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(04/27/00 9:00am)
Looking at the history of the Penn women's crew team, one can see that the results of the Award Plaque are always in the same order-- Princeton, Dartmouth, Penn. The Quakers are looking to change that this Saturday on Lake Carnegie. Since 1993, the results of the varsity eight boats have not changed. However, the Red and Blue are on course to break more traditions, as they did last Saturday by defeating Cornell and Rutgers, to bring home the Raritan Cup for the first time in nine years. "Princeton and Dartmouth are traditionally strong teams. It's exciting to be heading into the weekend trying to beat teams that we never have before in my career here," senior co-captain Loren Berman said. For the seniors, it will be their final regatta, excluding Eastern Sprints and the NCAA Championships, both in May. "As long as we come away knowing we gave it our all with no regrets, I'll be happy," senior Becca Rothman said. Last year, the Quakers' varsity eight finished only 1.2 seconds behind Dartmouth, and this time around they will be heading into the regatta ranked four spots ahead of the Big Green in the EAWRC Coaches Poll. "I want us to make a statement that we've earned our ranking and that it isn't a fluke," Rothman said. The Quakers won't be taking the rankings to heart, however, writing off Dartmouth because of their lower ranking. "We just can't write off a crew," Rothman said. "I've seen it happen where teams write off their opponents and then they lose to them." And the course may pose a challenge to Quakers' boats, but not for the reason some may expect. "It's a tough course because there are no landmarks. We're really going to have to depend on our coxswains to keep us focused," senior co-captain Kealy O'Connor said. Regardless, the Quakers are looking for a strong finish to their solid spring campaign, especially with Sprints approaching. "We'd like to row a solid race, to finish our season on a high note before heading to Sprints," Berman said. Raising the stakes will be the triangle of Ivy rivalries among the teams. Besides the expected Quaker-Tiger rivalry, coach Barb Kirch left the Big Green for Penn, only adding to the motivation of the Red and Blue. "We're ready to go in and earn a big win for her and for ourselves," O'Connor said. The seniors seem to share the same sentiment in what they want to take away from the last Ivy race of their careers. "Ideally, we want to come off the water and be able to be completely satisfied with what we did," Rothman said.
(04/27/00 9:00am)
Nine historically African-American fraternities and sororities will "step up" to the challenge Saturday night at the Bi-cultural InterGreek Council's annual step show. According to BIG-C President and Sigma Lambda Upsilon sister Marcela Poveda, more than 1,500 students and community residents are expected to converge on the Class of 1923 Ice Rink for the event. Poveda, a College junior, said about 2,000 people showed up last year, but organizers had to turn 500 away due to limited rink capacity. "The last three years, it's been really huge, and we're hoping for the same this year," Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Program Coordinator Larry Moses said. The step show is a long and revered tradition in the National Panhellenic Council, the national umbrella group for historically African-American fraternities and sororities. "[A step show] is a series of synchronized dance steps that traditionally have been connected with African-American Greek-letter organizations," Moses said. "It's one way of celebrating who we are." And Poveda said that the step show is a "good way to reflect on the roots of the African-American step tradition." This year, all nine National Panhellenic Council organizations are sending step teams to the competition. Three of the organizations -- the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and Zeta Phi Beta sororities -- have chapters at Penn. The other fraternities and sororities will come from Albright College, the University of Delaware and Westchester, Drexel and Pennsylvania State universities. Each fraternity and sorority has its own trademark "step," a combination of synchronized dancing, stomping, clapping and showmanship. For example, one fraternity always uses canes in its act. Although Penn Alpha Phi Alpha President Richard Adzei isn't stepping on Saturday, he participated last year. "It's great to represent your organization, especially stepping at your home school," the College senior said. "It's not just fun -- it's fun and it's serious." Following the performances, a panel of judges will select the best fraternity and sorority, looking especially for synchronicity among the steppers. The winners will receive a monetary prize. Last year, Penn's Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority won the competition. Before the step show, there will be a carnival in Hamilton Village featuring musical acts, a local drill team and a procession down Locust Walk. The carnival -- although not heavily advertised -- is also a long-standing Penn Relays tradition. "We don't even publicize it too much because it's so much word of mouth," Moses said. This year, Black Entertainment Television will cosponsor the carnival in order to promote the launch of its new website, BET.com.
(04/27/00 9:00am)
The committee finished its work by asking Rodin not to join either group. In its final recommendation to University President Judith Rodin, Penn's sweatshop task force recommended that the University not join either of two sweatshop-monitoring organizations at this time. In a letter to Rodin last week, Howard Kunreuther, the chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Sweatshop Labor, said the committee felt that neither the Fair Labor Association nor the Worker Rights Consortium has yet done enough to address Penn's concerns about balanced representation for colleges and universities on their governing boards. "While both groups have acknowledged our concerns, neither group has fully satisfied them, and we are not comfortable joining either organization at this time," Kunreuther wrote in the letter. He said the committee sought "to ensure reasonable balance between financial support and governance" in both organizations. The committee reached the consensus that it would not be appropriate to join either group until one, or both, adequately addressed the concerns over university representation. Kunreuther said the task force felt that the Committee on Manufacturer Responsibility, which will be responsible for enforcing the code of conduct approved earlier this year for licensees that produce University-logo apparel, could do a better job at deciding which organization to join. That committee will be composed of students, faculty and staff and will likely be charged by Rodin in the next week. "It came to the point where we should wait and get more information," said Nursing sophomore Kimberly Colopinto, the Undergraduate Assembly's representative to the sweatshop task force. She noted that many things are still unknown about both groups, particularly how successful the WRC will be in acquiring adequate financial support and whether either organization will listen to students' concerns. Three committee members made a presentation at an FLA board meeting earlier this month, outlining Penn's concerns. But Wharton sophomore Brian Kelly, a member of Penn Students Against Sweatshops who serves on the committee and helped make the presentation to the FLA, said the FLA did not take any action to satisfy Penn's demands for more balanced representation. "[The FLA] gave us the opportunity to present our concerns but didn't address them," he said. Penn had been a member of the FLA until earlier this year, when Rodin withdrew from the organization after a nine-day sit-in in College Hall staged by Penn Students Against Sweatshops. The group wanted Penn to withdraw from the FLA and join the WRC. In a written response to Kunreuther's letter released yesterday, Rodin said she accepted the committee's recommendation to remain outside of both the FLA and WRC until the organizations meet Penn's conditions for membership. "I regret that neither the FLA nor the WRC has fully satisfied the committee's concerns," she wrote. Noting that the WRC is undertaking a review of its governing structure and the FLA plans to examine the composition of its own governing board at a meeting in June, Rodin said, "It seems premature for us to join either organization until they are in a position to act formally on the committee's requests." Rodin said she plans to appoint the members of the Committee on Manufacturer Responsibility soon and asked that the ad hoc sweatshop committee hold a transition meeting to transfer its work to the new group. PSAS organizer Miriam Joffe-Block, a College senior, said her group is happy that Penn will not be joining the FLA, but still wants the University to join the WRC, which PSAS believes is less influenced by corporate concerns. "The whole group [is] united on the position -- we still want to join the WRC," Joffe-Block said, adding that the FLA is "set up to accommodate industry, not workers' rights." While the University most likely will not make a final decision on joining either of the organizations until the fall semester, Joffe-Block said PSAS members are sure that the University will see things their way in the end. "We're confident that [Penn] will eventually join the WRC," she said. "The WRC is a really positive thing and has gained a lot of support." Membership in the WRC has ballooned over the past few months, going from four schools when PSAS staged their sit-in to the dozens that now belong to it.
