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(01/27/95 10:00am)
The ramifications of The Bell Curve, a controversial book on race and intelligence by Charles Murray and Richard Herstein, were the focus of a colloquium entitled "Race and I.Q." held in the W.E.B. DuBois College House last night. Approximately 60 students attended the discussion. Assistant Education Professors Howard Stevenson and Vivian Gadsden led the talk and served as moderators. Stevenson proposed that The Bell Curve supported a fundamental American belief that intelligence can be measured. Gadsden claimed that The Bell Curve was a a tool devised to justify conservative public policy. It builds on ingrained racial prejudices and perennial myths of African-American inaptitude, she said. But Stevenson said that even if most intelligence tests are not used as part of a political agenda, they are irrelevant anyway because human intelligence defies measurement. The Bell Curve uses statistical analysis to assert that differing intelligence levels imply a hierarchical meritocracy of intelligence. According to The Bell Curve, African-Americans score on average fifteen points -- or one standard deviation -- lower than whites on intelligence quotient tests. Members of the Program for Awareness in Cultural Education -- which co-sponsored the program -- then led a discussion centering on the topic of race and I.Q. BiCultural InterGreek Council President and Wharton senior Wayne Wilson said The Bell Curve is damaging to African Americans. "[It is] only re-enforcing current prejudices because of the credentials of the authors," he said.
(01/27/95 10:00am)
Students upset by decision Provost Stanley Chodorow dealt a major blow to plans to turn the former Eric 3 Campus Theater into University performing arts space yesterday. Chodorow said he was "underwhelmed" by the report he received from Artec, a New York theater and acoustical design consulting firm brought in to evaluate the Eric 3 space. "I don't think those folks knew what they were doing," he said at a forum on the Perelman Quadrangle yesterday. Chodorow said the proposed Perelman Quad will provide a great deal of performing arts space, and the Eric 3 facility may not be necessary. He also cited the expense of remodeling the former theater site as a major concern. Rosalie Will, Performing Arts Council chairperson, said she was taken aback and upset by Chodorow's statements. "I'm surprised that he was so negative about [the Eric 3 proposal]," she said, adding that Chodorow is "still very uninformed about performing arts at Penn." Will also said that the performing arts community is not sure how the Irvine Auditorium space will be renovated and what will become the rooms full of old scenery and props performing groups have stored in Irvine's basement. According to Kathryn Helene, coordinator for student performing arts, the Eric 3 project would cost approximately $4 million under Artec's proposal. "The report suggested a ballpark figure of $3.5 million," she said. "But that's not considering the cost of licensing and permits from the city." The Eric 3 theater, located on 40th Street, closed in August. In the fall, Undergraduate Assembly and Performing Arts Council members proposed that the space vacated by the Eric 3 be used for performance, practice and rehearsal space. According to College senior and UA member Dan Schorr, Chodorow gave a verbal endorsement of the idea in November -- pending review of Artec's report. But Will said Chodorow had contacted her in December to say that he found the report overly vague and that he thought its price tag was too high. The report stated that the space in Eric 3 could be configured for performing arts. Yesterday Chodorow reiterated his disappointed with the report. "I was unimpressed," he said. "I wasn't convinced they really knew what they were doing." However, Acting VPUL Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum said she thinks there should be more student programs housed near Superblock. "There is a definite program needed on the 40th and Walnut axis," she said last night. "[Chodorow] has told me he is committed to expanded programming sites in that area and he is carefully evaluating all opportunities." College junior and Undergraduate Assembly member Eric Tienou said he hoped to compromise with the provost. "This is by no means final -- it's just a working draft," Tienou said. "Our goal is to get more student space and better student space throughout the University."
(01/27/95 10:00am)
Construction of the Perelman Quadrangle will cost the University between $53 and $60 million, Provost Stanley Chodorow announced last night. He added that the project will take at least four years to complete. But given unforeseen circumstances, the renovations may take even longer than that. Chodorow also held a forum for student leaders and performing arts groups yesterday, where he completely outlined the Perelman Quad proposal, displayed the architectural plans and answered questions from audience. Before he showed the Perelman Quad plans to the crowd gathered in the Ben Franklin Room of Houston Hall, Chodorow said he had several reasons for rejecting the Revlon Center and advocating the new proposal. "I was struck by where it would be, in an open urban place," he said, adding that he and University President Judith Rodin worried about possible safety and security problems if the student center was located at 36th and Walnut Streets. Chodorow also cited financial difficulties, saying that the University simply did not have the money for the Revlon Center plans. He added that preparing to construct buildings without having the money on hand has "been a problem with Penn." Chodorow said he also did not agree with the concept of having all student mail boxes in the student center. He then brought out each floor plan and explained every change under the Perelman Quad plan -- stressing increases in the amount of meeting rooms, rehearsal and practice areas and lounge spaces. The renovations being considered under the Perelman Quad plan include adding to various buildings, landscaping and general rehabilitation to the exterior and interior of the four involved facilities, Chodorow said. Logan Hall would be expanded to include a 330-seat auditorium, a 150-seat recital hall and an art gallery on the ground level, Chodorow said. He added that many of the other renovations on Logan will attempt to make better use of its windows and staircases. The departments that had been relocated to 3440 Market Street after renovations originally began on Logan Hall will go back to their original location -- probably on the third floor of the building. The plans also call for a cafe, browsing library and reading lounge on the ground floor of Houston Hall. An extended game room on the lower level might contain pool tables in addition to the electronic video games, Chodorow said. Irvine Auditorium, the fourth building involved in the Perelman Quad, will include European-style seating, which has entrances from the wings of the auditorium instead of from the rear. "There won't be an aisle," Chodorow said. "It might make procession a little harder to manage but it will capture more space." Irvine will house dressing rooms, practice rooms and will keep space for set construction, costume design and other performing arts needs. In addition, he said he hopes to put in a sprung floor for dance groups. After going through each floor -- practically on a room by room basis -- Chodorow answered questions from the audience. After discussing security, the size of space and financial issues, students expressed concern over the possibility that this plan could meet with continuous delays, much like the Revlon Center did. "I'm concerned that these plans will not come to fruition until we're all dead," College and Wharton senior Eva Saks said. Chodorow said using existing buildings makes the situation different, adding that "starting from scratch" would cause him to worry as well. And several students wanted to know what would happen if prospective donor Ronald Perelman, a University alumnus and Trustee, refused the new proposal. "We have high hopes," Chodorow said, adding that if Perelman were to back out, it would cause a "big problem" and definite delays.
