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(02/14/95 10:00am)
Initiatives could cost millions In an open letter printed in today's Almanac, University President Judith Rodin outlines core components of a master security plan designed to improve safety both on and off campus. However, the plan itself is still in a draft form and will not be released until after a group of safety experts visits the University next month and makes additional recommendations. Rodin's letter lists several "significant new steps toward our goal of a safer Penn," including the creation of a series of Community Walks throughout campus, the positioning of new security and information kiosks at strategic points on and off campus and the development of uniform safety standards for campus buildings and security personnel. Additionally, the Division of Public Safety will double its bicycle patrols -- putting 10 more officers on bikes. Three of these bikes will be purchased with funds allocated by the Undergraduate Assembly. Finally, an analysis of building-use patterns will probably lead to changes in hours of operation and security measures taken at certain campus locations. Rodin said she is pleased to be able to announce the new initiatives -- some of which will be implemented starting this week. She estimated that the cost of the proposed safety programs will be several million dollars. Work on the Community Walks is slated to begin as soon as possible, Rodin said. New signs will be installed to mark key campus arteries, tentatively identified as Locust Street from 33rd to 43rd streets, 36th Street from Chestnut Street to the Nursing Education Building and Walnut, Spruce and Pine streets between 39th and 43rd streets. Along these routes, lighting will be enhanced, more of blue light phones will be added and security patrols will be beefed up, Rodin added. The Community Walks will be dotted with security kiosks, designating the ends of campus, according to University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich. "We anticipate that we'll be putting in as many as five," he said, adding that the kiosks will increase safety because they will be visible, well-lit structures built of glass "with a cone kind of roof" -- similar to an extra set of "eyes and ears." The kiosks will be staffed by contract guards who will be in radio and telephone contact with Public Safety. These guards will probably be provided by Allied Security, the same company that currently staffs entrances to dormitories. The kiosks will also serve a dual purpose as "ambassadors for the University," Kuprevich said, since each structure will have an exterior blue light phone and will provide maps and other campus information for visitors. The increased bicycle patrols will be instituted because studies have shown that officers on bikes are community-friendly and are able to provide an immediate feeling of security, Rodin said. In the open letter, Rodin also discusses the dramatic increase in the number of police officers on campus since 1989 and the creation of PennWatch -- a student-run organization devoted to increasing pedestrian traffic in West Philadelphia. "We can never make the University secure by building a wall around its perimeter," she states. "Sealing Penn off, even if possible, would deprive it of the urban interaction that has historically produced much of its intellectual vigor and character." She adds that increased crime prevention and safety education efforts by students, faculty, staff and community members and economic development proposals targeted at the West Philadelphia area will improve security in University City as well. Among the experts set to advise Rodin and Kuprevich next month are former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Tucker and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge of Philadelphia Ernie Kun. The head of security for Johns Hopkins University and a special agent employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation will also be on campus to offer suggestions, Rodin said. She cited connections she has made during her service on President Clinton's White House safety panel this fall as valuable in assembling the team.
(02/14/95 10:00am)
Amidst increased racial tension and concern over affirmative action policies nationwide, the man formerly known as Stokley Carmichael called for complete revolution yesterday in a speech at Irvine Auditorium. In the keynote address for the Greenfield Intercultural Center's celebration of African-American History Month, entitled "African American Student Movements, Yesterday and Today," Kwame Ture advocated organizing the African people to overthrow the American capitalist society. In the 1960s, as a prominent black activist, Ture -- then known as Carmichael -- founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, helped launch the Black Power Movement and was also a member of the Black Panthers. In fact, he is often credited with having coined the phrase "black power," although he said yesterday that he did not create it -- he only popularized it. Today --30 years later -- he is the founder of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party and lives in Guinea on the west coast of Africa. The party was originally formed in 1968. Ture prefaced his speech last night by establishing his credibility in the area of student protest. "When I speak of student movements, I speak of something not that I studied, but of that which I lived," he said. Ture described the importance of studying the values of society. He said students may either accept and perpetuate them or reject them and offer alternatives. "What are you for?" he asked. "Just saying you are against something doesn't do anything. It is what you are for." Ture stressed the importance of rejecting capitalism by calling it an "anti-human society that keeps its members unconscious of the values they are perpetuating." He also denounced the claim that conditions in the African-American community are more favorable today than 30 years ago because the representation of African Americans in universities and government has increased. "This progress is quantitative," he said. "Progress must be qualified to affect the masses of our people." Ture then told the audience not to underestimate the value of aggression in attaining revolution and urged the African-American community to "take violence and aim it at the enemy and be free." "No human advances are possible without the shedding of blood," he added.Ture then stressed the need for organization of the African-American community, especially students. "Student movements must have a strong nationalist base," he said. "They must be clear and precise. One must be willing to kill and die for it. " Ture said that every African American has a responsibility to get involved. "By your very act of inaction, you are against your people," he said. Many of the 200 audience members reacted favorably to Ture's speech. "[The speech was] right on point on the need for Africans to organize themselves," said Mel Davis, a member of the National African American Club. "Very good," Temple University senior Crystal Brown said. "We're always talking about what the problem is but not strategically planning how to solve it." Some white audience members said they felt uncomfortable, although they understood the speech. "I felt extremely self-conscious and sort of targeted," College senior Ian Glick said. "This audience is not for white folk," said Rev. Beverly Dale, director of the Christian Association. "But we all must learn. His critique of the capitalist system is right on target."
(02/14/95 10:00am)
Valentine's Day conjures up images of heart-shaped boxes filled with chocolate, candy conversation hearts, bright cards promising heartfelt wishes, dozens of long stemmed roses and blossoming romance. But for the Intermingle Club, Valentine's Day has become a time to give back to those in need. In many of the dining halls across campus, the club is offering Valentine mementos for a small price. They will give all proceeds to the Ralston House, a residence for the elderly, according to founding member of the club and College sophomore Inna Zdorovyak. She said members are selling chocolate roses, chocolate lips and condoms with lollipops. The members of Intermingle have dubbed their fundraiser "Project Heart," in honor of Valentine's Day. And for those who buy the club's Valentine treats, there is an added bonus. Names will be held in a raffle, and the winner will get a free concert from Chord On Blues for his or her Valentine, according to College sophomore Paige Greenlee, another founding member of the club. The Intermingle Club was started by Zdorovyak and Greenlee, along with fellow College sophomores Jill Loman and Jane Loman. It is intended to "get Penn students to appreciate what Philly has to offer as being one of the major cities in the country, and also to give back to the city?through community service projects," said Greenlee, who is the club's secretary. "We try to organize different events to get students off campus together as a group," she explained. "We want them to appreciate the city and not be afraid to go into the city?to explore." Previously, the Intermingle Club has participated in the October AIDS Walk and held a Thanksgiving food drive. Greenlee explained that Intermingle has "a stable board of about eight people," but has a very loose membership. Meetings are held once a month and are always open to all interested students. In addition, Intermingle's information network can be accessed through the Internet, where the club has its own newsgroup, Greenlee said.