(04/27/00 9:00am)
The Quakers need to win both of their final two games to finish at .500, but it won't be eary today at Temple. After dropping its fifth straight contest last week, the Penn women's lacrosse team has a chance to turn things around today and shoot for .500. The Quakers head to Temple's Geasey Field where a victory will improve them to 6-7 overall, with the final game of the season approaching on Saturday against Monmouth. "A win would be great [against Temple], but our next two games could both go either way," Penn coach Karin Brower said. "I have to get my team to realize what they want. Do they want to be .500 or do they want to end with seven losses in a row?" The choice seems simple, but according to Brower, Penn doesn't always play like it really wants to win. The first-year coach said her team often lacks the heart and hustle necessary to persevere in close contests. In fact, she said that in her eyes Penn has only won a single tough game this season, an 11-8 triumph against Lafayette. "We won the games that we should have won," Brower said. "But against Harvard, Rutgers and Brown we were the underdogs, but we still had a shot. So it was frustrating that we didn't play up to our potential in those games." Temple coach Kim Ciarrocca echoed Brower's woes when discussing her own team's streaky performance. The Owls have compiled a 7-7 record, but they have yet to win more than two games in a row. Their league record currently stands at 5-1, with their only loss coming against UMass, which was also the only non-ranked opponent to defeat them. "We've been up and down here at Temple," Ciarrocca said. "When we're up, we go to goal more, take more shots and are more aggressive on attack. We double the ball in the midfield better. That's a good Temple team. That's what happens when Temple shows up." If the Owls show up today, Brower said her team should expect a feistier opponent than their typical Ivy League match-ups. She told them that the Atlantic 10 Conference members will probably be the most physical team they'll play all year. "They've got tough kids and different types of kids than we usually see in the Ivy League. They don't have any phenomenal players like Dartmouth or Princeton, but they're strong and powerful," Brower said. "They'll be like Harvard, but rougher -- less finesse and more run-and-gun." Ciarrocca wasn't as quick to differentiate her team from the Ivy Leaguers, however. She said the Owls are no more aggressive than the likes of Princeton and Dartmouth. And Ciarrocca should know, because the Tigers took care of her team, 13-10, a few weeks ago. Aside from both losing to Princeton this season, Penn has something else in common with its Philly neighbor. Each team will bring a young line-up into today's contest, with just 13 upperclassmen between them, six of which are on the Penn roster. But experience is all relative, and Brower said the Owls still have a year on her team. Temple's strength is in its six sophomores, who took the reigns last year when six seniors graduated. Ciarrocca said that some inexperience has still led to midfield turnovers for her team all season long. She claimed her young Owls have a lot of learning to do, but lamented that there is just one senior attacker to show them the way -- 5'9'' Kelly Ruch from Phoenixville, Pa. If the statistics are any indication, Ruch is doing pretty well despite her young supporting cast. She leads the team in scoring for the second year in a row with 48 goals, and her 9 assists are good for second. While the Quakers will certainly have their hands full with Ruch, Brower expressed more concern with freshman midfielder Patience Synnestvedt, whose size and power are more daunting than the 21 goals she's netted this season. "She's like six feet tall and 180 something," Brower said, and the Owls roster concurs. Ciarrocca said she is expecting a quicker and more agile team than she's seen in past Quaker squads. The key for her team, she said, will be effective double-teaming in the midfield to slow Penn down.
(04/27/00 9:00am)
The body backed a call to limit administators' access to student e-mail. University Council approved an updated proposal yesterday for a school-wide policy governing the privacy of e-mail and other electronic information, addressing some of the concerns raised by students and faculty since an initial version of the policy was released in January. The latest version includes several changes demanded by the Undergraduate Assembly. Physiology Professor Martin Pring, who chairs Council's Committee on Communications, agreed to include the UA's proposed changes in the version of the policy placed before Council yesterday. The changes make it more difficult for administrators to read students' e-mail without their permission. University President Judith Rodin must approve Council's recommendations before the proposal takes effect. Also at yesterday's meeting, Provost Robert Barchi announced that the University has decided to accept recommendations made by the UA that students receiving financial aid be permitted to receive a waiver from their summer earnings requirement if they participate in a low- or non-paying public service or research internships. The policy, which goes into effect immediately, allows students to apply for a waiver for one summer during their undergraduate years at Penn. Current freshmen, sophomores and juniors must apply by May 15 to receive a waiver for upcoming summer plans. The newest version of the e-mail policy authorizes specified University officials to access a person's files or e-mail under certain conditions: "when there is a reasonable basis to believe" that doing so is necessary to comply with the law; will provide necessary information for an investigation of a violation of the law or University policy; is necessary to ensure the integrity of University computing systems; or may yield information needed to deal with an emergency. The previous version had required only a "good faith belief" before a search could be conducted, which the UA objected to, saying that the policy should use accepted legal terms in defining its protections. Another change applied only to the section of the policy governing students' privacy. The Office of Student Conduct was removed from the list of official University bodies authorized to approve searches, with the Vice Provost for University Life taking its place. The OSC is the main student judiciary body, and is responsible for hearing disciplinary cases. Many expressed concerns that the quasi-prosecutorial organization would have the right to decide when to read e-mail. The other changes require that the Office of the General Counsel keep a record of all authorized searches and shorten the length of time before the policy undergoes a review from two years to one. "We were just really ecstatic that the administration was so receptive to our concerns," said Undergraduate Assembly Chairman Michael Bassik, a College junior. "I think it's a real victory for the student body." With a quorum present for the first time this semester, the policy proposal was approved by a vote of 46 to zero, with no abstentions. About half of Council's 92 members attended yesterday's meeting in McClelland Hall, though not all of those in attendance participated in every vote. At least 37 members must be in attendance for official votes to take place. In its other major business of the meeting, Council approved five changes to its by-laws. The changes included revisions of rules that govern representation on Council's Steering Committee and the timing of Council's annual transition meeting.
(04/27/00 9:00am)
The Penn varsity eight is racing for the Adams Cup and better land position at Eastern Sprints. For the Penn men's heavyweight crew team, the last chance to improve in the EARC rankings before Eastern Sprints will be ridiculously early in the morning and on choppy waters. The Quakers will be forced to navigate the Severn River in Annapolis, Md., at 6:30 a.m. against Harvard and Navy. Penn, which won the regatta last year when it took place on the Schuykill, will race for the Adams Cup against the rival Crimson and Midshipmen. The Red and Blue hope the cup will continue to grace the Penn boathouse for a second consecutive year. After returning this past weekend from the Harlem River in New York with the Blackwell Cup, the varsity eight hopes to begin a win streak as it prepares for one of the more decisive races of their spring season. Much more than a cup is at stake going into this regatta. "This race is a very important test of speed for our crew before Eastern Sprints, and it is probably our last chance to improve our standing in the EARC polls that determine heat and lane draws at Sprints," junior varsity rower Keith Sutter said. The Eastern Sprints, the Ivy League championship regatta, is the culmination of the spring season. With a victory this weekend against the second-ranked Crimson, the fifth-ranked Quakers would not only improve their standings in the polls, but also find themselves in a better position to compete and ultimately win the Eastern Sprints. After losing to Harvard at the San Diego Crew Classic, the Penn men are hoping to take the Crimson by surprise and stun them with their increased boat speed. "We are really getting up for this race because we didn't have the intensity against Yale that we had against Princeton," Penn captain Greg Jenemann said. "Harvard will probably underestimate us because we are ranked lower and they beat us at San Diego. But that will be to our advantage because they'll get snuck by Penn if they take us lightly." After improving by leaps and bounds since their last showdown with the Crimson over the weekend of April 1, the Quakers are ready to show that they have the speed and finesse to win. "The race is at 6:30 a.m., and with Harvard being ranked ahead of us they are probably not expecting too much out of us," Sutter predicted. "So when we are right there or ahead at the thousand meter mark, that's when we really fluster them by taking seats at will." Navy's home waters are notorious for providing crews with less-than-perfect rowing conditions. The Quakers must be prepared to row well together as a single unit if they plan to bring home the cup. "The Severn River is usually choppy and not conducive to racing, so we need to row cleanly and efficiently," Jenemann said. After weeks of intense preparation, the Quakers are ready to do just that. "I am looking forward to this race," Sutter said. "I have never lost the Adams Cup, and I do not plan to start this weekend."