(01/27/95 10:00am)
Proposed reduction in city wage tax first in 50 years Mayor Ed Rendell officially announced his plans to lower the infamous Philadelphia wage tax for the first time in 50 years at his annual budget address to City Council yesterday morning. In the upcoming fiscal year, Rendell's proposal would drop the wage tax from 4.96 percent to 4.86 for city residents and from 4.31 percent to 4.22 percent for non-residents. In addition, the tax would continue to decrease every year for the next six years. By the year 2000, Rendell hopes to lower the wage tax a total of seven percent for city residents and suburban residents who work in the city. The rate for city residents would decrease to 4.61 percent and for suburban residents to 4.01 percent. Rendell also proposed decreasing the business privilege tax over the same period from .3250 percent to .2650 percent. The announcement of the tax reductions was met with applause from Council and the standing room only audience. For the third year in a row, the city is planning to have a balanced budget, Rendell said. The proposed budget for this coming fiscal year is $2.31 billion. In addition, the Economic Stimulus program will increase from $2.3 billion to $2.7 billion. The news of a balanced budget and tax decreases has been welcomed by most Philadelphians. Only three years ago, the city faced an enormous debt of almost $250 million. The Rendell administration, however, has managed to turn that into a budget surplus for the last two fiscal years. "Things are a little different this year," Rendell said. "I am actually happy to present this budget and Five Year Plan to City Council today. Thanks to the hard work that all of you have put in over the past three years, Philadelphia is now poised to enter the next century as one of America's greatest urban success stories." As for the tax decrease, Rendell said that although it "may not sound like a lot, to the thousands of Philadelphians who are struggling to make ends meet, this is a beginning -- and it is a crucial beginning." He also said that he hoped the business privilege tax reductions would spur businesses to relocate in Philadelphia. And throughout the speech Rendell stressed that he balanced the budget without increasing taxes, layoffs of city workers, or cuts in city services. "Last June, for the first time in 68 years, Philadelphia actually gained more jobs than it lost," Rendell boasted. On the issue of crime, Rendell said that although Philadelphia has the most police per capita of any major American city, 753 new police would be hired by 1998. He said much of the funding for this increase would come from the federal Crime Bill passed this summer. The mayor said he planned start adding officers this year, and said there are currently 200 recruits in the police academy. The city will also get a new prison, the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, which will add 1,200 beds to improve prison capacity, and the "long-awaited" criminal justice center will be completed. "We will continue to vigorously contest the prison cap, which allows repeat offenders to prey on our citizens without fear of going to jail," Rendell said as raucous applause from the audience erupted. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, whose district includes the University, said she is pleased by Rendell's budget proposal. "I think it was a good budget," she said. "I think it was positive. I think it made people feel encouraged. They don't feel that there's no light at the end of the tunnel." Blackwell said she was particularly happy with Rendell's proposed improvements for the Fire Department and the EMS service, especially in West Philadelphia.
(01/27/95 10:00am)
Renowned radical poet Allen Ginsberg sat down in a small chair and poured himself a drink from a pitcher on the table next to him. "I am not in very good shape because I have partial laryngitis and heart failure," he announced before he began the reading yesterday in the Harrison Auditorium of the University Museum. "So I don't know if I can get through this." Despite his poor health, Ginsberg treated a packed audience of over 600 students, faculty and community members to a reading of his epic poem Kaddish. This is the first time he has publicly read the hour-long poem in over 15 years. Talking hoarsely, the poet explained that Kaddish is a ritual prayer, and that he wrote this poem in one sitting after he did not have a minyan at his mother's funeral. "This was a way of making up for that," he said. But once he started reading, all traces of illness vanished. As he tightly grasped his copy of the poem with both hands, he spoke in a clear, sing-song voice, cocking his head up towards the audience every few lines. Ginsberg even sang some of the lines in his distinct deep voice. He read straight through the poem, stumbling over words at times, and pausing occasionally to sip his drink, cough or wipe his face. At one point, he stopped, pulled an oversized blue and white handkerchief from his pocket, blew his nose and returned it to his pants. He concluded the piece with a voice rich in emotion and accent. Ginsberg became increasing louder, ending on an extremely climactic note. When he finished, the audience exploded in applause. Ginsberg rose, walked to the end of the stage, and surprised the group with a reading of an epilogue to the poem. Students said they were extremely impressed with Ginsberg's performance. "He was great," College senior Mike Levy said. "He almost had me in tears, I hate to admit. I never realized what a great poem it was." Wharton sophomore Nick Lemen agreed, adding that Ginsberg was able to rise above his illness. "It was very impressive," he said. "When he was reading his poetry he was full of life." Ginsberg, who is one of America's most famous living poets, is currently Distinguished Professor at Brooklyn College. Yesterday's event was sponsored by The Steinberg Symposium and the University's School of Arts and Sciences. This was the famous beatnik poet's second appearance at the University in the past few months. Ginsberg participated in a three-day Steinberg Symposium alongside colleague Robert Creely in October.