(02/14/95 10:00am)
There is a place on 40th and Walnut streets that is a collage of Barnes & Noble, MegaVideo and a grammar school library mixed together with students, professors and West Philadelphia residents. It is called the Walnut Street West Branch of The Free Library of Philadelphia and it has adorned the corner since 1905. Despite the recently added neon sign that screams "Library," Head Librarian Sandra Owens said people still walk by wondering what that building is on the corner of 40th and Walnut. "We used to have a sign that was in good taste," she said. "Such good taste that a lot of people think it's a bank." The building is certainly not a bank. Rather, it is stock full of bestsellers, children's books, newspapers, magazines, current compact discs, videos and travel information -- to name a few of the library's treasures. Although Owens described the library as a "community place" that is used by people of every age, ethnicity, educational level and economic group, she said it is also an asset to University students, professors and other staff workers. For example, Graduate School of Education students use the library's children's collection to experiment with alternative teaching methods. By tutoring community children at the library, they learn to go beyond textbook education, according to Patti McLaughlin, the children's librarian. College sophomore Jeff Chow, a an elementary education and art history major who volunteers at the library said he uses it as tool to test new teaching techniques. College senior Asha Bahatiani, who organized a semester-long service project between the library and the co-ed honors fraternity Phi Sigma Pi, said volunteering at the library introduced her to West Philadelphia's community beyond the University. "When you live on the Penn campus, it becomes the Penn community and nothing else," she said. "It was great to meet some of the kids and parents from the community because on the Penn campus you can be kind of isolated from the rest of the world." McLaughlin said that Chow, like the other student volunteers, are essential to children's programs. "There are days when there can be 70 kids here and having them here acting as an adult is great," she said. Although McLaughlin said she is thankful for their help, she complained that students usually only volunteer during the last four months of their senior year and then leave. "I take what I can get, when I can get them," she said. The library not only offers educational resources because it is set up like a bookstore -- by category not by the Dewey Decimal number system -- but the travel section is also frequently used by students who are preparing to go abroad. The "user-friendly" set-up attracts browsers and gives people a place to relax at lunchtime, Owens said. The library was not always housed in the institution-like metal and glass building that now borders Superblock. For the library's first 54 years, passers-by marvelled at the library's Victorian architecture and readers sat beneath high ceilings, elaborate plaster work and sky lights. In 1959 architectural trends changed and flat, school-room lights replaced the big brass chandeliers. In 1987, however, the city discovered that lighting was not the only new addition from the 1959 renovation -- asbestos infested the building, Owens said. "They must have just stuffed the place full of asbestos," she said. For three years, tools and construction workers replaced books and readers in the Free Library. But when it reopened in 1987, the library's appearance was not the only aspect that changed. Owens said she became the head librarian to make the library a meeting place for the community. When the library closed in 1987, the circulation was 50,000. Since Owens was hired in 1990, the circulation has risen to 120,000.
(02/14/95 10:00am)
Gloria Steinem is 60 years old. Although her age now matches the turbulent decade during which she went from being simply a female writer to an outspoken feminist, Steinem has only gotten better in the intervening years. She was on campus yesterday evening to promote Moving Beyond Words, a collection of six major essays just published in paperback by Touchstone Books. At an intimate book-signing and speech sponsored by The Book Store and the Penn Women's Center, Steinem -- founder of Ms. magazine and the Women's Political Caucus -- further explained issues raised in the book and took questions from more than 200 of the mostly female fans crowded into a ballroom at the Penn Tower Hotel. "I think a lot of us feel like we know each other," Steinem began, adding that she hoped each person in attendance would leave with a new friend, idea, fact or feeling of support. Steinem then spoke about the importance of voting and political activism, urging audience members to cast ballots "so that we will no longer be controlled by these [Republican] ayatollahs who [get] out 90 percent of their vote." Moving Beyond Words is a "very weird book," Steinem said, filled with essays so long that each -- like a plant -- might grow into its own volume if water were poured onto it. Steinem focused on the phenomenon of race and gender reversal, a device that allows individuals to see life from others' perspectives and about which Steinem has written extensively. Steinem also said women should continue pressuring legislators to consider work in the home -- maintaining a household and raising children -- a full-time job, with appropriate value attributed to it. "The census decides what is visible," she said. "The national system of accounts decides what is valuable. We can change these mega-systems. "We have to remember that the caste systems of sex and race are intertwined, and there is no way to fight one without fighting the other," Steinem added. Reflecting on the progress of the feminist movement, Steinem said women should be proud of what has been accomplished and hopeful about what lies ahead. In response to a question about feminism's future potential and vitality, Steinem said the movement has more appeal than ever before. "In my opinion, being a feminist in the '60s was a joke," she said. "[Now] this is a revolution, not a public relations movement -- not everybody's going to love us." Steinem urged attendees to recapture the free spirits of their youth that existed before each conformed to society's dictates regarding traditional women's roles. "So many issues attracted me to her -- she has such a wonderful insight into all phases of women," said Libby Harwitz, director of Editorial Services for Medical Center Development, who brought a photo of her and Steinem taken at a 1984 book-signing to yesterday's event.