(04/27/00 9:00am)
The consummate politician on the outside, Michael Bassik can be a real slob, his friends say. Many students may not know it, but newly elected Undergraduate Assembly chairman Michael Bassik leads a double life. In public, the College junior serves as a campus leader -- always appearing well groomed, his hair slicked back -- but in private, his friends say he's just a big slob who never does his laundry. His friends call the public persona -- holding high-profile talks with administrators and promoting major student issues -- the "dorky side" of Bassik. But while his friends may mock him, Bassik says he loves every minute of his dorky new job. And in fact, his dorky roots stretch back years to when he served as senior class treasurer in his Long Island high school. "I've always been involved in politics," the Political Science major said. Bassik is co-founder for Penn for Gore and he worked for the presidential candidate personally as a White House intern last summer. "If Gore wins, I hope to take a year off and work for the Democratic party [and go] back to the White House," Bassik said. Like Gore, Bassik has had some rough times during his political career at Penn. A UA member since his freshman year, Bassik ran for UA chairman last year and was devastated when he lost to College senior Michael Silver. After his loss last spring, Bassik said, "When you're hit with a blow like this it changes you inside. I never saw myself not being chair next year." Still, despite his disappointment, he took the job of UA treasurer and ran for chairman again, successfully, this year. That dogged persistence has served Bassik well before. When he applied early decision to the University, he was convinced Penn was the perfect place for him. But Penn wasn't so sure: He got deferred. "Half of [the admissions committee] thought I would do great things -- the other half thought I would burn out," Bassik recalled an admissions officer telling him. So Bassik sought out 18 recommendations from friends, teachers and family to convince that admissions office that he would be an asset to the school. And in the end, his relentless work paid off. After being accepted at Penn, he also was on a first-name basis with an admissions officer as a result of his extensive correspondence with the office. Since his arrival at Penn, Bassik hasn't burned out yet, although he has been constantly busy with student government and other campus organizations, including his fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau. All his efforts are carefully chronicled on his glossy Web site, http://www.michaelbassik.com. "He's always doing stuff --whether it's [organizing an event] or debating at panels as Al Gore," said Silver, the outgoing UA chairman. "I wonder how he does his school work." Just as he juggles many interests now, Bassik was equally overextended in high school -- where he edited the school paper, participated in Model U.N., acted in the school plays and played goalie for the soccer team. "He ran the school," joked College junior Jeremy Beyda, Bassik's roommate and friend since high school, "[and] was even homecoming king." But all his charm and flair will be put to the test when he takes up the job as leader and spokesman for the student body. "It's going to take a lot of work to reach out to the student body," Bassik said, adding that he plans to work hard to find out what students want from the UA. "For every person who votes, there's another one who says, 'The UA does nothing,'" the newly elected chair noted. "[So] we want to know what students are passionate about." As Bassik tries to answer this burning question, students will be able to count on seeing him next year, schmoozing around campus. Of course that's the "dorky" Bassik. When he sheds that role and kicks back at home, his friends claim that the pristine leader becomes one of the messiest people they've ever met. His three roommates all good-heartedly joked that Bassik is, quite frankly, "a slob." Despite the immaculate appearance of his room, his apartment's kitchen was filled with over five full bags of dirty laundry earlier this week. There was so much laundry, in fact, that Bassik had to borrow a clean shirt from his roommate. Bassik said he would hopefully get around to washing his clothes tomorrow or the day after. But, as he will continually be expected to serve the UA and the student body's interests first, the laundry may sit there a while.
(04/27/00 9:00am)
The Quakers led the No. 7 team in the Northeast early, but lost both games of the doubleheader. For the Penn softball team and sophomore third baseman Jen Moore, it was business as usual when the Quakers traveled to Delaware to play the talented Blue Hens. Penn's offensive struggles of late continued on Wednesday as Delaware took two straight from the Quakers, 4-2 and 7-1. Penn's total of three runs means that the Quakers have scored an anemic total of 21 runs in their last 13 games. Over that same period, Penn has been shut out four times. Moore, who has led the Quakers in batting throughout the season, bucked Penn's offensive trend, collecting two more hits yesterday to raise her season total to 44 and tie the Penn single-season record with three games remaining on the schedule. "The first game was definitely within our reach," Moore said. "We came out hot and then just died. In the second game, we just weren't hitting the ball, and we weren't aggressive at the plate." Moore has undoubtedly been Penn's most solid offensive performer throughout the 2000 campaign. Moore is the only member of the Quakers batting above .300 and currently sits at .347. "I didn't even know that I had tied the Penn record for hits," Moore said. "That's a pretty nice accomplishment, but it doesn't change the fact that we lost two more games." Penn appeared poised to knock off the powerful Blue Hens, ranked No. 7 in the Northeast, when the Quakers jumped out to 2-0 lead in the first. Moore doubled in Clarisa Apostol and then later scored herself on a throwing error. Becky Ranta pitched extremely well early on, holding Delaware to only three hits through the first four innings. Delaware was finally able to get on the board in the fifth when it scored two runs to knot the game at 2-2. Delaware took the lead for good in the sixth inning when Amanda Cariello smacked a clutch two-out double off of Penn freshman hurler Dina Parise that scored two runs. "We scored all of our runs early on and just couldn't seem to get it going after that," Moore said. "We got a couple of base runners on, but it was all to no avail because we just couldn't hit them in." The nightcap wasn't nearly as competitive. Delaware made it clear from the start that this was its game by scoring four runs in the first. Penn scored its only run of the night in the third inning when Heidi Albrecht singled home fellow freshman Crista Farrell. Albrecht's infield RBI single was one of only three Penn hits in six innings against Delaware pitcher Susan Dugan, who stymied the Red and Blue batters and took the win to raise her record to an impressive 16-2. "We've struggled a lot in the second games of doubleheaders this year," Moore said. "Today was the same old story. We just died in the second game." Since March 26, Penn is a meager 1-9-1 in the second games of twin bills. The Quakers' lone nightcap win came on April 5 in a doubleheader sweep of Lehigh on the road. Penn has been held to one run or been shut out in all six of its doubleheader cappers since that 11-8 victory over the Engineers. The Quakers, who stand at a disappointing 13-27-1 on the year, have played their last non-conference game of the year. Penn has a doubleheader against Dartmouth and make-up game against Harvard this weekend. Penn was originally scheduled to face St. Joseph's and Wagner on the road on April 28 and 30, respectively, but last weekend's Ivy League rainouts forced the Quakers to cancel those non-league contests against the Hawks and Seahawks. The Harvard game has been moved to the campus of Yale, but Penn will still play a double dip in New Hampshire as originally planned against Dartmouth. The Red and Blue, who have lost 11 out of their last 13 games overall, will have to win all three games in New England if they hope to better last year's Ivy League mark of 4-8. Penn is already guaranteed a worse overall winning percentage than last year when the squad went 15-22. "We know we're not going to be first in the Ivies, but we definitely don't want to be last and that's where we are right now," Moore said. "We can definitely hang with anyone in the Ivies, so it's just a matter of going out and performing."
