state funding will continue at the current rate. He said since next year is an election year, funding for the University and other non-state-related schools could be jeopardized if legislators have trouble balancing the state's budget. He said since future tax increases will be hard to justify to voters -- especially after this recent round of increases -- the funding may be reduced instead. "We want to keep an eye on the economy and keep an eye on Harrisburg," he said. "Although it's true we're very grateful to the Commonwealth, we're going to take a deep breath and watch what happens over the next 12 months." And since students will still need certain services, faculty will always expect competitive wages, and the cost of running the University is growing as high or higher than inflation, Golding said the University will likely have to become "a little bit leaner and a little bit meaner." Golding emphasized, however, that because the University plays "an integral role" in the state economy, he hopes legislators will realize any cuts in aid to the University will have broad ramifications throughout the state. And he said the University will prepare this year's proposal for state funding under the assumption that there will be no aid reduction. But a debate may already be developing over whether the University should count on that added aid in the future. Linda Koons, executive assistant to Provost Michael Aiken, said some faculty have suggested that since future support from the state is not guaranteed, current state funding should not be built into the budget. But she added some faculty want to reap the benefit of more state money now. She said some felt the faculty should be given the remainder of their raises, which were reduced from six or seven percent to four or five percent because of the University's budget crisis. The budget will be discussed at next Friday's council of deans meeting.
(05/17/91 9:00am)
Monk, a Wharton junior, said in April he would begin hand-delivering cashier's checks to on-campus subscribers within a week and would start mailing off-campus subscribers their refunds sometime the next week. Monk said at the time his family had helped him raise the nearly $10,000 he needed to pay for all the refunds. But Wharton senior Alyssa Rokito, one of two University students who filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office in February on behalf of over 120 other subscribers, said she has yet to receive her refund. She said several other students listed in the complaint also are still waiting for their checks. Monk did not return several phone messages left at his dormitory room last week. He has not spoken publicly since announcing the refund plan last month. Monk took over Penn News in early November and since Penn News is not incorporated, he is personally liable for the company's debts. He currently owes three newspaper companies more than $24,000 in overdue bills. Meanwhile, the state probe launched shortly after Rokito filed the complaint with the attorney general's Bureau of Consumer Protection has been delayed, according to Leonard Galloway, the agent conducting the Penn News investigation. Galloway, whose work on the case was slowed when Monk forced the postponement of four scheduled meetings to discuss Penn News' financial situation, said Monk has told him "absolutely nothing" about a refund plan. Due to the lack of progress, Galloway said he does not plan to move forward on the case until Deputy Attorney General John Kelly returns from a vacation May 22. But Galloway stressed the investigation will be delayed only temporarily and has not been abandoned altogether. While Monk remains entangled in Penn News' problems, the University has gone ahead with its plans to resume campus newspaper delivery in September through Penn Student Agencies. Deputy Vice Provost George Koval said negotiations with newspaper companies are underway and that students should receive a summer mailing detailing the subscription offer. Koval said the exact method of delivery has not yet been decided, but he added PSA will probably not deliver door-to-door due to the "astronomical" costs of hiring morning delivery workers.
(04/23/91 9:00am)
The Book Store, already a veritable potpourri of college student products, has further diversified its inventory to include over 1000 environmentally safe products. In celebration of Earth Day, the Book Store yesterday unveiled the Natural Lifestyle Center, a permanent addition to the store which will feature such "environmentally friendly" products as natural shampoo, cold care remedies and unbleached t-shirts. The display will also be selling informational products, including books about pollution and recycling, to promote increased awareness of important environmental issues. Eco-Logica, a company dealing in natural alternative products for the past 15 years, offered the selection of products to the Book Store "to provide students with the opportunity to exercise choice in the products they buy," Eco-Logica spokesperson Michael Charney said yesterday. Charney said the products, which will cost about the same as similar traditionally-made products, protect the environment in varying ways. He said cosmetics involve no animal testing and use no animal by-products, while the shirts contain no harmful dyes or phosphates and are made only of unbleached cotton. "Everyone felt it was a good thing," Cybart said. Charney praised Book Store management for reserving more initial space for the display than any other college bookstore has since Eco-Logica began selling its products on college campuses. "Book Store management has been extremely sincere in trying to respond to the voices on campus," he said. "The University of Pennsylvania has taken a leadership role in offering students the opportunity to make choices." Cybart said yesterday afternoon that initial sales in the Natural Lifestyle Center "have gone pretty well so far."