(02/14/95 10:00am)
There is a place on 40th and Walnut streets that is a collage of Barnes & Noble, MegaVideo and a grammar school library mixed together with students, professors and West Philadelphia residents. It is called the Walnut Street West Branch of The Free Library of Philadelphia and it has adorned the corner since 1905. Despite the recently added neon sign that screams "Library," Head Librarian Sandra Owens said people still walk by wondering what that building is on the corner of 40th and Walnut. "We used to have a sign that was in good taste," she said. "Such good taste that a lot of people think it's a bank." The building is certainly not a bank. Rather, it is stock full of bestsellers, children's books, newspapers, magazines, current compact discs, videos and travel information -- to name a few of the library's treasures. Although Owens described the library as a "community place" that is used by people of every age, ethnicity, educational level and economic group, she said it is also an asset to University students, professors and other staff workers. For example, Graduate School of Education students use the library's children's collection to experiment with alternative teaching methods. By tutoring community children at the library, they learn to go beyond textbook education, according to Patti McLaughlin, the children's librarian. College sophomore Jeff Chow, a an elementary education and art history major who volunteers at the library said he uses it as tool to test new teaching techniques. College senior Asha Bahatiani, who organized a semester-long service project between the library and the co-ed honors fraternity Phi Sigma Pi, said volunteering at the library introduced her to West Philadelphia's community beyond the University. "When you live on the Penn campus, it becomes the Penn community and nothing else," she said. "It was great to meet some of the kids and parents from the community because on the Penn campus you can be kind of isolated from the rest of the world." McLaughlin said that Chow, like the other student volunteers, are essential to children's programs. "There are days when there can be 70 kids here and having them here acting as an adult is great," she said. Although McLaughlin said she is thankful for their help, she complained that students usually only volunteer during the last four months of their senior year and then leave. "I take what I can get, when I can get them," she said. The library not only offers educational resources because it is set up like a bookstore -- by category not by the Dewey Decimal number system -- but the travel section is also frequently used by students who are preparing to go abroad. The "user-friendly" set-up attracts browsers and gives people a place to relax at lunchtime, Owens said. The library was not always housed in the institution-like metal and glass building that now borders Superblock. For the library's first 54 years, passers-by marvelled at the library's Victorian architecture and readers sat beneath high ceilings, elaborate plaster work and sky lights. In 1959 architectural trends changed and flat, school-room lights replaced the big brass chandeliers. In 1987, however, the city discovered that lighting was not the only new addition from the 1959 renovation -- asbestos infested the building, Owens said. "They must have just stuffed the place full of asbestos," she said. For three years, tools and construction workers replaced books and readers in the Free Library. But when it reopened in 1987, the library's appearance was not the only aspect that changed. Owens said she became the head librarian to make the library a meeting place for the community. When the library closed in 1987, the circulation was 50,000. Since Owens was hired in 1990, the circulation has risen to 120,000.
(02/14/95 10:00am)
Freshman and sophomore women looking forward to a second opportunity to rush with the colonization of a new sorority this spring will need to wait until next year at the earliest. No new sorority will be coming to the University this year, despite the disbandment of Kappa Delta last semester and the speculation that Sigma Kappa would colonize this semester, according to Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Director Tricia Phaup. A Panhellenic Council expansion committee held a roundtable meeting last week to vote on the issue and decided to postpone the colonization of Sigma Kappa, the fifth and final national sorority in an expansion plan developed by Panhel in March 1987. Members of the expansion committee, which includes Panhellenic chapter presidents and the executive board, will vote again next February. If representatives vote to colonize Sigma Kappa next year, the sorority would most likely hold rush in the fall of 1996. But Phaup added that the officers next year could hold off the decision again until the spring of 1997. Rumors began circulating among sorority rushees last month after some were told that Sigma Kappa may be coming to the University this semester. "During rush we were told that there was a possibility that there was a new sorority [that] would be colonizing this spring," said Melissa Donald, a College freshman pledging Sigma Delta Tau. Donald said rushees were told that "girls who didn't get bids or who choose not to rush, would have the opportunity to rush again in the spring." However, she added that the women were not given the information definitively, and were told that the possibility of a new sorority should not hinder any decision-making. "We did just lose one of our sororities, and it's tough whenever that happens," Phaup said. "We wanted to take some time to see where the system is before [moving on]." The committee was largely in agreement on the matter, according to Phaup. Housing issues were the primary concern among officers. "I definitely think that housing is an issue," said Wharton senior Jennifer Pollock, the former president of Pi Beta Phi. Pollack's sorority is currently in search of permanent housing while occupying a leased house since its colonization in 1991. A second issue concerns proposals of a new college house system -- a system that has the potential to affect the number of Greeks living in chapter houses. "That would make some changes as far as filling their houses," Phaup said. Ideas on the system came as a result of the 21st Century Undergraduate Education Initiative. Part of the plan involves combining residences with academics. Provost Stanley Chodorow also suggested a college house system as one possibility of how to carry out the plan. But so far, specifics of the plan have not been released. "The college house system may have an important impact on the Greek system depending on how it's designed," Greek Alumni Council Chairperson Andrea Dobin said. A third element of housing that is currently unresolved is the University's re-evaluation of funding for fraternity and sorority house renovation projects, Dobin said. Combined, the elements of housing make for an environment that could prove difficult for a new sorority. "It would be difficult to take them in, in such an unsettled arena," she said.
(02/14/95 10:00am)
Chaim Potok holds a place among those writersChaim Potok holds a place among those writersand Philosophers who influenced him most Ever since the late 1600s, when the novel first came into being in the Western world, authors have probed deeply into the lives and minds of everyday people. Sometimes these authors go further than the average reader would like, asking questions about painful issues such as sin and evil and how people handle -- or don't handle -- them. Chaim Potok, in his own writing and the seminar he is teaching at the University, General Honors 205, continues the search into the areas of ourselves that, he says, many would rather leave untouched. For the past 40 years Potok has remained an influential figure in the Jewish Community, holding positions at the Jewish Theological Seminary, the University of Judaism and on the editorial boards of several Jewish publications, as well as Bryn Mawr College. Since receiving his Ph.D. from the University in 1965, this is the fifth year Potok has taught a seminar. But Potok is most widely recognized for his writing, especially his eight novels. Ordained as a Conservative rabbi, Potok's love for literature proved difficult to reconcile with his family's Orthodox lifestyle -- a conflict which is clearly expressed in his work. In his award-winning book, The Chosen, Potok portrays a teenage boy, Danny Saunders, who finds himself caught between his family's expectation that he will replace his father as the leader of the Hasidic community, and his passion for Western culture. Twentieth Century Fox adapted The Chosen into a major motion picture. Asher Lev, the main character in Potok's My Name is Asher Lev, experiences similar tension with his Hasidic parents. A talented artist, Lev tries to attain a balance between his commitment to Judaism and his artistic instinct. Many of Potok's books reflect a conflict, on the surface specifically addressing religion, that everyone encounters: the struggle to define what one stands for and how one relates to the community. In Potok's eyes, a book's seminality -- a word he uses repeatedly in class -- makes it an extraordinary work, influencing readers years after it is written. Potok attributes the attention 20th century authors give to "the self" to the Industrial Revolution. Because of the industry boom, families were dislocated, and frequently separated. Villages' isolated worlds shattered, and news from other areas became interesting -- the impetus for the newspaper. People began reading about others like them, abandoning the idyllic lives of kings and queens. "That's why the Hemingway heroes are not very learned people," Potok said. "Because most of us are that way. There are, until very recently, few of us who went through college and graduate school." But the characters in novels like Ernest Hemingway's reflect more than just the economic and social trends of the time. With the technological developments came a new