(04/27/00 9:00am)
John Ikenberry will begin at Georgetown in the fall. he joins a long line of Poli Sci profs to leave Penn. In yet another blow to the University's embattled Political Science Department, Professor John Ikenberry said yesterday that he will be leaving Penn to take a position at Georgetown University this fall. Ikenberry, who specializes in International Relations and has taught at Penn for six years, will oversee the creation of a new research institute in international affairs. His departure leaves a hole in the already notoriously understaffed department and robs Political Science of one of its most prestigious scholars. "I do have an exciting new opportunity," Ikenberry said, adding that Georgetown, "made an offer I couldn't refuse." He explained that the new job satisfies both his personal and professional desires. The neighborhood in Washington where he lives is only blocks from Georgetown, and his wife is employed in the city. The move also gives Ikenberry the opportunity to join a larger, better-established academic department. Citing both the size of Penn's department and the limited resources made available to its faculty, Ikenberry said that the University has not been the easiest place to work. "[It's a] very depressing situation -- it's very difficult to build International Relations at Penn right now," he said. "I think there's a real problem that needs to be addressed." Several of his colleagues noted that losing Ikenberry would undoubtedly hurt the department. "Anyone would tell you he's an enormous loss," Political Science Professor Anne Norton said. "He's been a prodigious scholar." Added Professor Avery Goldstein, who is on leave this semester: "It is a loss for the department." Department Chairman Ian Lustick did not return repeated requests for comment yesterday. Still, some members of the department said that Ikenberry's departure was not a great surprise due to his desire to live in D.C. and his mixed feelings toward Penn. While undoubtedly a prodigious scholar -- his work is routinely published in the best journals in his field -- Ikenberry has not been one of the most-loved members of the Political Science Department. One graduate student, who asked to remain anonymous, criticized Ikenberry for paying scant attention to his students. "He has made little effort to work with graduate students, tries to get his undergraduates to agree to take three-hour seminars so he doesn't have to come to Philadelphia more than once a week and is completely unavailable for departmental service," the student said. Ikenberry was critical of the University in 1997 when Daniel Deudney -- one of the department's most popular professors -- was denied tenure. Deudney and Ikenberry collaborate frequently, even after the former's move to Johns Hopkins University. Ikenberry came to Penn in 1993 after failing to win tenure at Princeton University. He was promoted to a full professorship just this year. Still, whether he was a favorite or not, Ikenberry is leaving a department that can ill avoid to lose more warm bodies. Recruitment has proved a constant struggle for a department that has lost more than a half-dozen faculty to retirement, better offers and failed tenure bids over the last two years. "Frankly, I think Penn is a top-tier University and there is no reason we can't compete with others," said Goldstein, adding that recruitment and retention "is a constant battle." The University's strategy thus far has been to focus on recruiting senior-level superstar faculty. But with that plan having failed, officials have indicated that Penn will more aggressively seek out talented junior faculty over the next few years. In his strategic plan released last spring, School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston targeted Political Science as a department in need of additional funding. One faculty member said the best way for Penn to successfully build the department would be to provide more support at the junior level. "More resources are needed for mentoring and support for junior faculty," the professor said.
(04/27/00 9:00am)
Most Penn students choose to leave the City of Brotherly Love for more lucrative pastures. In 1740, the nation's first university opened its doors, drawing the region's best and brightest to the City of Brotherly Love. Today, more than 250 years later, the Philadelphia area boasts the second largest concentration of undergraduate and graduate college students in the country, with more than 250,000 college-age students calling the city home. But those 250,000 are a transient group. For decades, the Delaware Valley -- the region spanning Philadelphia and nine counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware -- has witnessed a mass exodus of its students to other urban areas after they graduate. In fact, a survey conducted in February by four Drexel University students showed that 62 percent of 177 undergraduate and graduate students at five Philadelphia area schools -- Penn, Drexel, Temple, Villanova and St. Joseph's universities -- plan to leave the region after they graduate and seek employment elsewhere. What draws so many students to other East Coast cities like New York, Boston and Washington, D.C.? Better yet, what pushes them away from Philadelphia? Penn, the City of Philadelphia and other area institutions are in search of these answers -- answers they hope will help reverse the trend of students turning their tassels and then packing their bags. Gone for good When Wharton senior Dylan Brooks was looking for a job this fall, he didn't look in Philadelphia. And the oversight, he said, was no accident. "[Philadelphia] has so many problems that are being covered up with band-aids? the city wage tax, crime? the roads are terrible," Brooks said. "There isn't any reason to be here." "It's kind of like a black hole. There's no way out," he continued. "The wage tax rate has flushed all the business out." Brooks, who accepted a position at Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C., explained that he found cities farther south more attractive because their taxes are lower. Meanwhile, College senior Cory Reynolds said that while her employment plans for next year are not definite, she intends to work in either Washington, D.C., or New York as a paralegal or teacher. "Philly, as a city, is declining in terms of interest," she said. "It's not attractive enough to stay around." Reynolds said that although she believes Philadelphia offers as many employment opportunities as other large cities, its social scene is lacking. In Philadelphia, she explained, many recent graduates move to the suburbs, but in New York, there are greater populations of younger people living in downtown Manhattan. The Drexel survey suggests that these students' opinions are not uncommon. While more than three quarters of the 177 students surveyed said they considered working in Philadelphia, nearly half -- 46 percent -- of them listed New York City as their first choice job location. And 17, 11, 8 and 6 percents of students said they would choose Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Dallas, respectively. Carol de Fries, executive director of Penn's Office of Government, Community and Public Affairs, said she thinks the city's retention rate may be suffering because many students are unaware of the employment opportunities in the area or have poor perceptions of the city. "Is it the lack of jobs that prevents students from staying? Is it a negative image of Philadelphia?" de Fries asked. "Students don't try for jobs if they have a negative image." One question on the Drexel survey attempted to answer these questions, asking students to list Philadelphia's major shortcomings. About 32 percent of students said a major downfall is that stores and other establishments close too early, 21 percent highlighted crime, 11 percent reported the lack of nightlife, 10 percent said the wage tax and 9 percent indicated uncleanliness. And while less than 10 percent listed transportation as a downside, Peggy Curchack, associate director of Penn's Career Services office, said the issue is a huge problem. "There isn't a single hub center where all the work is, as there is in Manhattan." Because Philadelphia lacks a similar job core downtown, she said, many of the students who do stay in the area seek work in surrounding towns. And since many of those areas are not easily accessible by public transportation, commuting to and from the city is a chore. When asked to rate the Philadelphia job market on a scale of one to 10 -- 10 being the highest -- only 6 percent gave it a 10, and 24 percent rated it an eight. An additional 29 percent gave a rating of seven. Career Services Director Patricia Rose defended Philadelphia by saying that it does indeed offer a wide variety of employment opportunities, especially in venture capital, Internet start-ups, teaching and nursing. She did admit, however, that there often are more opportunities in other cities -- a fact that students realize. "Do we have as many opportunities as other parts of the country? No. But we have some," Rose said. Here to stay It was the price tag that sold 1999 Wharton graduate Janelle Bundas on Philadelphia. Bundas, an