(04/22/91 9:00am)
For the first time in several years, Spring Fling apparently has operated at or slightly under budget, Fling Co-director Rob Cohen said last night. "From all indications it would appear Spring Fling operated at budget, give or take $500 to $1000," Cohen said. But the College senior stressed that even if Fling comes out under budget, it would not constitute a profit because the Social Planning and Events Committee has spent thousands of dollars to sponsor Fling. He said any excess revenue would be funneled back into SPEC's budget. In past years, bad weather and less popular attractions have caused budget deficits totaling several thousand dollars. Cohen said Fling's exact financial situation will not be known until Residential Living submits a Quadrangle damage report and Physical Plant submits its final bill for electricity, water and cleanup. South Campus Director Thomas Leal could not be reached last night for comment on damage to the Quad, but Assistant Dean for Residences Cheryl Groce said yesterday that damage, at least in the Community House section, appeared to be less than in the past. Groce said the only damage she knew of included a mirror and paper towel rack that were damaged in an Ashurst bathroom and two or three fire extinguishers that were vandalized. Three years ago, $7000 in damage to a Morris dormitory bathroom was charged to the Fling budget. Cohen said Friday's Indigo Girls concert also ended under budget due to unexpectedly high ticket sales. Organizers originally had hoped for ticket sales of about 5000, but all of the 6000 tickets printed for the show were gone by Friday afternoon. Cohen said students bought over 1300 tickets on Friday alone. But Cohen said although the sell-out increased the concert's revenue by about $5000 to a total of about $34,000, the sales still fell far short of the $56,000 cost of the concert. Cohen said he expected Fling's revenue from the sale of soda, Fling guest passes and vendor fees to meet the committee's expectations, adding that slightly lower than expected Fling t-shirt sales will probably cause the only revenue shortfall. But Co-director Denise Rubin said while shirt sales were slow, the lost revenue would not have a significant effect on Fling's ability to cover its expenses. Cohen added the shirts, which were sold by Fling organizers, University Sportwear and Mt. Olympus, were intended all along to be sold at cost rather than for profit. Vendors selling food in the Quad and at Hill Field also reported good sales both Friday and Saturday, though all had different opinions about how this year's Fling compared to those in past years. Rob Long, manager of Chili's restaurant, said fajita sales at his restaurant's booth were "definitely up from past years." Long said Chili's made more money this year even though the fee Fling charges vendors went up $100 to $575. But Lee's Hoagie House owner Jan Zucker said even though Lee's turned a profit at Fling, the "consensus of vendors" was that the volume of sales this year was not "as great as in the past." Zucker, who said he has worked at Fling for the past seven years, attributed the falloff both to a "very mellow" mood this year on the part of students and the shortening of Fling from four to two days three years ago.