value system -- one that looked to technology and science for guidance, not God. The people most directly affected by the new uncertainty were the middle class. "They are the ones who are paying the price for the confusion," Potok said. "'The death of God' as Nietzsche said. The inner chaos, the inner turmoil. The attempt to seek identity. The sudden emptying out of the value system of the past. Therefore, what was happening with them is of interest to us." That struggle, however, has not subsided -- an idea that Potok hopes his students will understand and grapple with, themselves. People now have to find their place in society given the modern paradox. The self has become an entity that "wants to discover its own potential" regardless of the community's needs, but is still unable to live independently. "Well, if you're not going to build community on the basis of something that's rooted in God, what's the basis?" Potok asked, his forehead wrinkling pensively. "Why should there be any loyalty between one human being and another, and among a group of individuals? What's going to be the core value? What are you going to commit your self to?" he added, lingering on the word "self." While inner confusion and the potential for destruction have become an integral part of the modern period, people have achieved a self-awareness that was virtually impossible in a God-centered world -- an era that Potok said he would never go back to if given the choice. "Only on the part of a few individuals was there a notion that your individuality might have a destiny different from the destiny of the community," Potok said. "If you said it too often, they burned you for it." Out of the modern period, with all of its problems, comes a greater potential for creativity that Potok capitalizes on. In his seminar, he highlights the literary greats, such as Feodor Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka and Virginia Woolf, who have wrestled with the self and how it relates to community. The authors address what Potok calls the greatest problem of the modern period -- how to attain self-awareness without going insane from too much reflection. "You will say, 'how depressing, what an awful way to spend a semester,'" Potok told his students. "Well, let's see if you say that by the end of the semester. These are grim pictures of the self. But we ought to know these things about ourselves. "When you hit that kind of reading experience you know you're tapping into something very, very, very deep," Potok added, speaking more and more slowly. When he was younger, literature had a profound impact on Potok -- much like the one he tries to create for his students. Potok grew up primarily reading Evelyn Waugh, Sherwood Anderson, Mark Twain and James Joyce. But it is Joyce who evoked the strongest reaction. There is not a book or letter by Joyce that Potok has not read. When Potok was about 16 years old he read Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, a novel about a young man's battle to assert his identity as an artist in a rigid and judgmental Catholic society in Dublin. "I was going through a lot of the turmoil that Stephen Daedalus was experiencing, the religious turmoil and I couldn't put it into words," Potok said. "And lo and behold here's a novelist that through the power of the imagination he was shaping my inner world for me in language, in images in scenes. That's a powerful thing to do. "And if you're a 16 or 17 year old impressionable young person you're going to be overwhelmed by that experience. That's why I became a writer," he added, raising his index finger as he came to the conclusion. Potok took Joyce's example and and now uses his writing as a means to explore his own experiences. In finishing the last two chapters of his latest book, Potok continues to examine the process that people go through when searching for their identity. He traces the history of a Russian family whose father turned to Bolshevism in the 1900s. One of the major forces behind the Russian Revolution and opening China and Japan to Lenin, the man raised a son who became a leading dissident against Communism. Potok said he decided to write the novel after meeting the son in Russia during the 1980s. "There's an exploration of the self," Potok said. "A break [between the generations] in America is something you sort of expect -- it's a ho-hum kind of thing. But in the Soviet Union to have a break with your father the Bolshevik meant a break with the government. That repressive monster of a government. And I'm curious to know how the break occurred inch by inch, and what the price was." While Potok devotes much of his time to writing -- he likes to get up "very early" and does not like to be interrupted -- he said he needs an outlet from the isolated nature of being an author. He finds that outlet in teaching. "Writing is by definition lonely work, so you can lose touch," Potok said. "If you lose touch you're dead." Potok turns to teaching at the University, not only because he wants to learn how students feel about the issues he addresses in his writing, but also because he is especially interested in how students develop in a secular world. "As the class proceeds and some of the ordinary and expected deference and the distance wears off between student and professor, and they really start to talk that's when things get very interesting for everybody, including myself," he said.
(02/14/95 10:00am)
Business has boomed during the late night and early morning hours at Chats, the newest campus eatery located in Class of 1920 Commons. Although the lunch crowd remains small, students have chosen to study, eat or simply relax in the new facility at night -- often staying until closing hours. And when Without A Net performed Sunday night, a standing- room-only crowd filled the cafe's large center room. Before Chats opened, Dining Services Director William Canney had expressed some concern regarding weekend crowds. He said he was worried that students might choose parties or clubs over the quieter, more laid-back atmosphere of Chats. But Chats Manager Carl Devitz said Chats' first weekend in business was an overall success. "Friday night was slow," he said. "But [Saturday] night was really good." Devitz said he is entertaining the possibility of extending Chats' hours until 3 a.m. on the weekends. However, he said this would not take effect until next year. 1920 Commons Manager Angelo Buccat said many students either came early Saturday night after the basketball game, or much later. Chats was open until 2 a.m. during the weekend, and until midnight on Sunday. "I haven't left the building except for two hours or something like that since Friday night," said Buccat, an Engineering senior. "Lunch is still kind of slow but a lot of people have been coming." Although Without A Net's appearance brought many first-time customers, the entertainment did not please everyone, as students who were trying to study found the noise level obtrusive. "[Chats is] a good place to chat but not a good place to do quiet studying," College junior Seth Stoller said. Devitz said Sunday's event will not be a regular occurrence, adding that Without A Net representatives asked if they could perform in return for advertising Chats during their show. And many students who watched the performance said their first experience enticed them to want to come back. "It seems friendly," College sophomore Rachel Mudge said. "I'll definitely come again." But although many said they liked Chats' atmosphere, some students objected to the "cashless environment" of Chats. "It took the longest time because we couldn't use cash," Nursing freshman Stacey Hanberry said. "And it's almost too convenient -- we'll just run up our bursar bills." Some patrons also said Chats provides a safer environment than the Wawa Food Market at 38th and Spruce streets, since it faces Locust Walk and always has an Allied security guard on duty.
(02/14/95 10:00am)
Students who need an early morning cup of coffee or muffin but do not feel like walking to the My Favorite Muffin on 40th Street will finally have a more convenient solution. As of late March, The Book Store will house a smaller My Favorite Muffin, which will provide seating for 30. According to The Book Store Director Michael Knezic, construction will be completed around March 20, and the cafe will open soon after. The facility will include a cappuccino bar, gourmet coffees and an assortment of muffins. Unlike the restaurant on 40th Street, however, it will not sell sandwiches, Knezic said. The installation of My Favorite Muffin in The Book Store is a response to a recommendation from the Commission on Strengthening the Community that suggested the addition of a coffee and browsing area to The Book Store. With both My Favorite Muffin and the recent opening of Chats, an eatery in 1920 Commons, coffee houses will exist on both sides of the 38th Street bridge. But University officials say Chats will not hurt My Favorite Muffin's business, or vice versa. "I think they complement each other," Vice President of Business Services Steven Murray said, adding that the peak hours for the two facilities will differ. Chats has had most of its business in the late night and early morning hours. Murray said he expects The Book Store facility to be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., serving most of its customers during The Book Store's hours of operation. "It will be a nucleus on the western side of campus," Murray said. "It will eventually counterbalance the new student center." According to Knezic, Chats and The Book Store facility will "play well with each other." "Chats is a different type of business -- more of an after-hours type of place," he said. "This is more for people going to The Book Store." To accommodate the new addition, The Book Store underwent renovations and layout changes. The renovations will cost the University $200,000, Murray said. He added, though, that the end result is worth the price. "I love the feel of the place now," he said. "It's much more the feel of being in a bookstore."