investment banking analyst at Legg Mason in Philadelphia, said she chose to work in the city for a number of reasons, especially because of its low cost of living. "It's a better overall experience, even though the firm is not as big and prestigious as those in New York. [Philadelphia] is smaller, more personal and less hectic," she said. "I didn't want to be a small fish in a very big ocean in terms of company size and size of the city." But Bundas' enthusiasm did not carry over to the recent Penn grads that her company tried to recruit this year. Although one of the four sought-after students accepted a job with the company, the position was for a branch in Virginia. Bundas added that Legg Mason experiences more difficulty recruiting students from Penn than those from Drexel and Villanova. "In terms of investment banking, [Penn students] consider the major names," Bundas said. "[But] the stereotype that to be successful you need to be in New York is very incorrect." Curchack said a major factor of students' decisions to stay in the area is their career choices. "If students want banking-related jobs or paralegal jobs, New York is seen as home," she said. "Philadelphia, quite frankly, is a less interesting financial market." Rose agreed, "If the top opportunity in any field is in some other place, they're likely to pursue it." St. Joseph's Career Services Director Matthew Brink said a student's hometown also plays a role in where students choose to work. He said, for example, that St. Joe's draws more students from the Philadelphia area than Penn does -- and, in turn, manages to retain nearly 75 percent of its students. And Drexel juniors Adam Uffalussy and William Hadden say Philadelphia is the ideal spot for them to open their proposed business, Sigma ASP -- an application service provider that specializes in education software. "The market for our business is perfect here," Hadden said, noting that Philadelphia public schools are often unable to afford sufficient technological resources for students due to a lack of funding. Building "Philicon Valley" Though Philadelphia has not yet reached its college graduate magnet potential, it's getting there. Former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell organized a city-wide retention committee in November 1997 to enhance the city's image, to raise awareness of area career opportunities and to create a so-called "Philicon Valley." To lure graduates, the city and individual schools are using methods ranging from conferences to prizes to encourage start-up companies For the past two years, the city's retention committee has held a conference for students to highlight the benefits of starting businesses in the area. And as part of the event, students have the chance to win up to $1,000 for their start-up business plans. Bonnie Grant, who heads the committee, said the annual program "is designed to demystify the process of what it takes to be successful in the area." A similar event -- E-Day, to be held at Drexel in June -- will address issues of e-commerce and entrepreneurship, and students will have another opportunity to enter their business plans into a contest. And last October the committee held the first annual Collegefest to promote Philadelphia's businesses and social options. "Before the initiative, it was low on the radar screen in terms of a real economic development strategy," de Fries said, adding that while it's still too early to measure the effort's tangible effects, students' growing interest in the different conferences is indicative of the future.
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For more than 15 years, Chaka Fattah has focused his energy on city schools -- working to increase funding, raising scholarship money and even implementing a summer reading program. And yesterday morning, a school reciprocated his efforts as Penn's Fels Center of Government gave the Pennsylvania congressman the first ever Samuel S. Fels Award for Alumni Achievement. The goal of the award, meant to honor distinguished leadership and public service accomplishments, fit Fattah perfectly, according to Fels Center Director Lawrence Sherman, who presented the award. "I can think of no more fitting person to welcome here today," Sherman said, listing several of Fattah's accomplishments in the areas of education and urban vitality -- including authoring provisions to the 1998 Higher Education Act to widen eligibility for Pell Grants. "Sam Fels would be proud," Sherman said. Fattah, who has served as a U.S. congressman since 1995, also served in both the Pennsylvania House and Senate. He also held several senior positions in Philadelphia government. The Democrat graduated from the Wharton School and the Fels School of State and Local Government in 1986. Addressing the dozen or so audience members in attendance, Fattah -- who serves on both the early childhood and post-secondary education Congress subcommittees -- spoke for about a half-hour on his accomplishments improving education. He detailed one tutoring initiative, entitled Gear Up, that targets students at the middle school level and continues for six years. Students involved in the program receive financial aid for college. "We hope that there will be a greater expectation for them to go to college," Fattah said. "That's a success story." Fattah then spoke about his work on the $35 million College Completion Grant program, which is meant to ensure that students finish all four years of college. The congressman also spoke about his desire to equalize school spending and the legislation he is working on that would "require states like Pennsylvania to equalize their school financial systems." Fattah explained that the move would be "the most important thing I could do in Congress," adding that the current financial systems are unconstitutional. At the end of his talk, Fattah took questions about politics in general from the mostly adult audience members.
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This weekend, nearly 100,000 competitors from all over the world will descend upon Franklin Field for the largest and most prestigious track and field meet in the world -- the Penn Relays. And nearly 23,000 competitors will battle tirelessly in the hopes of victory, fighting their way towards the finish line as their physical limits are tested. But to at least one campus group, the only prerequisite for success this weekend is that both the competitors and the spectators that come to cheer them on stay out of trouble. University Police officials say that they will be deploying a strategic force of officers, Spectaguards and other security staff to ensure that the Relays weekend goes smoothly and sees little crime. Specifically, police say that they would like to replicate the conditions of last year, which was hailed as one of the most crime-free Relays in recent memory. To do so, they'll be relying on information and logistical plans from past years to ensure success this time around. "Like all of our other special events we have developed plans over the years that work, and we critique those plans at the end of each event," University Police Chief Maureen Rush said. "We tweak and fine-tune anything that we think might work better in the future." To prepare for an event as large as the Relays, the University Police will be relying on assistance from the Philadelphia Police Department and several other law enforcement agencies to ensure that participants are safe and no laws are violated. "We've been working with the same Penn Relays plan for the last two years, which includes using resources from Spectaguard, the Philadelphia Police and other agencies," Rush said. In past years, the Relays were known for standstill traffic congestion, massive amounts of trash and a number of serious crimes -- including numerous robberies over the years and a carjacking in 1994. In 1998, the normally 24-hour Wawa convenience store on Spruce Street was closed briefly after a riot broke out among patrons in the early morning hours. But with the new measures in effect and the area's serious crime rate down, Rush predicted that the toughest problem police will face this year will be dealing with the congestion that surrounds campus throughout the four-day event. "The biggest challenge with Penn Relays hasn't been the event inside, but rather what happens out on the street," she said. "We've been fortunate in the last couple of years," Rush added. "Before we came up with this particular plan, we had problems in past years with more serious crimes and that has been curtailed in the last two years along with a growth in security and event staffing." Police will be also dedicating additional resources to crowd control, working to alleviate noise problems in the area of Franklin Field and clearing up congestion that has traditionally brought the flow of traffic to a stop. And to combat the growing problem of counterfeiting and scalping, the University Police will be examining the issue more closely as they bring in some reinforcements from the federal government. "There are going to be U.S. Marshals here again this year," Rush said. "They'll be looking at counterfeit shirts and other illegal uses of the Penn logo."