(04/18/91 9:00am)
Classes are winding down. The weather is getting warmer, and wetter. It could mean only one thing -- Spring Fling is here. This year's installment of the annual end-of-the-year campus bash, dubbed "The Wild Fling" by organizers, is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. in the Quadrangle. By the time it's all over Saturday night, organizers hope to attract nearly 10,000 party-goers to Fling events in the Quad and on Hill Field. The festivities will take place in the Quad both Friday and Saturday afternoons between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. When the sun sets, the action will move across campus to Hill Field for two nights of entertainment. The Grammy Award-winning duo the Indigo Girls, this year's headline act, will play at Hill Field Friday night at 9:00 p.m. Gates will open at 6:15 p.m., just after events come to a close in the Quad. Fling Director Rob Cohen, a College senior, said Tuesday that over 3700 tickets had been sold for the concert, adding he hoped for a turnout of about 5000. Tickets cost $6 with a valid PENNcard. Although the music will be audible from the streets surrounding Hill Field, Director Denise Rubin said students will have a better experience if they buy tickets instead. Rubin, a College senior, said "the festive picnic atmosphere" which organizers hope to create within the gates will make the cost of the tickets worthwhile. She attributed the lower than usual ticket price to the Social Planning and Events Committee, which is co-sponsoring the concert with the Spring Fling Committee. "If it wasn't for [SPEC's] help, this thing wouldn't be happening," she said. "We wouldn't be offering such a popular act at such a low ticket price." The site of the concert has also helped keep the ticket price down. Organizers can sell up to 5000 tickets for Hill Field, compared to only about 1800 for Irvine. Saturday evening's events include an hour and a half of music with the Power 99 Electric Boom Box, followed by an air band competition featuring between seven and 10 lipsynching student entrants. Fling concludes at 9:00 p.m. with a laser light show. In the Quad, Fling will feature the traditional combination of local food vendors and performing arts groups. Fifteen vendors, including Allegro Pizza, Lee's Hoagies House and Jack & Jill Ice Cream, will set up shop in the Lower Quad. Local bands and student groups, such as Mask and Wig and Off the Beat, will provide the entertainment. Despite the full schedule, organizers said they realize the kind of bad weather which put a damper on last year's Fling can lay waste to all their plans. Since almost all of Fling will be held outdoors this year, its success will largely depend on good weather. "Let's pray because this will be eight months of planning down the tubes if it rains," organizer Todd Fruchterman said. But although weather forecasters were calling for possible rain this weekend, Rubin remained philosophical. "Of course it's kind of disappointing that after all this work, it could be rained out," she said. "But that's the risk we take of being in Philadelphia in April." In the event of inclement weather Saturday night, Irvine Auditorium will be used as an alternate site for the laser show and students will be admitted on a first come first served basis. But if inclement weather develops Friday night, the concert may be canceled, depending on the severity of the weather. There is no alternate site and tickets are not refundable. Assuming the concert goes as planned, security will be tight, according to Rubin. She said Spectraguard, University Police and Fling's own security team will help maintain order. To discourage anyone from attempting to trespass by hurdling the fence around Hill Field, Rubin said there will be a 15-foot security barrier between the fence and spectators. She said anyone who jumps the fence would be easily spotted in the "no man's land." So, just how wild will "The Wild Fling" be? Rubin said "the point of the theme is to get people excited," but not to make Fling any wilder than usual. "We hope that people as always will think before they act," she said. "We want people to have a good time but we don't want to see any damage, nothing that could hurt Fling or any other students." "We wanted to choose a theme that wouldn't tie us down to a specified locale or setting," Cohen said. " 'The Wild Fling' was more indicative of a presence of mind. The whole idea was to convey an atmosphere."
(04/17/91 9:00am)
The University has agreed to allow juniors to congregate at the Quadrangle's Junior Balcony before next week's traditional Hey Day march to College Hall, but only long enough to assemble and march out the gate. As part of what Director of the Office of Student Life Fran Walker last night called "a compromise that would address everybody's needs," the University has backed off from a proposal to begin the march at Superblock on the condition that the incoming senior class board assume responsibility for maintaining control of students participating in the event. Last year, juniors picked up and then dropped President Sheldon Hackney and poured beer on him during the event. Walker said that if problems continue to plague Hey Day, it is a "distinct possibility" that the traditional start will be moved permanently to Superblock next year. In past years, juniors were allowed into the Quad before noon, where celebrations lasted for several hours before the incoming senior class reassembled at Superblock around 3:00 p.m. Moore said juniors arriving at the Quad before 2:15 p.m. will not be turned away, but he stressed the University has "made clear to the new [senior class board] officers that they are responsible if people do what they're not supposed to do." Senior Class Board President Brandt McKee said yesterday the board "has accepted the responsibility." McKee added that five security guards will be posted at the Quad's two gates to ensure that no students bring alcohol into the Quad and to help maintain order. Moore explained a concern for student safety motivated the proposed site change, saying "the Quad portion of the event has gotten so out of control in years past." Moore said that many juniors who drank excessively in the Quad endangered themselves and others during past marches by stopping traffic on Spruce Street and climbing onto cars. "I'm not here to prevent people from having a good time," Moore said. "It's a fine tradition, but not at the risk of people's lives and their health and property damage." Moore claimed that shortening the length of time juniors spend in the Quad will not damage the tradition of Hey Day, saying the real tradition lies in the hats and canes and the official declaration by President Sheldon Hackney of their rise to senior status. Moore suggested the site change in a meeting with the senior class board Friday, but over the weekend the board received numerous complaints about the possible site change from students. McKee said after he expressed the board's disapproval of the change in a meeting with Walker on Monday, Walker checked with both Residential Living and the Office of University Life officials about moving the start back to the Quad. He added Moore presented him with the modified plan late yesterday morning.