(02/14/95 10:00am)
Red ribbons decorated the paneled walls and columns of Houston Hall's Hall of Flags yesterday as lunchtime crowds became the audience for "Words of Solidarity," a read-in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness. Sponsored by Facilitating Learning about Sexual Health, the Lesbian Bisexual Gay Association, and Student Health Service, the read-in was just one of many activities scheduled to observe HIV/AIDS Awareness Month at the University. The groups read poetry, letters and excerpts from speeches about AIDS. Health Educator Kurt Conklin explained that the educational session was "impromptu." He added that all those who felt inspired were encouraged to use the open microphone. Every 13 minutes, the peaceful setting was interrupted by the intense ringing of a gong. According to College junior and FLASH member Beth Sobol, the gong symbolized the fact that every 13 minutes, one person in the United States contracts the AIDS virus. In addition to pamphlets and flyers, books including selections about AIDS were displayed for browsing. Conklin stressed that the most important goal of the event was to educate students about HIV and AIDS, and to replace fear and ignorance with understanding. "I want people to understand these three things," Conklin said. "Everyone is at risk for AIDS. Everyone can do something to reduce that risk. And people with HIV can live full lives." Many students read books and talked amongst themselves during the readings. But College sophomore Angine Harriott said she thinks much of the apparent disinterest may have been caused by problems with scheduling. "I knew that [the read-in] was going to happen, but I forgot which day," she said. "It should have been on any other day besides Monday." Harriott also mentioned that people are usually not receptive to pertinent issues such as AIDS awareness. "When it comes to topics like AIDS awareness you need to make people listen even if they don't want to," she said.
(02/14/95 10:00am)
University administrators are being cautious in evaluating the effect President Clinton's budget proposal would have on financial aid and federally-funded research, stressing the months of congressional consideration that will occur before a final plan is approved. Assistant Vice President for Policy Planning David Morse said the proposal is "pretty good" with respect to higher education. He pointed to proposed tax deductions for tuition for post-secondary education and deductibility for interest on student loans as examples of this. In addition, the proposed budget would keep loans for in-school lending intact, Morse said. Student Financial Aid Director William Schilling said he favors the deduction for tuition. "I think it would relieve the parents and it would help schools allocate limited grant resources in a better way," Schilling said, adding that parents could contribute part of the savings toward education. He also supports the proposal to make interest on student loans deductible. "Student loans are becoming a more and more important part of financing higher education as grants fail to keep pace with the costs of higher education," Schilling said. But the Patricia Roberts Harris and Jacob Javits Fellowships, which are aimed at minority graduate students, are not included in Clinton's budget. Vice President for Community and Government Relations Carol Scheman wants to see this changed when a final budget is passed. "We're very determined to work to restore funding for the Harris and Javits Fellowships," she said. Funding for research is also left in relatively strong shape in the Clinton budget, with funding for the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health receiving increases of just under 4 percent, according to Morse. "Budgets for research are pretty good given the circumstances," he said. Morse was referring to the push to reduce federal spending, which has become one of the main issues on which the new Republican majorities in both houses of Congress have concentrated their efforts. The House Republicans' Contract With America calls for a balanced budget by the year 2002, and the House recently passed a draft constitutional amendment that would require this. Administrators were reluctant to predict what would eventually emerge from Congress after the bill goes through subcommittee and full committee hearings and mark-ups, floor consideration and is finally submitted for consideration by a conference composed of members of both chambers. "It will be somewhere between where the administration is and the draconian cuts that have been proposed by some members of Congress," Morse said. He said, however, that student aid programs and research funding have "an awful lot of support in the Congress and among the public" in comparison to other federal programs. "That augers well for the programs on which Penn students and faculty have a direct interest," Morse said. He said Congress will most likely not vote on a budget proposal until late summer.
(02/13/95 10:00am)
A White Dog Cafe manager was robbed at gunpoint yesterday in the restaurant at 34th and Sansom streets, owner Judy Wicks said last night. In the incident, which occurred at about 9:30 a.m., the suspect made off with $300 from a cash drawer in the restaurant's piano bar, Tales. Because of the time of day, there were no patrons in the cafe during the robbery, Wicks added. University Police Sergeant Tim Trucksess described the suspect as a "six-foot black male, in his 20s, wearing a red, white and blue ski jacket and a brown cap." The suspect was last seen fleeing west on Sansom Street carrying a blue nylon bag. Wicks, who was not in the restaurant during the incident, also said the suspect entered the cafe through a side door that was opened at 9 a.m. and left unlocked so employees could enter. A cafe manager, who found the man in the piano bar removing the locked drawer with "back-up change," asked the man what he was doing in the restaurant. The suspect responded by displaying a gun and said to the manager, "Don't mess with me, mister," Wicks added. She said the man then fled the restaurant, leaving through the same unlocked side door he had originally used to gain access to the restaurant. Trucksess said University Police responded to the armed robbery after a call was dispatched over Philadelphia Police radio as a "rape." In addition, Wicks said she does not want the incident to add to the high-crime reputation of West Philadelphia. "This is the first time we've ever had someone come in here and take money," Wicks said. "In the 22 years I've lived here, we've never had an armed robbery," she added. "It was the first time and hopefully the last."