(01/27/95 10:00am)
Under threat of impeachment, College junior Mike Nadel resigned from the Student Activities Council Finance committee last night. Also at last night's SAC meeting, the SAC body elected four new Finance committee members, recognized several new groups and voted on funding requests from others. Nadel, who is a Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, said his resignation was prompted by a letter from SAC Finance committee members that threatened to bring articles of impeachment against him if he did not step down. "The members of SAC Finance were pleased with my decision to resign," he said. But Nadel said he doubted that an impeachment effort would have been successful. "I would have beaten the impeachment," he said. "I was not forced out." He added that he resigned so that his presence on the SAC Finance committee would not disrupt its functions. "I think that SAC Finance will be able to function a lot better this semester without having to deal with the division that my presence might have created," he said. The SAC Finance committee wanted Nadel's resignation because of his constitutional reform plans -- which call for the dissolution of SAC Finance and the transfer of its powers to a new body, according to Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and Wharton junior Dan Debicella. Nadel said he will now be able to devote more time to the reform efforts, on which he is working closely with UA representative Dan Schorr, a College senior. "We all are here to do what is best for the students," Nadel said in his resignation speech to the body. "I hope we can all work together for a better way of life for undergraduates here." Debicella, who has submitted reform plans that differ dramatically from Nadel's and Schorr's, said he felt Nadel's resignation was appropriate. "He made the right decision," Debicella said. "He was in a very sticky situation of being on a body he wanted to abolish. A lot of people involved in student government had problems with [Nadel's position]." After Nadel announced his resignation, SAC Steering Committee Chairperson Richard Chow said the Finance Committee elections would allocate four seats -- not three, as was originally planned. Six candidates each presented a brief position statement to the SAC body and answered questions from SAC representatives. Wharton junior Dario Schiraldi, College and Wharton sophomore David Shapiro and College freshmen Steve Schorr and Paul Welfer were elected to the committee. Shapiro, who had already served on the Finance committee for the previous year-long term, said he was glad to be back. "I'm happy to be re-elected," he said. "I'm looking forward to serving again." Schorr, who is also a reporter for the DP, said he was looking forward to his term on the committee. "I'm pleased that I'll be able to participate in student government and to try and see that organizations receive a fair amount of money," he said. The SAC body also voted on recognition and funding recommendations proposed by the Steering and Finance committees. Except for deciding to recognize the Bio-Med Research Society -- a move which SAC Steering had not recommended -- the body followed the Steering Committee's suggestions. The assembly also recognized Awareness of International Markets, the First Amendment Task Force, Facilitating Learning About Sexual Health and Generation XX. However, SAC denied recognition to the Wharton Europe Club. The body approved most of the recommended financial allocations as well. Arts House Dance, Composers of U Penn, Generation XX, Interracial Coalition to End Discrimination, the Reach-A-Peer Line, Students Against Acquaintance Rape, TEACH West Philadelphia, and WQHS-AM all received their recommended funds from the SAC assembly. But Red and Blue, a magazine which has been accused of racial and gender bias, was denied any money from SAC. During debate on the question of funding Red and Blue, SAC representatives said they felt denying the magazine funding would indicate their disapproval of several of the articles the magazine has printed recently.
(01/27/95 10:00am)
The Philadelphia Bomb Squad responded to a call of a suspicious package at 3401 Walnut Street yesterday afternoon, Philadelphia Bomb Squad Technician Pete King said. The package, which was imbedded with razor blades, was sent to a female University employee early yesterday afternoon, King said. University Police Chief George Clisby said the employee worked on the fifth floor of the building, where the University's human resources and business services department are located. The employee cut herself on the razor blades while opening the package at about 1:25 p.m. In addition to the Bomb Squad, Philadelphia and University Police, and Fire Rescue personnel responded to evacuate the building, which includes the Food Court. Authorities felt the building needed to be cleared in the event the package was an explosive device. King said that after the package was removed from the building, the Bomb Squad X-rayed it and determined there were "no explosives or other types of hazards." The woman who opened the package was treated for hand injuries at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, King said. Wharton senior Karen Klinger said the fire alarm was intentionally pulled in the building to facilitate evacuation. She said the evacuation proceeded smoothly. "Everyone was very, very calm and orderly," Klinger said. In addition to the evacuation of the building, the 3400 block of Walnut Street and 34th Street between Chestnut and Walnut streets were closed to vehicles for over two hours. King added that the incident will be investigated by Southwest Detectives. This is the second suspicious package received by a University employee this month, University Police Sergeant Mike Fink said last night. On January 7th, a package sent from Thailand that contained four vials of brown liquid was received in Room 435 at the Johnson Pavilion, Fink said. The package contained a message that claimed its contents were a cure for AIDS, he said. Fink added that the vials were destroyed by the University's Office of Environmental Health and Safety.
(01/26/95 10:00am)
Some still favor Revlon plan Student leaders reacted to the replacement of the Revlon Center with the proposed Perelman Quadrangle plan with a mixture of surprise, optimism and disappointment. Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and Wharton junior Dan Debicella said he is dismayed by the change in plans. But he added that without having read the whole proposal, he was not sure exactly what its effect on students would be. "I'm very disappointed that the Revlon Center will not be a reality under this plan," he said. "But I don't want to make an assessment of the plan before I see it." The UA's recently released Project 2000 included several recommendations for a new campus center -- none of which anticipated that the Revlon Center proposal would be killed. Debicella said the key issue in responding to the new plan is whether the Perelman Quad will serve students as well as the Revlon Center. "What [the Perelman Quad] has to accomplish is the goal of getting people to think of the Perelman Quad as the campus center," he said. "If it's just going to be the renovation of some building and putting new things in, it's not going to be a campus center." Performing Arts Council Chairperson Rosalie Will, a College senior, said she preferred the new plan to the Revlon project. "I think the plan over all is a good idea," she said. "I think it could benefit the University in a number of ways, and I'm very much in favor of it." Will said she favors this plan because more space will be available to performing arts groups. She added that the fact that all of the space will not be contained in one building does not bother her. "If I'm in a performing arts space that's in a building on 40th Street, that's where I am," Will said. "I don't necessarily think that centralizing is the best idea." But Will added that she was concerned that performing arts groups may not be consulted in further planning of the Perelman Quad. "I'm a little apprehensive of the role that performing arts will play in [the Perelman Quad's] development," she said, adding that she questioned whether Irvine Auditorium could meet all the needs of the University's performing arts groups. Under the Perelman Quad plan, Irvine would be renovated and most of the building would be devoted to performing arts. But Will said the renovations may not be performed with PAC's needs in mind. "We don't just need meeting rooms and office space," she said. "Our needs are much more technical and much more specific." Will said she was waiting to see more of the administration's plan before she passed final judgment on the proposal. She added that she hopes that the conversion of the Eric 3 movie theater site to a performing arts complex will not be cancelled because of the Perelman Quad. Both Will and Debicella said they were very surprised by the change of plans. "I could not believe it," said Will. "I was surprised that it happened right now, but I had always thought this was the solution to begin with."
