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(03/09/00 10:00am)
Without workhorse Sean McDonald, a young group of pitchers will be tested early and often For the pitching staff of the Penn baseball team, one thing should be near the top of the packing list as it prepares to leave Philadelphia today to begin a whirlwind spring break tour of central Florida: plenty of bags of ice. Facing a grueling schedule of 10 games in just nine days, the arms of the Quakers' 11 pitchers are definitely going to need them. "It's tough," Penn coach Bob Seddon said of the annual spring break trip, which last year took the Red and Blue to southern California. "Basically, our plan is to stretch out our starters this year. In the past, we've tried to split the pitchers [into] three a game. We feel that this year we have the arms to be able to [stretch them instead]." Those arms will begin throwing tomorrow afternoon in Melbourne, Fla., in Penn's season opener against the Florida Institute of Technology. Sophomore Mike Mattern is slated to start on the mound for the Quakers. The Red and Blue hope that their ace will begin tomorrow right where he left off at the end of last season, when as a freshman he led the team in wins, strikeouts and earned runs average in a team-high 53 innings pitched. "He's a gamer," Seddon said. "He's got that confidence. He's not on edge on every pitch, and you know he's going to give you a good effort." Mattern has already put forth tons of effort prior to tomorrow's start. Over the off-season, the Philadelphia native worked a changeup into his already dangerous combination of pitches, giving him a total of six solid weapons to use against opposing batters. "He can come with a veritable bevy of pitches," said Penn pitcher Sean McDonald, who will miss the season with partially torn elbow ligaments. "In our pre-season he has just absolutely baffled our hitters. The great thing about him is you never know what's coming." Under Penn pitching coach Bill Wagner's planned rotation, Mattern will go as long as he can before being relieved in tomorrow's season opener. "We're hoping that he'll go five, six, maybe even [a complete] seven innings," Seddon said. Besides Mattern, two other veteran pitchers have already secured one of the four starting positions in the Penn rotation. Junior Matt Hepler will start Saturday in Penn's second game against F.I.T. and is looking to prove that he deserved his nomination last year as Penn's "Most Improved Pitcher." "He's getting better command of all his pitches," Mattern said. "He's going to be able to throw a lot of pitches on different counts whenever he wants. He's going to be tough to hit." Hepler is now the oldest member of the pitching staff after the loss of McDonald, who is now taking up more of a coaching role on the team to help the young pitching staff. Hepler, though, has already stepped up in his responsibility to the younger pitchers. "He's taken more of a leadership role," Mattern said. "He's taken people under his wing, especially some of the freshmen." Mark Lacerenza is the third Penn starter to return, and the sophomore is hoping to rebound from the 0-6 season he endured last year as a freshman. He'll get his first try Sunday in Daytona against Northern Illinois in the first game of an evening doubleheader. Lacerenza, though, has already shown signs of a comeback in pre-season practices and scrimmages. "One of his flaws last year was his control on the breaking ball," McDonald said. "You can tell he's more relaxed now. This year he's really staying within himself, is throwing strikes and is actually throwing a decent breaking ball." With the loss of McDonald, the battle for the one vacant starting spot in the pitching rotation will begin once these three established starters retire to the dugout. Already granted a chance to start in Sunday's nightcap against Northern Iowa is freshman John McCreery, who may also see time in the outfield. "He? has a very good fastball," McDonald said. "[But] everybody can hit a fastball, [so] it's going to be up to how his off-speed stuff does and how he handles his first collegiate start. I think personally I'd have as much confidence in him as I would in myself." Joining McCreery in the hunt for the final starting role are sophomore Dan Fitzgerald and freshmen Paul Grumet, Benjamin Krantz, Benjamin Otero and Kevin Wells. The tiring 10-game spring break trip will allow the Penn coaching staff to evaluate these hurlers in both starting and relief roles to determine where they best belong. "The purpose of this trip is to get ready for the season," Seddon said. "When we come back from Florida, hopefully we'll have a solid staff, four starting pitchers and a plan to work with once the Ivy League starts." With Ivy doubleheaders being extended from seven to nine innings this year, teams will need to have closers waiting to seal victories in the bullpen. Those pitchers who do not gain starting roles could be groomed to close for the Quakers. "That's what we're looking at right now," McDonald said. "We need to fill the role of a go-to guy in a [doubleheader] where you know you need to come in and shut the door."