(04/15/91 9:00am)
Monk, a Wharton junior, said he will begin hand-delivering cashier's checks to on-campus subscribers next Monday, and will start mailing off-campus subscribers their refunds sometime next week. But Monk said he would probably "shut the door" on customers who have waited until now to seek partial refunds for poor service, both because of his limited funding and the possibility that some customers may exaggerate their claims. "I wish they had told me last semester," he said. "I think I'm not going to be able to help them at this point." Monk, who has insisted since January that he wants to take care of his customers, said he waited so long to begin refunding money because he did not have enough to cover the costs. He said his family has helped him raise the nearly $10,000 he will spend on the refunds, adding that about 100 recently-received subscription payments have helped make up the balance of the costs. Monk also lashed out at former Penn News owner Marc Stanley, accusing him of misspending nearly $18,000 in subscription money. Monk said this money should have been used to help pay newspaper companies for supplying newspapers and the University for providing Penn News with delivery vans. Monk, who claimed he has not spoken with Stanley since early January, said he intends to take legal action against Stanley. Monk would not specify what type of he action he might take, saying he has not yet discussed the case with a lawyer. Monk said when he assumed control of Penn News from Stanley in early November, the Penn News had less than $1000 and already had outstanding debts. Monk owes The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and USA Today at least $24,000, and the University an undisclosed amount. While admitting he knew the company was having financial problems at the time of the purchase, Monk said he "didn't know it was as bad as it was." "I though Marc [Stanley] had already taken care of certain bills," he said. "I didn't know the extent to which we were behind." Monk said Stanley presented a "very optimistic" outlook for Penn News when Monk was preparing to take over from him. Now, Monk said he realizes Stanley "could have better informed me and better helped me deal with the situation when it started to unfold." Monk also harshly criticized Penn Student Agencies manager Thomas Hauber, whom he claims contributed to Penn News' financial problems by not consistently providing vans after Thanksgiving. "[Hauber] pretty much left me on my own to cope with the situation," he said. "We haven't paid for the vans and we don't plan to pay for the vans."
(04/15/91 9:00am)
Wharton junior Brandt McKee was elected president of next year's senior class board in a runoff election last week. Stressing the need to foster stronger community feelings, McKee said last night one of his primary aims as president will be to "get a little bit of school spirit going here." Other members of the newly-elected board are Vice President Valerie Thompson, Treasurer J.J. Ufberg, Secretary Christine Hutcheson, Historian Jennifer Causing, College representatives Pam Darby and Joy Richter, Engineering representative Risa Finkle, Nursing representative Christi Smith and Wharton representative Aaron Lubowitz. McKee, who defeated College junior Felix Urena in the runoff, said he has seen a lack of minority participation in past senior events. He said he will work to improve communication with various minority groups, like the United Minorities Council, the Chinese Student Association and the Black Student League. He said "getting feedback" from these groups will help the class plan events which all students can enjoy. McKee emphasized that because he is just one of 10 members on the board, he will not exercise much greater influence on the board's decisions than other members. "Hopefully, our board will be one that works very horizontally," he said. "Everyone's going to be equal and we're going to get things done." "I'm just very happy to be working with the people who were elected," he added. "It's just a great group of people and I think we're going to have an outstanding year." Controversy tainted last week's election when the senior class board disqualified College junior Marisa Sifontes from the general election because she appeared in a Daily Pennsylvanian story on her election to the presidency of the Black Inter-Greek Council. Mike D'Esopo, the board's outgoing treasurer, said last week Sifontes was disqualified from the race because she was "mentioned in the DP during campaigning." D'Esopo later said the board disqualified Sifontes because she was directly quoted in the story. The rules governing the election limit the exposure and publicity a candidate may receive during the campaign.