(01/26/95 10:00am)
The administration's proposal to create a student center using existing campus facilities on Locust Walk and Spruce Street poses questions about the future of the northern sections of campus. Currently, a parking lot, parking garage, chilled water plant, several stores and the Mellon Bank building make up north campus -- the area encompassing Walnut and Sansom Streets. For years, past and present administrators have discussed and proposed methods of making that section of campus more prominent, lively and student-friendly. The culmination of this effort came in the form of the Revlon Center. And in 1990, administrators said they hoped to make Sansom Street a "second Locust Walk." But now, University President Judith Rodin and Provost Stanley Chodorow have rejected the Revlon Center student union concept in favor of a student center called the Perelman Quadrangle. The new proposal would involve Houston, Logan and Williams Halls, along with Irvine Auditorium. University officials say they are attempting to re-focus on the center of campus, making the area around those buildings safe and vibrant. "The idea is now to build up the center of campus," University spokesperson Barbara Beck said yesterday. "If you start building north of campus you're going to run into a real security problem and [the Perelman Quad] is where students hang out." But Acting Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum said north campus will still play an integral role in the future of capital planning. "The president and provost are actively considering our proposals to develop north campus in other ways," she said. And Rodin said last night that moving away from the north campus area "opens it up to a variety of possibilities." In 1990, then-Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson released a report on the Revlon Center, detailing her desire for a student center and advocating the northern location. "Locust Walk is inescapably defined by the dominant institutions along its borders," she wrote. "If Penn is to have a 'university' identity, then we must break free of the limitations of our landscape." Then, Morrisson said she hoped the campus center would create a connection between Walnut Street and the heart of campus. But last night Morrisson said circumstances have changed since she was involved in the project. "At the time, it seemed that moving northward was a good idea," she said. "But one of the questions is what value you get for the options on the table and there is indeed value to [the Perelman Quad]." Using existing facilities is economically preferable to constructing a new building, Vice President for Facilities Management Arthur Gravina said last night. And the total space allocation in the Perelman Quad has over 28,000 more square feet than the Revlon plans allowed. McCoullum said she was "cautiously ecstatic" about the plan, adding that the VPUL has promoted many of the proposals involved in the Perelman Quadrangle. "Student space should have a strong central visibility and every component of this has been embedded in our program paper," she said. But just last spring, McCoullum and others cited the development of north campus as an immediate concern, and the main reason for the decision to locate the Revlon Center on Walnut Street. "We want to create a new, livelier north campus," McCoullum said last February. "What I think one of the most exciting things [at the University] would be is the creation of a Revlon precinct." But according to Associate Provost for University Life Larry Moneta, much has changed since Rodin and Chodorow took office. "Since the entire undergraduate education vision is being reviewed and reconsidered, [the north campus] is one issue that is now part of a much bigger plan," he said. Although development on north campus is now a long-term concept, administrators say the projects that have already begun will continue and will still serve valid purposes. The parking garage and chilled water plant built at 38th and Walnut had direct correlations with the Revlon Center plans. The garage was going to replace the 36th Street parking lot, while the main purpose of the chilled water plant was cooling the Revlon Center. But Gravina said both facilities will still have important functions for the University. "We needed a chiller plant independent of the Revlon Center," he said. "And we would ultimately have had to replace that parking anyway." McCoullum said the administration's current review of all capital planning will include consideration of the future of north campus.
(01/26/95 10:00am)
This is just the beginning. According to University administrators, the proposals to create the Perelman Quadrangle represent the first step in an overall review of all University capital projects. University President Judith Rodin and Provost Stanley Chodorow announced in late September plans to completely re-examine the Revlon Center proposals, as part of an overall consideration of all capital planning efforts. And the Perelman Quad is the first product of that extensive review, Vice President for Facilities Management Arthur Gravina said last night. "This is for consideration," he said. "It considers the feasibility of using existing facilities to meet the needs of a campus center." The proposal includes using Houston, Williams and Logan Halls, along with Irvine Auditorium to create a full student center with meeting rooms, performing arts space, a twenty-four hour study lounge, student organization offices and an expanded game room. Associate Vice Provost for University Life Larry Moneta said the student center project had enormous importance within the capital planning review -- although it was brought to the forefront sooner than the administration had wished. "I think that it might have been the administration's preference to stall the Revlon decision even further until every piece of the mosaic is put together," he said last night. "But there was urgency on the part of the students and it was a courageous decision to deal with this issue in advance of the complete mosaic." The capital planning review and the decision on the proposed new student center reflected the debate between constructing new buildings and renovating older ones, Gravina said. In the case of the student center, Gravina said his department began considering the variety of options available for the older buildings on Locust Walk and Spruce Street. The Perelman Quad is feasible within the constraints of those buildings, and provides a purpose similar to their original purposes, he said. "The plans put on the table for discussion are appropriate to meet the needs of the University community and judicially use the buildings as they were originally designed," he said. Gravina said a study into capital planning is a long process, even after the administration releases proposals or ideas. "This is a project that will go through scrutiny as well," he said. "You have to decide what it is going to take to operate and maintain a facility after it is built as well." Acting Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum said the capital planning review will include research into other areas of campus, including Superblock and the northern section of campus where the Revlon Center was to be located. "We are considering developing those areas for more student programming," she said. McCoullum added that within general student programming, administrators are concentrating on the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, the residences and the various schools. Once Rodin and Chodorow decide on the plans and ideas they hope to eventually complete, they will begin to prioritize current and future capital projects, Gravina said. Both officials have said that a student center takes top priority. Administrators also said the 21st Century Project on Undergraduate Education will play a large role in the determination of the future of the University's capital planning.