(02/13/95 10:00am)
Braving sub-freezing temperatures, 11 members of Dessalines Haitian Student Association gathered for a candlelight vigil commemorating the history of independent Haiti last night. The ceremony began in front of High Rise East and proceeded to College Green, where the group assembled in front of the peace symbol near Van Pelt Library. Led by Dessalines President and College junior Colette Lamothe, the students talked and sang the Haitian national anthem. Upon reaching their destination, the members lit candles and read from a script prepared by the Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean. The script contained passages from the Bible and the writings of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and ranged in topic from the U.S. disarmament of the Haitian military to various Haitian martyrs. "The struggle of the Haitian people for self-determination and for freedom continues," Lamothe said. "For the second time this century and the first time in 60 years, Haiti is an occupied country. The United States has charged itself with disarming the Haitian military that it created during its first occupation from 1915 to 1934." According to tradition, water was poured for "those who have perished in the struggle for justice and democracy," Lamothe said. This is an African custom known as the Pouring of Libations. Aristide's return from exile was another focus of discussion. "Aristide's return to power was a harbinger for better things for the future," College senior Claude Jean-Pierre said. The ceremony concluded with the lighting of the Solidarity Candle and some closing remarks by Lamothe. "Let us go forth with the understanding that this is neither the beginning, nor the end, of our commitment to democracy in Haiti and for true democracy in the U.S.," she said. "Let us go forth in song, pledging to let the light of our solidarity shine brightly." The group then sang "This Little Light of Mine." The vigil marked the end of Haitian Solidarity Week, which began on February 5. The events of the past week have included Haitian speakers, an art exhibit, a sampling of Haitian food and the performance of Pike, a Haitian band. Dessalines is a two-year-old organization with approximately 20 active members. Its aim, according to Lamothe, is "to make people more aware of Haitian culture and history in the University and the surrounding community."
(02/13/95 10:00am)
Pink, purple or blue. Those were the options more than 50 students who came to Houston Hall Friday had to choose from. And the topic was which color, if any, should be added to "M&M;'s" Chocolate Candies. The stop by the M&M;/MARS Corporation was part of a nation-wide campaign to determine which color M&M;'s consumers would prefer. If a new color is chosen, it will be the first addition to the M&M;'s since 1941. It is also the first time since that year that the M&M;/MARS company has asked its consumers to vote for a new color. Students had strong views on the subject and were ready to discuss the pressing issue. If there is a color change, College sophomore Jessica Manlove threatens to "boycott for a while." "I don't think there should be a change," she said. "It's tradition. I was against it when they put the red back in." But other students disagreed. "Blue?I love blue," College sophomore Heather Beltran said. "Blue Blowpops are the best and blue tongues are cool. Besides, purple and pink are already out in Valentines Day candy." However, blue is already in the M&M;'s Easter Blend, and therefore would not be completely new. Wharton sophomore Felix Estrada said he would like to see purple added to the blend. "Purple is a majestic color," he said. "It's royal." Estrada added that having a person dressed up as a blue M&M; at the voting site might cause bias. The blue M&M; and its spokesperson refused to comment. First-year Medical student Ann Poduri said she was happy to see the blue M&M; walking around. "Blue is my favorite color," she said. "It would go nicely with the green and I think the other colors would clash horrifically." Poduri said that although she thought the color selection was a good marketing technique, it would not entice her to purchase more M&M;'s. Free M&M;'s samples were also distributed by the giant blue M&M; and students gave him hugs in return. Voting began on January 15 and the polls will close on March 17. The official result will be announced to the general public in April.
(02/13/95 10:00am)
The Steinhardt Jewish Heritage Program organized a trip to the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum in Washington this past weekend to give both Jewish and non-Jewish students the opportunity to learn about the chilling realities of the Holocaust. By examining a myriad of Holocaust artifacts -- including actual shoes, hair fragments, utensils and clothing -- students said they were able to truly feel what it was like to live through the Holocaust. College junior Haley Schneider said she felt the exhibit was "very well done," adding that it was a "very personalized and?emotional experience." She observed that the Holocaust Museum uniquely emanated a silent atmosphere. The tour of the museum concluded with a movie entitled "Voices from the Holocaust," which related tales of Holocaust survivors. Schneider said this was "the most spectacular and moving part." The museum experience culminated with a half-hour discussion, provoking a variety of responses. According to Ephraim Levin, a Steinhardt program advisor, many Jewish students left the museum with a feeling of pride. He added that they understood what it meant to have survived such a horrific experience and felt "lucky" to be a Jew in today's world. College junior Amanda Gross said museum provoked feelings of anger. "I tried to rechannel my negative reactions into being grateful that there actually is such a place," she said of the museum. Schneider suggested that everyone visit the museum. "I really want to go back because I don't feel like you can get it all in in one experience," she said. "It's so incredible." The purpose of the trip was not to experience depression but rather to comprehend the implications of such a tragedy and to direct this insight toward ensuring preventative measures, Levin said. The trip was organized by interns of the Steinhardt Jewish Heritage Program and was open to any interested University students. Wharton senior Dave Gallo said the program is designed "for people that aren't religious that want to know more about Judaism." The Jewish Heritage Program was created three years ago at the University as a pilot program. It has recently expanded to State University of New York-Binghamton, Queens College and the University of Pittsburgh. In January, the group organized a trip to Israel to visit Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust museum. Thirteen University students attended.
(02/13/95 10:00am)
Fling band will be 'alternative' The theme for Spring Fling, the University's annual pre-finals carnival, will be "Fee, Fie, Foe, Fling," directors said last night. According to Spring Fling Co-Director and Wharton senior Jared Miller, the theme's primary focus will be Jack and The Beanstalk, but souvenirs and decorations for the event may incorporate many fairy tales. In an attempt to introduce new elements to the carnival, the directors said theater arts groups will be decorating the Upper and Lower Quadrangle with fairy-tale decorations. "We're turning the Quad into a kind of fairy tale for the weekend," Miller said. A castle on the Quad's junior balcony and a huge beanstalk will add to the fairy-tale land, organizers said. Although they would not name or give details about the Fling band, for the first time in three years Fling's main concert will be performed outside, the directors said. But Ferris did hint that of the multiple bands expected to perform at Fling, the feature bands will be alternative or rock. Three years ago when Living Color was scheduled to play outdoors, the concert was cancelled due to rain. Because the stage was not covered, there were "technical and legal" concerns about the equipment as well as for the band, Fling Co-Director and College senior John Ferris said. To combat the problem, this year a tent will cover the stage -- which will be set up on Hill Field. "Even if it rains, hopefully, the show will go on," Fling Co-Director and Wharton junior Gilbert Beverly said. The directors said that securing a band is their biggest challenge. But they added that they attribute difficulty to factors beyond their control. "It's hard because people perceive that people doing this are dumb or don't know what people want or they're not trying hard enough," Beverly said. "But that isn't the case at all." The University's urban location places it in a competitive financial market, he added. If big-name bands want to come to Philadelphia, they have the option to play several large arenas which will ensure a better profit and wider audience. "In contrast, at a school like Lehigh in the middle of bumble PA, a band can go there and get an audience they couldn't get here," Beverly added. "This is the best we can do other than offering our first-born to Eddie Vedder." Although Fling traditionally takes place on Friday and Saturday, this year it will be held on Saturday April 22 and Sunday April 23, directors said. The change was made to accommodate students who celebrate Passover. Although the first day of Fling does conflict with the Jewish holiday, the Fling committee is making a "special effort" to get a kosher food vendor. In addition to the outdoor concert, this year's Fling committee plans to introduce several other new events. As part of the pre-finals celebration, the final round of a two-week volleyball tournament will take place in the Upper Quad. And an additional volleyball court will be set up for recreation. The tournament, sponsored by Evian, will start in late March and be open to all students. Beverly also said he is working with the owner of Cavanaugh's Bar and Restaurant to organize a buffalo wing eating contest. "I'm toying with the idea that you can't use your hands," he added. While some students might discover how much food and drink they can consume at Spring Fling, if the directors' plans succeed students might also be able to see how much pain they can withstand -- because in addition to vendors, rides and games, this year's carnival will offer body piercing.