(03/09/00 10:00am)
There are no cornfields in West Philadelphia. That much is apparent when surveying Penn's brand new baseball diamond. Unlike the fictional Field of Dreams that Kevin Costner built, the Penn Baseball Field at Murphy Field is flanked not by maize but by the Schuylkill Expressway and a gigantic water cooling plant. In a way, though, the new addition to Murphy Field is Penn's own field of dreams -- despite the absence of corn and ghosts. Tucked away near the intersection of the Expressway and University Avenue, Murphy Field is a veritable urban oasis, dwarfed by the concrete landscape that nearly engulfs it. Towering above the outfield is the Expressway, smugly inviting some poor batter to try to swat a Ruthian shot over the net that surrounds the field and protects passing vehicles. The water cooling plant stands equally as imposing and smug on the first-base line, waiting for its chance to blot out the setting sun in the waning hours of daylight and shroud Murphy Field in shadows. The plant will also serve as a temporary clubhouse for the Quakers, and Penn hopes that it can be used as a true locker room when funds to convert the building into one become available. Nowhere near as garish as that which surrounds it, the ballpark at Murphy Field is a snug little facility that will be able to seat 850 in its green, stadium-style seats when the Quakers open their home schedule on March 23 against St. Joseph's. What those in attendance that day might see is saliva dripping from the mouths of right-handed hitters as the left-field foul pole 289 feet away provides them with an inviting target. On the other side of the ballpark's asymmetrical outfield, the right field foul pole is 317 feet away from home plate, and it would take a blast of 385 feet to hit the outfield wall in dead center field. Penn coach Bob Seddon said that the fences at Murphy are 12 feet high, and that if the five-foot high fences at Bower Field -- the Quakers' previous home -- were moved to the front of its warning track, the dimensions would be what they are now at Murphy Field. "It's a hitter's park," Seddon said. "I'd like to play there. You jerk the ball down the left field line, you're going to make collegiate baseball. You're going to hit some homeruns." The thing that impresses Seddon the most about the Quakers' new home, however, is how Murphy Field makes things easier than in past years. "There are a lot of amenities we haven't had before," Seddon said. "For a lot of years, I had to get down to [Bower] at 8:30 in the morning and carry out of my trunk the scoreboard box, hook it into the dugout, walk out and hook it into [the] left field [scoreboard], turn on the switch. I had to go through my routine. But, you know, a lot of that stuff now is going to be where you push a button up in the press box. There's going to be a lot of pluses there, and we never had that." Such luxuries would not have been possible without an anonymous donation to the Penn Athletic Department in 1998. The money accounted for most of the funds required to build the new ballpark at Murphy Field. Most of the other monies were acquired during a silent auction of sports memorabilia at a banquet in November held to honor the 30 years that Seddon has manned the Quakers' helm. Now, with two weeks remaining until Penn's home opener, Murphy Field is raw. Construction materials are strewn about the diamond as workers install the fences of the right field bullpen. In the late afternoon, the diminishing light of the sun makes Murphy Field look more like a forgotten relic than a baseball diamond that has yet to see its first game. The luxury-press box behind home plate is but an empty concrete shell, as are the dugouts. There is yet work to do, but not much. "You could play right now, if you really had to," Seddon said. "[But] it has to be rolled [smooth]?. They could get it ready in two days if we had a game this weekend." One word, barely readable under the dust from building materials, is painted in blue on the red concrete that borders the home place circle in foul territory. "PENNSYLVANIA," it reads. Slowly but surely, a ballpark nears its day in the West Philly sun.
(03/09/00 10:00am)
The No. 12 Quakers will travel to face Bucknell, yale and North Carolina. The Penn men's lacrosse team won't be going anywhere exotic for spring break. Unless you consider Baltimore, Chapel Hill, N.C., or New Haven, Conn., exotic, that is. "Over the next two months or so, we'll be playing two to three games a week, which means that we need to be sharp on a consistent basis," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. The Quakers (1-0) will play three games in an eight-day span over spring break. After they face Bucknell on Saturday, they will play North Carolina Tuesday and then take on Yale in their first Ivy contest of the year on March 18. The Red and Blue hope that last Saturday's comeback win over Notre Dame and the No. 12 national ranking that came with it can propel them to success this week. "That game certainly gave everybody the energy for the week," Van Arsdale said. "But you do want to put that behind you, and five days ago really seems like ancient history because we just want to keep getting better as we have been through the preseason." Penn will have its first chance at continued improvement this Saturday against the Bison, a strong defensive team that the Quakers came from behind to beat last year, 11-8. "[The Bison are] a very strong defensive group," Van Arsdale said. "They make you work hard for a lot of your goals." Van Arsdale believes that a victory over Bucknell, along with the Quakers' win over the more offensive-minded Notre Dame, would provide a nice contrast in preparing his team for well-balanced North Carolina, the No. 8 team in the country. After upsetting an unsuspecting group of Tar Heels last year, the Quakers have something besides the UNC balanced attack to worry about -- the revenge factor. "That win was highly unexpected from a lot of different angles," Van Arsdale said. "Certainly, we're not going to be able to sneak up on anybody down there this year." While Van Arsdale recognized that the Tar Heels (2-0), were "back where they want to be" this season, he believes that if the Quakers could keep improving, they could come out with yet another win in Chapel Hill. "Carolina puts the whole thing together, and their makeup is not that much different than ours," Van Arsdale said. "But I think, if we can come through this Bucknell game OK, that we could be well-suited to match up with them." After the matchup of two nationally ranked teams, the Quakers will head back to Philadelphia for a few days before traveling to Yale for their Ivy opener. The Quakers beat the Elis last season in a very low-scoring 7-2 battle. However, with the graduation of Yale's goaltender and 1999 Player of the Year, Joe Pilch, the Quakers could conceivably put a few more in the back of the Elis nets this time. "The Ivy game will hopefully have a little excitement and energy to it," Van Arsdale said. "Yale traditionally plays very good 'D' -- just look at the score from last year." The Quakers will, in all likelihood, be fired up for their first league showdown of the season, but traveling up and down a good chunk of the Eastern Seaboard in a week might have adverse effects on the team's endurance. "[The trip] does mean a lot of different beds on a lot of different nights, but I hope that we'll have our legs under us against Yale. And the Ivy game should bring out our intensity," Van Arsdale said. Like the Elis, the Quakers also lost a four-year starter in goal to graduation in Matt Schroeder, and have been trying out both sophomore John Carroll and freshman Ryan Kelly in the preseason. Due in part to his performance against Notre Dame, Carroll has retained the starting role for the upcoming games. "His performance Saturday, particularly early in the game, really kept us in it," Van Arsdale said. "We'd love to see John continue that type of play. I think he's earned the start. Should something happen to John, though, we'd be perfectly comfortable with Ryan Kelly back there." For a team with two inexperienced goalies, 10 days off to focus solely on lacrosse is certainly a blessing. But, according to Van Arsdale, it's not all business. "The break is typically a lot of college basketball, and sleep and some lacrosse mixed in," he said.