(01/26/95 10:00am)
Ronald Perelman, the potential chief donor for a facility that already bears his name -- the Perelman Quadrangle -- is considered to be the fourth most wealthy man in America, according to Forbes magazine. In addition, he has a long-standing relationship with the University, and is considered one of the most successful businessmen in the world. Although he pledged $10 million in seed money to the Revlon project in November 1988, he has yet to confirm whether he will support the proposed Perelman Quadrangle. Perelman is a 1964 graduate of the Wharton School. He also received an MBA from Wharton in 1966. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of the MacAndrews and Forbes Group, Inc. of New York City. Perelman is also chairman and chief executive officer of the Revlon Group, Inc., which is the world's second-largest cosmetics manufacturer, with estimated sales of $1.6 billion in 1993. And he is the chairman of Technicolor, Inc., Marvel Entertainment and a director of Four Star International and Compact Video. New York Magazine referred to Perelman as "the dominant deal maker of his time" in a 1993 article. Some of Perelman's savviest deals include the purchase of 80 percent of Marvel Entertainment for $330 million. The company is now worth $2.1 billion. Perelman also serves on the Wharton School Board of Overseers, the Trustees' Board of the Health System, and the Student Life and Development Committees of the University's Board of Trustees. In 1992, the French government conferred the Order of the Legion of Honor on Perelman, and in 1995, he was appointed a trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts by President Clinton. In addition to his original offer to fund the Revlon Center, Perelman is well known as a philanthropist. Last month, Perelman contributed $7.5 million to create the Revlon/ UCLA Women's Health Research Program. A native of Philadelphia, Perelman grew up on the Main Line and attended the all-boys Haverford School, which is known for rigorous academic standards. Perelman began his financial career at age 18, while still at the Wharton School. He and his father bought Esslinger Brewing Company and three years later liquidated it for $1.2 million. But Perelman undertook a critical career shift in 1978, when he decided to break away from his father's company in Philadelphia and move to New York City. In that year he bought an unprofitable jewelry store called Cohen-Hatfield with a $1.9 million bank loan and later sold it for $15 million in cash. Although Perelman's life often seems dominated by business, he is known to attend many parties and benefits, and is an observant Orthodox Jew who maintains a kosher home and strictly adheres to the Sabbath. In 1985, he established the Ronald O. Perelman Professorship in Finance at Wharton, and donated to the Sol Snider Entrepreneurial Center at Wharton and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
(01/26/95 10:00am)
University administrators are encouraged by preliminary campus reaction to the proposed Perelman Quadrangle student center. "I have heard all positive and no negative," University President Judith Rodin said, describing her experience on campus yesterday. "Many people are eager to see and hear more of the plans, and we have promised we will [do that]." She added that she spent the day in meetings with faculty and staff, including the University Council Steering Committee, while Provost Stanley Chodorow spoke with various campus constituencies about the project. Chodorow said he met primarily with personnel from the College and the School of Arts and Sciences who have a "vital interest" in the Perelman Quad buildings -- especially Logan Hall. Many SAS departments and the College itself were housed there before deferred maintenance began. The present Perelman Quad plans show that once renovated, Logan Hall will provide space for the same offices that had been located there. But its ground floor will be made into an art gallery, multi-purpose auditorium and 150-seat recital hall. Logan Hall will also be connected to Williams Hall in two ways -- underground and through a two-story glass atrium that will contain a 24-hour reading room. "This [project] is to the advantage of the sense of history of these buildings," Chodorow said. "We're going to update them piece by piece." Although Perelman Quad will give student groups more space than the Revlon Center would have provided, Chodorow estimated that only about 25,000 square feet of new space will be created through its three-year construction. The remainder of the space included in the Perelman Quad proposal is either currently-available space that will continue to be used or space that will be "captured" through redesign of existing structures. Roy Vagelos, chairperson of the University's Board of Trustees, said it is important to proceed "gingerly" on the project because its prospective major donor -- University alumnus and Trustee Ronald Perelman -- has not yet committed crucial funds. But according to Vagelos, the Trustees were unanimous in their enthusiasm for the Perelman Quad, which he described as "wonderful." "It expands the space that will be available to students, it is right in the center of the campus, it will bring into sparkling life the historic buildings," Vagelos said. "[And] it's so centrally-located that it's probably more secure than the site that had been on Walnut." The site will also look remarkably different than it does now, Rodin said. Re-landscaping and re-grading of the grounds will bring College Green up to the entrance of Logan Hall, while the Houston Hall patio will be expanded and grass will be planted there. Rodin said the Perelman Quad program "is not engraved in stone." The Philadelphia architectural firm of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates has submitted schematic drawings and made preliminary recommendations about effective space utilization, though. The topic is on the agenda for next month's University Council meeting.
(01/26/95 10:00am)
Until earlier this month, Mathematics Professor David Harbater's colleagues said he looked like the cat that swallowed the canary. After the American Mathematical Society notified Harbater last semester that he won the Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Algebra -- awarded only once every five years, he then learned that he would have to wait more than two months until the official announcement to tell anyone. Harbater received his award Jan. 5, at the annual conference in San Francisco. French mathematician Michel Raynaud, who collaborated with Harbater since 1991, also received the award. Building on work he began after graduate school, Harbater proved the Abhyankar Conjecture, an analogue of the broader Inverse Galois Problem which has stumped mathematicians for almost 200 years. A 19th century French mathematician, Galois studied the correspondence between symmetry in shapes and symmetry in solutions to equations. If a shape is rotated, there are specific orders of rotation that will eventually put the shape at its initial position, Harbater said. This sequence of movements is called a group. Equations often have several solutions, just as a shape has many possible rotations, that are placed in a specific order. He said the rotation groups of a shape and the solutions of an equation share symmetry when they follow the same order of permutations to arrive at the original position or value. Galois asked in his Inverse Problem -- which Harbater and his colleagues have dubbed the "white whale" -- whether it is true that every symmetry group has a corresponding equation. Harbater said Abhyankar's Conjecture applies the question to graphs. Using a set collection of points, coefficients and type of graph, only certain symmetry groups will occur no matter how the data is manipulated. After first proving Abhyankar's Conjecture, which mathematicians have been trying to solve since 1957, Harbater and Raynaud then showed how to construct graphs from the given groups. While Harbater said he is excited about the award, he is already looking towards future projects. "It feels like I'm moving on to the next phase," Harbater said. "It gives me more confidence that it's possible to solve the white whale. The fact that I've gotten attention has meant that I've been able to be in more contact with people all over the world." Advances Harbater makes in his research also enhance his teaching, because it helps him convey to students that math is an ongoing process, instead of information set in "stone tablets," he said. Students say that the time Harbater spends on his research has not interfered with his teaching. "He is the best math professor I've had at Penn," Engineering sophomore Deniz Cultu said. "He seemed to always have time for us."