(02/13/95 10:00am)
The information superhighway is falling prey to traffic jams and congestion as an increasing number of users and features test the limits of the Internet. There is gridlock on the information superhighway. Students have complained that they have had trouble getting on-line, and officials have cited the recent influx of Internet initiatives as a source of the congestion. But the University is doing everything possible to alleviate this situation. Daniel Updegrove, associate vice provost for information systems and computing and executive director of Data Communications and Computing Services, attributed the overwhelming difficulty of connecting to the system to the increasing number of students using it for both personal and educational purposes. "The general sense is that more faculty are building networking into coursework," he said. "And it is pretty common to have homework distributed on the 'Net." One of the departments that makes exhaustive use of the Internet is the English Department. Undergraduate English Chairperson and English Professor Al Filreis said his department uses listservs -- electronic mailing lists that distribute e-mail -- instead of newsgroups as an adjunct to courses because "they are a better supplement to in-class discussion." He said applications such as Penn MOO -- or Multiple User Dungeon Object Oriented, an on-line virtual environment that supplements English 88 -- are small drains on the system, adding that PennNet is more congested from personal use. "The real drain on the system is the student who has e-mail, and receives many messages, but never reads his or her account and/or does not delete messages," Filreis said. Updegrove also cited e-mail as a drain on the system, but for a different reason. "If you get more users than the design capacity, it will be slow," he said. Updegrove added that it is the number of people logged on, not the actual e-mail use, that affects the system. "We have a lot of people using e-mail, but an e-mail user is not affecting the network much at all," he said. "Any amount of people logged on will cause congestion." The most salient problem is when students must compete to enter the modem pool, Updegrove added, describing the situation as a "peak loading problem." He said the University has 300 modems. This is sufficient except during the prime hours that students and faculty log on, which Updegrove cited as being from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. "To the extent that students can adjust their connect time, they can reduce the chance of encountering busy signals," Updegrove said. He said DCCS has compiled statistics that indicate the system is processing approximately 900 people an hour, and that the average session is 20 minutes. About 15 modems becoming available every minute. "So it pays to just keep trying," he said. "On average, one modem will become available every four seconds." He added that his department has been attempting to increase the size of the modem pool, but it is facing a temporary storage problem. "We are thinking of taking out 60 of the older modems and putting in 120 newer, more space-compact modems," he said, adding that DCCS has been adding 60 new modems to the pool each semester for the last four semesters. But there is a problem because this is very new technology, Updegrove said. "We don't want to employ the new stuff without testing it," he said. He said he hopes the testing will be done in the next week or so, allowing DCCS to order the new modems. Updegrove added that some of the time the modem pool is busy because outside users are on it. "It is strictly prohibited for Penn people to be sharing their network ID with people outside the Penn community," he said. Besides e-mail, another strain on the system is an application called CU-see-me -- a program for the Macintosh or IBM which permits video transmission over the Internet. This system has been available to the University for about a year and a half. While this program uses up a lot of memory, Updegrove said he does not think there is enough use of it to cause a problem, adding that most users still do not have video cameras connected to their computers. "If we get tens of people doing videos, then that could be a problem," he said, adding that this program can be used in different degrees of intensity, which varies its effect on the system. "If you crank it up to irresponsible levels, it will have a much larger impact on the network," Updegrove said. He added that more students are using PennNet because of the increased number of services it is able to integrate. He cited as an example the fact that the School of Arts and Sciences is now using the Internet for advising purposes. "I think students are finding the Internet is an interesting place to explore," he said."It is quite striking how much information is available world-wide on the Internet. "And given that this is growing in other universities, the number of people on the Internet is growing," Updegrove added. Anthony Rutkowski, executive director of the Virginia-based Internet Society, said the predominant function of the Internet is moving files -- which is done through ftp, or file transfer protocol service. Rutkowski added that the second most-used service is the World Wide Web, which links of information throughout the world in a series of virtual pages, while the third most-used feature is newsgroups. "E-mail, in terms of bytes, is actually rather a small portion of the traffic [on the Internet]," he said. Updegrove said DCCS is trying to upgrade the infrastructure of the system as quickly as possible. "Probably the dominant thing we are doing right now besides the modem pool is trying to get ResNet finished as fast as possible," he said. With the ResNet system, each computer uses Ethernet to connect directly to PennNet, bypassing competition in the modem pool and making performance is a lot faster, Updegrove said. He added that DCCS has been working on a four year project to install ResNet in all of the dormitories for the past two years. In that time, 3,500 Ethernet connections have been made in seven residence halls. DCCS has also installed several thousand PennNet connections in faculty and staff offices, as well as in student computer labs. Updegrove said his department just completed another four-year project two weeks ago called "sub-netting," which consisted of upgrading the carrying capacity of the building networks from one megabit per second to 10 megabits per second. And three weeks ago, DCCS installed the first Ethernet switch in the David Rittenhouse Laboratory, which segments the building by floor so each department has 10 megabits of its own. "This enables math and physics to have their own 10 [Megabits per second] 'collision domains' instead of sharing the building Ethernet," he said. Updegrove added that the University is anticipating employing these switches in the busiest buildings on campus. In August, his department upgraded the campus Internet gateway, from 1.5 Megabits per second to four Megabits per second, he said. "And we are likely to upgrade it to something higher than that in the course of the summer," he added. Updegrove said DCCS is going to upgrade the central campus backbone from 10 to 100 Megabits. He added that the University recently upgraded the speed and capacity of key campus server machines, including Mail.sas, Netnews, Dolphin and Pobox. Updegrove said the key is to stay a little ahead of the demand. "You don't want to be a lot ahead because the prices decrease every year and you can't buy more than you can afford," Updegrove added. For the past 10 years, DCCS has been attempting to project what the level of traffic on the Internet will be in an effort to keep the whole system in balance. But Updegrove said upgrading the system is a never-ending process, because DCCS must continually go back and upgrade the wiring of the first sections wired on campus. Engineering junior and e-mail expert Meng Weng Wong said the University has succeeded in terms of "networking and computer stuff." He said our system has served as a model for other universities. "A lot of other schools are following in our footsteps, initiating a ResNet program that looks like ours," Wong said. And Filreis said the University should do everything possible to "support, maintain and if necessary expand the technical structure to enable this revolution to go forward." "It's bang for the buck," he said. "The qualitative change in how we can conduct education -- and enhance intellectual interaction with our students -- is worth a hundred times to us the cost of the technology."