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The bottom of the ninth was again Penn's foil as host Lehigh struck last. The Penn baseball team may have been down when it traveled to Lehigh yesterday, but that didn't stop the Engineers from kicking the Quakers. For the second game in a row, the Quakers (18-19) were licked by their opponent's last licks, as they fell to Lehigh (16-21), 5-4, in the bottom of the ninth inning. With the loss, Penn -- which came into the game having lost four in a row and the Lou Gehrig Division crown to Princeton -- fell below .500 for the first time since March 29, when a 10-9 loss to Lafayette dropped it to 8-9. "It's really frustrating," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "And it's not just two in a row we've lost a lot like this? So obviously we can't get it done late in games." Penn's road record since returning from its spring break trip to Florida also fell to 2-9, not counting the Liberty Bell Classic at Veterans Stadium. The Quakers have lost eight in a row away from Murphy Field. The fateful ninth inning initially seemed very rosy for the Quakers, as they had an excellent opportunity to break a 4-4 stalemate and take a lead and a chance for a win into Lehigh's half of the inning. Penn first baseman Anthony Napolitano drew a one-out walk from Lehigh hurler Ryan Parish, and second baseman Nick Italiano -- who had three hits and two RBI on the day -- reached on a bunt single. Third baseman Stephen Glass, who had replaced Oliver Hahl in the field and at the top of the order, lined out to Lehigh shortstop Chip McAteer. But when McAteer tried to double Italiano off at first, his throw flew over the head of first baseman Patrick Hollander and into right field. However, the ball did go far enough for Napolitano to score, and Seddon held him up at third. With Italiano on second and Napolitano 90 feet away from scoring the go-ahead run, and with left fielder James Mullen stepping up to the plate, the Quakers seemed to be in excellent shape. To that point, Mullen had three hits in the game, including a home run in the fifth inning that put his team up, 4-2. Indeed, Penn's offense was based around both Mullen and Italiano yesterday. The two combined for six of Penn's eight hits and drove in three of its four runs. However, Parish -- who recorded the win to improve to 4-3 on the year -- got Mullen to pop up to second, and the Quakers threat was vanquished. In the bottom of the frame, Penn relief pitcher Dan Fitzgerald, who took the loss to fall to 1-3, walked third baseman Justin Pagan and McAteer. Fitzgerald, who had pitched two innings of two-hit, one-run ball, was lifted in favor of freshman Paul Grumet. The first batter he faced, was Hollander -- the nation's batting leader heading into the game with average of .505 -- who reached base when Grumet failed to pick up his bunt attempt, a miscue that loaded the bases with nobody out. The next hitter, center fielder Jeff Pietrak, singled to center, driving in Pagan and ending Penn's afternoon. "It's the way we lose them," Seddon said. "It's a giveaway type of thing, where we walk a couple guys and don't handle something right, and it's always a base hit that ends it. "It's a shame, because they play hard, and it gets down to the nitty-gritty, and we just don't get it done." Pietrak also ended Penn's non-conference schedule. Even with the loss yesterday, the Quakers compiled a relatively solid 11-10 record against foes from outside the Ivy League. The loss spoiled what was a respectable effort from little-used starter Matt Hepler, who went six innings and gave up four runs on seven hits while striking out four. Hepler entered the game with a 12.12 ERA in 16 1/3 innings of work. "Matt Hepler pitched really well," Seddon said. The Quakers jumped out to an early lead in the second inning, when they tagged Lehigh starter Brian Andalman for two runs. Penn center fielder Kevin McCabe drew a walk with one down. Catcher Ralph Vasami then doubled to left-center field to drive him in and break the scoreless tie. After Napolitano grounded out, Italiano singled to drive in Vasami and collect an RBI, his first of two. Penn didn't relinquish this lead until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Hepler, armed with a 4-2 lead, began to unravel. With nobody out, Lehigh second baseman Andrew Piccola singled to left and went to second on a wild pitch. He then scored on Pagan's single to left-center. Hepler was then lifted in favor of Fitzgerald, who plunked the first batter he faced -- McAteer -- sending Pagan to second. Hollander then flied out to center, allowing Pagan to tag up and advance to third. Pagan then scored on Pietrak's sac fly to right, knotting the game at four.
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The Quakers had a good season despite facing their toughest opponents in history. Schedules don't get much harder than the one the Penn women's tennis team faced this spring. While the Quakers found familiar opponents -- such as Drexel and Penn State -- among the 23 teams they challenged over the last three months, the Red and Blue faced more nationally ranked teams this season than they ever had before. For the first time in history, the Quakers went up against the likes of No. 1 Stanford, No. 23 Clemson and No. 32 Georgia Tech as they prepared for their Ivy season, which began on April 1. "We challenged ourselves with the schedule," senior co-captain Elana Gold said. "We were able to rise to another level because we played really tough teams." Even before they got to the powerhouses, the Quakers were off to a shaky start in late January. After opening its schedule with a 7-2 win over Temple on January 26, Penn balanced close losses to Virginia, Richmond and Penn State with landslide wins over Drexel, Army and Seton Hall. For spring break, the Quakers headed to Las Vegas and California, where they faced a string of five nationally-ranked schools. Penn started its trip with impressive wins over No. 72 UNLV and No. 31 Illinois State in Las Vegas on consecutive days. A few days later, the Quakers suffered a disappointing 6-3 loss to No. 48 Oklahoma State before heading to California. Penn fell 9-0 to both of its West Coast opponents, No. 38 Fresno State and No. 1 Stanford -- arguably the toughest teams on the Quakers' schedule. Even though they were shutouts, both matches were closer than their final scores. Several Quakers had close individual matches. At Fresno, Penn senior co-captain Anastasi Pozdniakova took her opponent to three sets. Shubha Srinivasan did the same against Stanford's Gabriela Lastra, ranked No. 68 in the country. "Overall, we improved in match toughness [over spring break]," Penn junior Lenka Beranova said. "Playing nationally ranked teams gave us experience and helped us do as well as we did in the Ivies." After facing such a high level of competition over break, the Quakers breezed through their final two matches before the Ivy season -- against Boston College and Rutgers -- upon their return to West Philadelphia. Penn dropped its first Ivy match to Princeton, the eventual Ancient Eight champ, on April 1. The Quakers then had a three-match Ivy winning streak, overcoming Brown, Yale and Dartmouth by the impressive scores of 9-0, 7-2 and 7-2, respectively. The Quakers' next test was Harvard, the league's defending champion, on April 15. The match score was tied at three-all after singles, but the Crimson overpowered Penn in doubles, taking the two matches it needed to win. Last weekend, Penn won its last two matches of the season, overcoming tough, young teams from Columbia and Cornell. Gold believes that the Columbia match -- won by the Penn duo of Pozdniakova and Louani Bascara in a tiebreaker -- was one of the highlights of the season. "The Columbia match was very intense and exciting," she said. "It came down to two points. It was very dramatic." Penn's 5-2 record earned the Quakers a third-place Ivy finish. "Every Ivy match was close, and [that's] a testament to how good the Ivy League has become," Gold said. "There was no school that was a complete walkover. In the past years there have definitely been teams that were weaker than other teams in the League. It [made] the chase for the title more exciting." Dowd notes the influential role that senior co-captains Gold and Pozdniakova played in the Quakers' victories. "They [were] responsible for the success of the team, especially at the beginning of the year when everyone was a little rocky," he said. "The team is as good as their leaders, and they were the leaders." "They were true captains, and their memories will be carried on forever," Beranova said. "We're losing [our] captains, but our team has enough talent to take on the positions they had and do them as well as they did."