(01/26/95 10:00am)
When the President of the United States calls, most private citizens clear their calendars. But University President Judith Rodin is no ordinary private citizen. Despite a personal invitation from President Clinton, conflicts with a previously scheduled afternoon meeting and the complications of last-minute transportation arrangements have prevented Rodin from going to Washington today. Vice President for Community and Government Affairs Carol Scheman said Clinton asked Rodin to come to Washington to talk with him, Education Secretary Richard Riley and other university presidents about Clinton's "Middle Class Bill of Rights." Approximately nine presidents are expected to attend today's meeting, where Clinton and his advisors hope to gain a perspective on what the proposed legislation will mean for students looking to finance higher education, Scheman said. University spokesperson Barbara Beck said the presidents of Tulane University and the University of Chicago are among the officials invited to this morning's meeting. "It certainly is absolutely true that student aid is one of the most important issues for this University," Scheman said, alluding to the University's need-blind admissions policy. "We recognize the problems of access, indebtedness and the burden of high tuition on families," she said, adding that Rodin will not be missing a negotiating meeting but an information session about what some have called Clinton's tuition tax break. Scheman said she will be in Washington on Friday for a meeting about possible changes in the federal government's policy of reimbursing universities for the indirect costs of basic research.
(01/26/95 10:00am)
It has lingered around the University for almost five years -- taking the spotlight every few semesters. But after "Bring Your Own Beer" made yet another comeback last week, many say that despite a slow start and some solid arguments against it, BYOB will not fall into obscurity as it has in the past. Officers from the Greek Alumni Council, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, and the InterFraternity Council said this week that the new policy is a long-awaited step in the right direction. BYOB is an issue that cannot be ignored by fraternities facing liability for alcohol related incidents, according to officers. "The fact that fraternities are purchasing alcohol, that's a very, very strong legal link for liability," GAC Assistant Vice Chairperson Bill Staples said. But with the long, unsuccessful history of BYOB and the number of complaints stemming from individual fraternities, the final outcome is still up in the air. In September 1990, the IFC passed a BYOB policy for the first time. Then in February 1991, The Daily Pennsylvanian interviewed students who claimed that BYOB enforcement was not working. One month later, the IFC adopted a revised policy -- but the plans faded once again until September 1991, when IFC President Jim Rettew announced that BYOB would restart. Again the DP interviewed underage students who claimed having little difficulty obtaining alcohol at fraternity parties. Finally, in early 1993, when the Greek Alumni Council proposed BYOB, students protested by posting signs on campus that read, "Don't pay the bucks, the social life sucks." The signs were aimed at prospective freshmen visiting the University. When IFC officers met with GAC officials last month, they decided that it was time to make a clear statement on BYOB. "This was undergraduates saying they wanted to take some responsibility," GAC Chairperson Andrea Dobin said. The policy passed with little opposition at an IFC meeting last Tuesday night, and has received a positive reaction from the University. But what makes BYOB this year different than in previous years? Staples said the new policy is "tighter legally," more clearly written and, for the most part, the work of undergraduates. IFC President David Treat, a College junior, said last week the monitoring system is more clearly defined. The feasibility of consistent monitoring and the possibility of BYOB alternatives remain unresolved. Dartmouth College experimented with BYOB in 1993 and concluded that it was too hard to control, according to Dartmouth Residential Life Assistant Dean Deborah Reinders. Instead, fraternities there utilize kegs as a method of controlling the amount of alcohol dispensed. Last week, Alpha Chi Rho President and College senior T.J. Zane said smart risk management, not necessarily BYOB, is the answer. But OFSA Director Tricia Phaup said insurance companies are interested in keeping costs down, and the national fraternities have taken the lead in pushing risk management policies like BYOB for years now. "If a party is well managed for alcohol consumption, steps taken that people won't drink too much, that greatly reduces the chance of risk," Staples said. But he added that risk management cannot prevent every accident, and if an accident does happen, chapters and nationals are "wide open" to lawsuits. "If people are buying their own alcohol?you're going to be suing the keg house, and you probably end up suing the University," he said.
(01/26/95 10:00am)
A recent study completed by Law School Professor Lani Guinier has found that female law students are not performing as well academically as male law students at the University. Conducted between 1989 and 1992 at the Law School, the study included data from a self-reported survey, interviews and academic performance reports from students of both genders. Guinier's findings are scheduled to be published in the November 1994 issue of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, which, due to printing delays, has not yet been released to the public. "Women are consistently performing less successfully than men in their first year of law school, creating a gap," Law School Dean Colin Diver said. "This gap persists until the third year when the gap slightly decreases in size." According to Diver, women admitted into the Law School tend to have higher grade point averages than men, although the men score higher on the Law School Admissions Test. "This is not just a phenomenon at the University, but it is a nationwide trend," he said. The study also suggests that women are not having positive experiences at the Law School and feel "excluded." "[First year] was like a frightening out-of-body experience," the Law Review article cites one female student saying. "Lots of women agree with me. My voice from that year is gone." A preliminary study has just been released by the Law School Admission Council that supports Guinier's conclusions. The study collected data from 160 law schools across the nation. "I expected our data to look more like the undergraduate trends where women are out-performing the men," said Linda Wightman, vice president for operations, testing, and research at LSAC. A study printed in the January 1994 issue of the Harvard Law Review also found that female Harvard Law students are "less happy" then men. Diver said several open forums and faculty meetings have been held to discuss Guinier's study. "This study certainly has raised a troubling fact," said Heidi Hurd, associate dean of academic affairs at the Law School. In response to the results of the study, Diver has commissioned a follow-up study that will be conducted by a committee headed by Hurd. "We want to inquire into the profile of incoming law students," Hurd said. "We also want to examine what we are doing in the classroom and what the impact of class size is on students." The Socratic method of teaching which is used primarily in first year classes is suspected to be one of the "culprits" contributing to the differential between men and women. "It is one that men warm up to much more than women, although Socratic professors are the most popular," Diver said. The law students' undergraduate majors will also be included as a variant in the follow-up study because women tend to concentrate in humanities and social sciences whereas men study science, business and engineering, Hurd said. Guinier was unreachable for comment.