(02/13/95 10:00am)
It's always trash day on the 3900 block of Pine Street. And while the block is known as a convenient location to live off campus, it has also become associated with the trash and refuse that is piled along the curbline seven days a week. "Garbage was piled up to the window of our apartment once," explained College junior Andrew Amsterdam, a resident of the block. "A dumpster load of it was in front of our door." While city officials, landlords and students have different opinions about the street's problems with trash collection, everyone agrees it is an eyesore. "It is a pretty messy looking block a lot of the time," said David Hochman, treasurer of the Spruce Hill Community Association. "The extreme high density of houses there creates a significant problem." Several students said a lot of the problem lies with homeless people who rummage through the trash. The trash is then scattered, and city sanitation workers do not collect any garbage that is not bagged. But Ruth Ricci, a property manager for Campus Associates, said much of the problem lies with students not following directions. Ricci said that all Campus Associates tenants on the block are notified of their obligations upon moving in, and trash regulations are posted in the vestibule of their buildings. She added that in extreme cases, landlords occasionally trace loose garbage back to students by reading addresses on envelopes. The tenant then receives a fine. College sophomore Stephanie Bosch objects to this solution, however. "Students use plastic bags," she said. "It's the norm. I don't see anyone dumping garbage out their windows." Ricci also said the city is partly to blame -- especially recently, when the winter weather hindered regular collection. She said the current situation "has nothing to do with students, has nothing to do with management -- it's the city." Amsterdam says he does not blame the city, though. "I don't think the city is responsible," he said. "They do their job, that's all you can ask. "I think the city should issue citations to landlords," Amsterdam added. In fact, Amsterdam praised much of the city's handling of the situation. Early last semester, he said he filed a complaint with the city when the problem outside his building became acute. He said the problem was dealt with quickly, although no long-term changes have occurred. And Amsterdam lodged a complaint against his landlord, Marianna Thomas Properties, on the issue. Among the other suggestions to deal with the problem is to have more than one garbage pick-up each week. "Increasing rubbish collections is not an option," Deputy Streets Commissioner Clarena Tolson said. "There are more units than city services can accommodate. "We'll have our people look into it relative to education and enforcement," Tolson added.
(02/13/95 10:00am)
Although the City of Philadelphia has only recently asked the University to pay taxes, universities across the country have been doing so for decades. And with 25 percent of the city's land classified as non-taxable property, Mayor Ed Rendell is looking toward non-profit organizations, including the University, to contribute to the tax base. Currently, the city is asking the University to pay about 30 percent of the real estate taxes it would owe if it were a for-profit institution, as part of a Payment in Lieu of Taxes/Services in Lieu of Taxes program. Although there has not yet been any agreement on the issue, the University and city are currently negotiating. "Like other charitable institutions within Philadelphia, we are talking with the city and we have not reached any conclusion at this point," said Stephen Golding, the University's vice president for finance. He added that the University has historically wanted to be a good citizen, but at the same time does not consider itself a taxable operation. "Penn believes it is a charitable institution and will do whatever it takes to maintain its charitable status," Golding added. In addition, the city has threatened to take the University and other non-profits to court if it refuses to comply with the city's wishes. "Litigation is the worst case scenario," Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning Greg Rost said. "No one wants to see it ever get to that point." Rost added that cities like Pittsburgh have had to pursue litigation against non-profits, but said he "doesn't want to go down that path." The controversy, which could come to a head in the next few weeks, began last year when the mayor devised the PILOT/SILOT program. The city feels non-profits should pay for such municipal services as fire, police and street cleaning. "We think we have created a kinder and gentler program," Rost said. "We clearly have no intention of harming any of the city non-profits. They are tremendous community citizens." For the 1995 fiscal year the city is projecting contributions of money totaling approximately $8.4 million. About $3.78 million will go to the city and $4.62 million will go to the school district. According to Rost, 55 cents out of every dollar would go to the Philadelphia school district and the rest will go to into the city's general fund. The University is not alone in grappling with this issue. Other universities are also confronting the topic. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were the first academic institutions in the country to use the PILOT program, beginning in 1928. According to MIT's Assistant for Government Relations Sara Gallop, MIT uses a formula based on the square footage of its tax-exempt property to calculate its payment to the city of Cambridge. Last year MIT had to pay $925,000, Gallop said. In addition, Gallop said MIT provides numerous services to the city, including community outreach, "heavy" involvement in public schools and other volunteering projects. Gallop said there has been no real opposition to the payment, but she added that the City of Boston and Harvard are currently debating the issue because the city wants universities to pay 25 percent of the tax rate. Other schools are also fighting tooth and nail to avoid PILOT payments. Cornell University and the City of Ithaca are currently embroiled in a battle over PILOTs. Ithaca Mayor Ben Nichols said that Cornell has a "moral" and "ethical" obligation to contribute money to Ithaca. He added that he wants Cornell to make payments on dormitories, fraternity houses and the campus store because they are non-academic places. "We have a rather marked difference in views with [Cornell]," Nichols said. "We strictly believe the health of the city depends on Cornell paying its fair share." Nichols' proposal includes asking Cornell for an additional $2.5 million in payments. He said that unlike the Philadelphia proposal, the plan does not threaten legal action against Cornell. But Cornell sees the situation very differently. Cornell Vice President for University Relations Henrick Dullea said that an increased financial burden would be very detrimental to the university. He added that Cornell has been giving voluntary payments to the fire department since 1967 and also to the school district and other municipalities. Dullea said an increase of 700 percent is "out of the question" and would cause numerous faculty lay-offs and would increase students' tuition rates. "We are under extraordinary pressures as a result of state reductions in funding," Dullea said. "One only has to walk downtown during a Cornell break to see the lack of people in restaurants and stores to get a vivid picture of the economic impact the institution has for this particular community." In Washington, D.C., universities have been the latest targets for the PILOT program. But the presidents of Georgetown University, George Washington University, Gallaudet University and Howard University have all spoken out publicly against the proposed payments. Horace Dawson, a spokesperson for Howard, said the school cannot afford the proposed $8 million payment. He added that the Howard likes to be a "good citizen" but simply can not bare the brunt of a tax. In response to the new taxes, Howard projected a $25 million budget deficit before the start of the 1994–95 academic year and laid off about 400 people in October. "We are really in no position to pay taxes," Dawson said.