(04/26/00 9:00am)
As an important weekend looms, Penn heads to Delaware. After losing one game and having three others postponed because of rain in a single weekend, the Penn softball team is eager to forget about the weather and start winning some games. Last weekend, Penn's only game of record was a 10-5 loss at Harvard. The Quakers, who had used late-inning rallies to squeak out big wins over Cornell and Princeton the previous weekend, fell victim to a five-run sixth inning that broke a 5-5 tie and ended any hope of a Penn victory. The loss at Harvard dropped Penn's league record to a dismal 2-7 and guaranteed that the Quakers will finish up the Ivy season below .500. With only three league games remaining, one against Harvard and a doubleheader against Dartmouth, Penn is just playing for pride in the Ancient Eight. The Quakers will get a break from their league schedule tomorrow when they head to Delaware for an afternoon doubleheader. With the Red and Blue's luck of late, don't be surprised if the game is rained out. "It was definitely a little frustrating dealing with all the postponements and dealing with the weather," Penn coach Carol Kashow said. "Hopefully we managed to use our time well and it gave us a chance to get a little unexpected rest before we finish up the season." The Quakers have been struggling mightily recently and have lost nine of their last 11 games to drop to 13-25-1 for the year. The Red and Blue will need to win at least six of their final nine contests in order to match last year's winning percentage when the Quakers finished 15-22. The Blue Hens could present the Quakers with some problems. Delaware has been impressive and at times dominant en route to its overall 26-9 record. The Blue Hens, who are 11-3 in the America East Conference, are ranked seventh in the northeastern region in the NCAA's most recent poll. "We know that they have improved a lot and have been playing very, very well, especially in their conference," Kashow said. "They're hitting the ball excellently, and they have some great pitchers." Junior third baseman Lauren Mark is having a breakout year for the Blue Hens, batting .416. Mark also leads Delaware with 22 RBI and is a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts. Sophomore and 1999 first team All-Ivy League selection Jen Moore leads the Penn offensive attack that has struggled throughout the season. Moore, who is batting .347, is the only player for Penn hitting over .300. "Just like all the other games, our goal is just going to be to go out there and play our type of softball," Kashow said. "If we hope to win, we need to be aggressive and bring all aspects of our game." A lack of consistent offensive production has definitely been the Quaker's biggest deficiency. Penn has fallen victim to one perfect game and three no-hitters in the last six contests. The Quakers' five runs against Harvard equaled their highest output in the last 11 games. "We're just excited to have a chance to play after having a little bit of a layoff," Kashow said. "It should work out well to play mid-week and then get a little more practice before we play Harvard and Cornell this weekend."
(04/26/00 9:00am)
As the Quakers prepare for their season's stretch run, the Relays wil provide a unique chance to shine. The Penn women's track team will try to do more than just be a good host this weekend when the Quakers compete against some of the best runners in the world at the Penn Relays. For the Red and Blue, the Penn Relays have taken on an added importance because it is Penn's final chance to warm up for the all-important Heptagonal Championships. "The hope is that we can kind of get the ball rolling here and get some momentum," Penn assistant coach Crickett Batz-Shaklee said. "This is our last chance to get ready for Heps, so it is really important that we compete hard and that we do it with a lot of pride." The Quakers are coming off a meet at home against Cornell and Birmingham (U.K.) in which they took second place with a team score of 124. The Big Red won the event with a cumulative score of 155.5. Although Penn's hopes of taking first were not realized, the Quakers had to be pleased with some strong individual performances in the home meet. Sophomore Liz Wittels easily won the pole vault with a clearance of 3.35 meters, and freshman Julie Siebert-Johnson took home the crown in the javelin with a distance of 42.38. The long jumpers for Penn had a fantastic meet over the weekend, with junior Bassey Adjah winning the event with a leap of 5.34 meters. Junior Melissa MacIntyre was close on Adjah's heels with a jump of 5.32, good enough for second place. Freshman Meredith Bunche finished in fourth place with a distance of 5.13. The 4x400 relay team of Qianna Snooks, Adjah, Jeraldine Cofie and Petra Stewart continued their magnificent running of late and easily won the meet with a time of 3:49.5. The relay team for Cornell posed few problems, finishing five seconds back. "We're really excited to see how our relay teams fare against some great competition," Batz-Shaklee said. "We've gotten really used to running relays against only Ivy League teams, so it will be interesting going against some fantastic runners." Although the Red and Blue do have talented relay squads, Penn is not an excellent distance-running team, and consequently, the Quakers will not have athletes competing in numerous events. "We do have a lot of empty slots," Batz-Shaklee said. "This is a runner's meet, and we're just not a very hardcore distance-running team right now. But we're really excited about the Relays. And we have two outstanding pole vaulters." After the Penn Relays, Penn will have a sizeable break of two weeks to rest and to make final preparations for Heps. The Quakers will welcome the downtime, having had meets each of the last six weekends. The break could also help the team recover from some nagging injuries. Junior Jujuan Gair is scheduled to compete this weekend in the 100 hurdles, but may have to be scratched due to a back strain. For the Penn athletes, the key will be focusing on their events and not getting caught up in the excitement of such a huge event in the world of track and field. "Obviously, competing in this meet and wearing the Penn uniform is big for us," Batz-Shaklee said. "We kind of have the attitude that this is our house, and even though championships aren't for another two weeks, this could be a great precursor to Heps for us."
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Track's loudest stage to host its whole spectrum The eyes of the track world will once again be focused on Philadelphia this weekend, as Penn plays host to the world's most spectacular track and field carnival for the 106th consecutive year. As world-class athletes continue the season that will take them to the Summer Olympics in Sydney and competitors in grade school, high school and college near the end of their respective seasons, all will be on display this weekend at Franklin Field. The 106th running of the Relays officially kicked off yesterday with the first day of competition in the college decathlon and heptathlon. The crowds will grow this weekend, as track fans from across the world fill the bleachers to cheer on the competing athletes. By the time the action comes to a close on Saturday evening, more than 23,000 athletes will have competed at the Relays. Two hundred seventy-one colleges and 856 high schools will be represented. Athletes from across the United States and from different parts of the world will come to Penn to compete in the largest celebration of track and field in the nation. And nearly 100,000 fans should make their way to West Philadelphia for a track meet that rates second only to the Olympics in prominence. "Other than the Olympics, it's totally one of a kind," Penn assistant women's track coach Tony Tenisci said. "In a lot of ways, it's more diverse than the Olympics." In fact, while the Franklin Field bleachers will be filled to see superstars Michael Johnson and Marion Jones headline the "USA vs. the World" relays on Saturday, hundreds of local middle school athletes had the opportunity to run on the same track yesterday afternoon. "You see 90-year old people running 100 meter dashes; you see wheelchair people; you see children on the infield; you see men and women, girls and boys," Tenisci said. "It's such a human scale." While athletes of all types will compete this weekend, one of the obvious highlights will be provided by the sport's premier names in the "USA vs. the World" events. Johnson and Jones, along with other stars like Inger Miller and Maurice Greene, will return to Penn as part of their pre-Olympic preparation. The United States will take on the rest of the world's stars in the 4x100 and 4x400 meters for both the men and women and the men's 4x1500. While many in attendance will be there to see the big names, the Olympic Development athletes will be far from the only ones showcased. For the Penn teams, the Relays offer a chance to share their home with the rest of the track and field world. "It takes on a different effect because you train at Franklin Field day in and day out, and suddenly this week it just gets packed," Penn senior distance runner Sean MacMillan said. "You know that your sweat and your blood is on that track." This weekend, MacMillan and the Quakers will have to share their home with numerous athletes who will be sure to provide Franklin Field with their own fair share of sweat and blood. This competitive spirit will draw thousands of people to Franklin Field for this very special weekend. Even celebrities like Bill Cosby and George Steinbrenner will make their annual trips to the Relays. Next week will again be a normal week of practice for the Penn teams at Franklin Field. The Relays will be finished, and the fans will be gone. But for this one weekend, the University of Pennsylvania will be the center of the track universe.