(01/26/95 10:00am)
While some students continually delay plans to work out and stay in shape, others have been hard at work training for the University's second annual Mr. and Ms. Penn Bodybuilding Contest, scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. today in Irvine Auditorium. Assistant Track Coach Tony Tenisci, who coordinates the event, is excited to have the defending lightweight and heavyweight champions returning to defend their titles this year. Male participants will be divided into lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight divisions, while female competitors fight it out in an open round. Defending lightweight champion Frank Schembri, a College senior, and defending heavyweight champion Craig Green, a Wharton sophomore, have both increased their level of preparation in the final week before the competition. "This last week I've really been killing myself," Green said. "I've gotten to the point where my diet is virtually fat-free, sugar-free, sodium- free." But it takes more than a strict diet to get in shape for the contest, both agree. Schembri and Green both said they spend hours in the gym. "I constantly lift," said Green, who competed in several triathlons last summer. "I'm always in training for something." Tenisci said the size of the contestants will not be the primary factor in the judges' scoring. He added that the "highest scoring criteria" will be in the contestants' performance. He noted that the contestants have been professionally coached on how to pose before the competition. "They're going to show the audience and their friends how capable they are," Tenisci said. There will be 30 males contestants and 10 female participants, he added. Three "guest posers" will perform after the students are finished, including the reigning Natural Physique Committee's Mr. and Ms. Pennsylvania. "They should add a bit of spice at the end of the evening to see the next level," Tenisci said. Tenisci said 700 $5 tickets have been sold thus far, leaving room for body-building afficionados and curious on-lookers to fill Irvine to its 1000-seat capacity. Proceeds from tonight's event will be donated to the women's track program.
(01/25/95 10:00am)
The University is completing negotiations with Cinemagic Incorporated to lease out the Walnut Street movie theater space vacated when the AMC Walnut Mall 3 closed last November, Associate Treasurer Chris Mason said yesterday. "We're ironing out most of the details and the lease is with our internal counsel," Mason said. "We're hoping it will be final within the next couple of weeks." He added that he expects to open the theater, called Cinemagic At Penn Incorporated, in March. Mason said he favored Cinemagic, which is based in Philadelphia, because it also has a location in Hamilton, New York, where it caters to students from Colgate University. Cinemagic Owner Andrew Sheppard said he hopes to specifically cater to the University's student body. "[The AMC Theater] didn't look at its audience," Sheppard said. "I've researched it and it seems the last priority was films that students would come out and see." He added that he plans to continue AMC's policy of giving special student discounts -- although he could not specify what the movie ticket prices will be. Sheppard said he will keep students' interests in mind when selecting films. "We're going to be concentrating on the students and gearing the movies to them," he said. "We're going to do our best to make sure that students don't want to go anywhere else to see a movie." Mason said Sheppard's experience with the Colgate theater equips him with an understanding of the University's needs. "It is kind of based in a college community," Mason said of the Colgate theater. "He gave us types of films he intends to screen and it's a good mix that we hope the college community here will like." According to Sheppard, "unlike other theater chains," the Cinemagic theater will have a full-time security guard. Mason said necessary renovations to both the interior and exterior of the movie theater, which is located between 39th and 40th Streets, will begin soon. Renovations will include making the theater more visible from the street, improving the signs and cleaning up the courtyard area in front of the theater, he added. Mason said the AMC theater's lease contained provisions which did not allow for these renovations. Renovations to the interior of the theater will include new seats, carpeting, sound system and design, Sheppard said. "The entire look of the place and feel of the place is going to be completely changed," he added. "There's going to be a lot more energy the minute [students] walk in." Mason said the University and Cinemagic will share renovation expenses -- which are expected to total approximately $100,000. He added that he is also negotiating the possibility of opening the parking lot at 40th and Walnut Streets after hours. The University-owned lot has catered to University employees in the past. "It would help patrons of the theater and of the restaurants on the block of 40th Street," Mason said. "We hope to encourage people to park there." Last fall, the University negotiated with the Ritz Theater as a possible replacement for the AMC. But those negotiations fell through and Cinemagic became the company of choice. The Eric 3 Campus Theater on 40th Street also closed last August when its contract expired. Representatives from the Performing Arts Council and the Undergraduate Assembly have worked on a proposal to turn that area into performing arts space. College junior Eric Tienou said student involvement played an "instrumental" role in the decision. "They're a local, small-sized company and they're going to make money without wanting to move," he said. "The companies that moved were larger national companies." Cinemagic has one other location besides its Colgate theater -- a five-screen complex in Delaware.
(01/25/95 10:00am)
The crossfire was so heavy last night when the College Democrats and College Republicans gathered to watch President Clinton's State of the Union Address in Houston Hall, that barely a donkey or an elephant could escape the verbal bullets. Or, that is the way it could have been. In what could be seen as a reflection of the nation's newly elected Republican Congress, the dominating student Republican ratio of 20 to five was responsible for most of the commentary during the speech. While the right-wingers reveled in comedy-club wit and laughter, their Democrat opponents folded their arms, rubbed their chins and occasionally mumbled to each other. Despite the unbalanced attendance -- which also included three Independents and one Libertarian -- the majority of students said they felt Clinton's words were moderate and motivated by his political aspirations. "He's pandering to the new conservative majority," said College sophomore Chris Monte, a Democrat. "He's not stating his principles flat out." Another Democrat, College and Engineering sophomore and Daily Pennsylvanian Senior Photographer Ashley Roach, said he recognized Clinton's address as an effort by a minority President to successfully maintain the "intricate" balance between his own Democratic party's views, with the opposing views of the new Republican Congress. Several students expressed disbelief that the Democratic President was actually the author and deliverer of the address he delivered last night to the nation. "I feel like Newt Gingrich is winning," said Blake Mills, a sophomore Engineering student who describes himself as a Libertarian. "I thought this speech was supposed to be given by Bill, not Newt." Before the president had completed half of his 121 minute outline, College junior and University Assembly Member Lance Rogers, had laughed many times. "A Republican wrote this," the Republican student said. Rogers was not the only student who said he was surprised at the Clinton's list of "Republican" goals. As Clinton articulated the words "Family Values," the bottom jaws of both Democrats and Republicans dropped. "This is better than watching T.V." UA member and College junior Christian Hemsley said. "I wonder if he had a brain transplant somewhere around election time," the Republican added. "I actually heard Clinton say 'Family Values.'" Adrienne Frangakis said she agreed Clinton's address was in the middle of the political spectrum, but thought his statements were genuine. "I think he's actually going to go through with what he says," said the Republican. "I think he believes that Americans have spoken and want a change. He is not only saying what Americans want." Frangakis added that she saw President Clinton's move to the middle as an effort to work with the new Congress, but acknowledged that the speech could have been a ploy for re-election. In addition to students' criticism of Clinton's rightward shift, Republicans said the President's speech exemplified his fickle views. According to Wharton freshman and Republican Dan Silvers, the Clinton's move explains his unpopularity. "People can't stand him because he wavers," Silvers said. "It doesn't matter what the financial state is. People can't stand him because each time he has a different stance." Another Republican looked beyond his party's lines in his evaluation of the address. He said the President's inconsistency characterized his opinions. "It sounds like a speech that the President has to make after the Republican victory in the '94 elections," Rogers said. "I might have had more Respect for him -- even though I don't believe in his party beliefs if he stayed there "He didn't say very much for an hour and 21 minutes," he added.
(01/25/95 10:00am)
'Perelman Quad' to offer more student space In a remarkable reversal of years of planning by previous administrations, University President Judith Rodin and Provost Stanley Chodorow have scrapped the Revlon Center student union project in favor of a student center formed by renovating and expanding existing campus facilities. A multi-page document obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian from a source in College Hall reveals that the new campus center will connect Logan, Williams and Houston Halls with Irvine Auditorium, restoring the amount of space available for student activities to 85,827 square feet -- nearly the level included in the original Revlon plans. The complex has been dubbed Perelman Quadrangle in honor of its prospective major donor -- University alumnus and Trustee Ronald Perelman, who is chairman and chief executive officer of New York's MacAndrews and Forbes Group, Inc. Perelman has not committed funds to the new initiative. But, in November 1988, he pledged $10 million in seed money to the Revlon project -- which was first proposed by former University President Sheldon Hackney and scaled back last spring in response to cost concerns. James Conroy, senior vice president for corporate affairs and special counsel at MacAndrews and Forbes, said although Perelman Quad plans were received by the company last week, Perelman himself has yet to see them. The new plans were drawn up by architect David Marohn of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, a Philadelphia firm that handled the restoration of the Furness Building on campus. The firm has also recently developed a concept plan for Dartmouth College, detailing what that school will look like in 15 years. Marohn refused to make a statement about the Perelman Quad project, saying that "it's really still in the preliminary stages." The Revlon concept has been replaced outright by what Rodin and Chodorow claim will be a more cost-effective, spacious and secure complex -- located closer to the center of campus and completed six to seven months faster than a project of Revlon's magnitude would have been. The new plans resemble Revlon in that they include items such as meeting rooms of various sizes, student organization offices and an expanded game room, according to the document. But in the proposed Perelman Quad, the square footage of most items -- such as twenty-four hour study lounges, reading and music listening rooms and music practice rooms -- is dramatically increased, the document states. The net area allocated for performance space in the Perelman Quad is four times greater than that provided for in the Revlon plans, according to the document. But the black box theater, integral to the original Revlon concept, has been eliminated in favor of a "flexible proscenium stage," Chodorow said, adding that this stage would permit a revamped, subdivided Irvine Auditorium to accommodate audiences from 500 to 1,400 with ease. Some new structures will be built to link the four buildings, including a two-story glass atrium between Williams and Logan Halls. The atrium is slated to be open 24 hours a day and is aimed at improving security by flooding the area with light. In addition, Houston Hall -- America's first student union -- will be restored to its former grandeur, and a parking lot currently located behind Irvine Auditorium will be turned into a park similar to College Green. Garage and supply facilities for the new complex will be located underground. Rodin said the goal of the Perelman Quad is to create a great urban space, "a real center where the role of the University [will] be focused in a more secure way." By using existing buildings already included in its deferred maintenance plans, she said the University hopes to achieve significant cost savings and to decrease anticipated construction time, so that students now on campus will be able to enjoy the new facility. Plenty of open space will be provided within the new complex for students, faculty and staff to congregate -- whether in an outdoor courtyard that Chodorow likened to a medieval "forum," or indoors at an assortment of cafZs and shops scattered throughout the four buildings. "There are so many possibilities and we need time and architects to tell us what the possibilities are," he said, adding that he thinks the Perelman Quad will draw members of the University community to the center of campus. "This [project] is just the beginning of the center of everything," Chodorow said. The University's Board of Trustees is equally enthusiastic about the Perelman Quad plan, Rodin said. If Perelman gives his approval, the project will move forward in earnest -- with administrators obtaining hard cost estimates and feedback on the plan from the campus community, she said. "The final plans must accommodate all that the original Revlon Center was intended to accomplish," Rodin said. "We want to provide the best center for this campus, and we are very respectful of the thinking that has already gone into this [project]."