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M. Track hopes to join the big show to kick off its postseason push. This is why the Penn men's track team endures a long, grueling indoor schedule. This is why the Red and Blue attend the Villanova Invitational to compete in a cold rain, with little immediate reward in sight. For all the rather nondescript meets the Quakers participate in during a given year, in which their team roster often outnumbers the fans, this week's Penn Relays represents the end that justifies that means. Beginning tomorrow, Penn embarks on a crucial four-week journey that will also include the Heptagonal Championships and IC4As. "This is like the playoffs," said head coach Charlie Powell, indicating that the "regular season" has drawn to a close. Winning Heps remains atop Penn's list of priorities, but no one disputes that the Penn Relays are this country's single greatest track and field spectacle. And heading into this prestigious meet at Franklin Field, the Quakers are excited, yet also loose. Coming off a solid meet last week in their victory over Cornell and Birmingham (U.K.), the Red and Blue are in good spirits. "Everybody's pumped. Juices are flowing," senior pole vaulter John Church said. "If you're not pumped for Relays, there's no point in being on the track team." "Penn Relays is a show. It is a relay carnival," said Powell, accenting the last word to describe the party atmosphere inherent in the weekend. Heading into this weekend, the Quakers find themselves healthier than in past meets this spring. This is also the stage in the season when those who are still plagued by some nagging injuries battle through them. Exhibit A is javelin thrower Brian Chaput. The freshman handily won at each meet he participated in while also climbing the ranks of the Penn record books before aggravating an old high school elbow injury that kept him sidelined the last two weeks. Chaput will not be kept out of action for Relays, however. "I'm not 100 percent, but I'm ready," Chaput said. "I'm pretty close." Also returning from injury is junior sprinter Mike Aguilar, who will compete in the 4x100-meter relay, 110 high hurdles and the 4x400 this Friday. Aguilar had been suffering from a strained hip flexor, which he incurred at the Princeton Invitational on April 8. The Lakewood, N.J., native, like Chaput, will not pass up a chance to compete in front of a jammed and raucous Franklin Field. "It's the only time that this place gets filled," said Aguilar of his home stadium Some of Aguilar's fellow runners will be competing in perhaps the weekend's most exciting race, if for no other reason but for scheduling. The 4x800 squad, led by junior captain Andrew Girardin, followed by freshman Greg English, senior Craig Douglas and freshman Sam Burley respectively, will compete at 4:15 on Saturday afternoon, sandwiched between races involving Olympic hopefuls. By this point, which can be considered the height of Relays, at least 40,000 onlookers should be present. "As far as running in front of a crowd, it's the highlight of the year," Girardin said. One thing that can hamper Penn as well of the rest of the enormous field is the weather, as forecasters are calling for a chance of rain for every day of the Carnival. "It's really never good to run in the rain, but it's still Relays," Church said. "So it will still be exciting." No matter what Mother Nature throws at the Quakers, Powell and the rest of the team are expecting some solid performances. "We have five or six guys who have a legitimate shot at doing extremely well," Powell said.
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Two members of Penn's equestrian club will compete at nationals. Two Penn equestrian riders will riding their horses to exciting places quite soon. The Penn club equestrian team has qualified two riders to the national finals at Olympic Park in Atlanta, Ga. Jenny Workman, a transfer sophomore from Chesterfield, N.J., and Eliza O'Neill, a freshman from Westchester County, N.Y., will be representing the Red and Blue in this elite competition. The equestrian team -- a club sport -- has about 35 members, roughly 12 of whom practice and show year-round. The regular season kicks off in September and finishes in March. All shows in which Penn competes are run by a national governing body, the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association. This season, Penn competed in 10 IHSA shows. At each shows, teams place a "point rider" in the five main divisions -- each differentiated based on the difficulty of the class and on whether the class is judged on a rider's performance over fences or on the flat. The individual points are then added together to get the team total. While Penn generally faces the same teams at each show, several factors make each competition unique. Location -- competitions are both indoor and outdoor -- is a factor, as is the horse the rider draws and consequently rides in the day's events. Each rider is randomly assigned a horse to show and essentially is prohibited from touching the horse before starting the course. Practicing or even adjusting the saddle are not allowed. The sole judge plays a pivotal role, awarding points based on the rider's position and ability to effectively guide and control the horse. "It is completetly subjective," O'Neill said. Each individual recieves points for the courses he or she completes. The top three placings in each event at the end of regional competition qualify for Zones, which draws riders from six to seven states. From there, the top two advance to Nationals. Workman won her class at Zones and will compete in individual-intermediate class over fences in Atlanta. O'Neill will show in the individual-open over fences class. "When I won Zones I was really surprised," Workman said. With regards to the upcoming Nationals, she adds, "I've never before in my life competed in something so big. I'm really nervous." Captain Florrie Hallenbeck, a sophomore, notes that with more riders qualifying for postseason competition, this year's team boasts a better record than last year's squad. She attributes this success to Penn's new coach, Jill Workman -- Jenny's older sister -- who has made the program more serious. Even though the IHSA is nearly 100 percent female, it is theoretically co-ed with men and women competing equally against one another. Penn's team was actually started in 1982 by Greg Best, later an Olympic silver medalist. This year's team, however, has only one male, senior Oliver Haynold -- who, according to O'Neill, everyone refers to as "the token male."
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The Kenyans on the Puma 4x1500 meter relay team had hoped to break the 23-year old world record in the event this Saturday at the Penn Relays. But, in all likelihood, they won't even be able to get into the country, let alone the record books. According to Penn men's track coach Charlie Powell -- who is also the 800-1500 meter event coordinator for the USATF Olympic Development Committee -- the three members of the Kenyan team who applied for U.S. visas last month were still without them as of yesterday. "There's a 99 percent chance the Kenyans won't be coming," Powell said. Two members of the Kenyan team -- Bernard Legat and Benjamin Kapsoiya -- already have visas, but at least two of the three other Kenyans manager James Templeton planned on bringing to Philadelphia need visas to field a team. "It's obviously very frustrating," Templeton said at a press conference last Wednesday. "There's no consideration made to world-class athletes. You apply as a Kenyan, as an African, and it's not that easy getting into the United States." The Kenyan Puma team seemed destined to break the world record of 14:38.8 set in 1977 by a West German team of Thomas Wessinghage (who clocked a 3:38.8 split), Harold Hudak (3:40.2), Michael Lederer (3:42.6) and Karl Fleschen (3:37.3). The Kenyans needed to average 3:39.7 per 1500 -- not by any means a stretch for two of the Kenyan runners. Legat ran sub-3:31 on successive weekends last August and has the best 5,000 meter time (13:23) in the world so far this year. Benjamin Kipkirui, meanwhile, has run 3:33.16. The other Kenyan runners were to be no pushovers either. Japheth Kinutai was third in the world rankings in the 800 last year (1:42.6), while youngster Kapsoiya and steeplechaser Kipkirui Moisii are also world-renowned. A United States team based in Washington, D.C., was supposed to push the Kenyans to the world record in the Olympic Development race, but now these Americans will be the favorites on Saturday afternoon. The U.S. team -- led by 3:32.73 1500 runner Steve Holman and 800 meter star Rich Kenah -- is certainly a fast group, but isn't expected to challenge the world record. The Americans might be challenged just to win the race, as a team of University of Arkansas alumni -- including last year's Penn Relays Outstanding Collegiate Men's Relay Athlete Seneca Lassiter -- will also be running. Three Reebok teams are entered in the Saturday race, which is schedule to start at 2:25 p.m. But the absence of the Kenyan team has taken most of the luster out of what was anticipated to be one of the most exciting events of the day. According to Templeton, this is not the first time his runners have been stifled by rules of entrance into a country. "Visas and customs remains our biggest hurdle, wherever we're traveling," Templeton said.