(03/09/00 10:00am)
Campus groups supporting Bradley and McCain are considering their next moves. After Super Tuesday's decisive election results, two presidential candidates were forced to consider whether to continue running in races virtually impossible for them to win. At the same time, two campus campaign clubs -- Penn for Bradley and Penn for McCain -- are also debating their next moves. Both Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush scored overwhelming victories in Tuesday's presidential primaries -- leaving their opponents, Democrat Bill Bradley and Republican John McCain, virtually shut out of the race. While the results left the Penn for Gore and Penn for Bush groups satisfied, Penn for McCain members are still deciding what their next move will be and the Penn for Bradley group is considering merging with the Gore contingent. Bradley was expected to announce his withdrawal from the race today and his endorsement of Gore. McCain, who won four New England primaries on Tuesday but was shut out elsewhere, was still considering his next move but is likely to withdraw today or at least suspend his campaign operations. Regretfully licking their political wounds, the Bradley and McCain supporters praised their candidates for fighting a good fight. Matt Oresman, a College sophomore and chairman of Penn for Bradley, said that although the former New Jersey senator may drop out of the race, his campaign had a positive influence on the Democratic platform. "Bradley's done a lot in bringing issues to the forefront," Oresman said, citing health care and gun control. "At least he succeeded in getting his message across. Gore's become a better candidate because of this." Oresman also said that he hopes Bradley supporters will not be "jaded by the loss." "The worst thing that could happen is that the primary season would split the party," Oresman said. "The important thing is to vote and to vote Democratic." Penn for McCain Chairman Raj Merchant, a Wharton junior and Daily Pennsylvanian sports reporter, said he hopes McCain will stay in the race despite Tuesday's results. "My personal reaction is that I'd like to see him stay for a little bit longer because I think it's good for the party," he said. "I think he still has a chance." Merchant also pointed out that McCain succeeded in bringing many Democrats and Independents over to his side. Meanwhile, College junior Michael Bassik, co-chair of Penn for Gore, said he was "overjoyed by Al Gore's performance." "Bill Bradley put up a good fight," Bassik said, "but in the end it appears that Americans from both coasts support Gore and his platform." Penn for Gore plans to join forces with Penn for Bradley to support a single Democratic candidate in the fall. Penn for Bush co-chair Patrick Ruffini, a College senior, expressed optimism at Bush's success in the primaries. "We just want to get the message out to Penn students that he's a good candidate on the economic issues that are known to be important to Penn students, as opposed to Gore," Ruffini said. "A lot of the perceptions of him aren't necessarily true." Penn for Gore plans to continue with its campaigning efforts by preparing for Gore's visit to Pennsylvania. They also hope to invite Karina Gore, Gore's daughter and chair of Young Adults for Gore, to speak at Penn. Penn for Bush also plans to help with state campaigning leading up to the Pennsylvania primaries.
(03/09/00 10:00am)
While his office walls are bare, his plate is full as the Health System's new chief. The walls of Peter Traber's new penthouse office overlooking Franklin Field in the Penn Tower Hotel are bare. Nailholes can be seen where the diplomas and degrees of his predecessor once hung. In fact, just about the only thing in the office that Traber has added is photos of his children. The 44-year-old Traber understands that there is an asterisk next to his title as Chief Executive Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and dean of the School of Medicine. The asterisk reads, "interim." But for Traber, about the only thing that evinces that asterisk is his bare office. "I cannot act like an interim. Everything I would do as permanent dean, I will do as interim dean," Traber said in an interview yesterday, adding that he would be interested in taking on the job on a longterm basis if asked by University President Judith Rodin. It has been three weeks since William Kelley was dismissed from his decade-long tenure at the helm of UPHS, the $1.9 billion juggernaut that in recent years went astray, leaving deficits in the hundreds of millions of dollars in its wake. Chosen by Rodin to succeed Kelley -- at least temporarily -- Traber is charged with plugging the hemorrhage. And quickly. "The institution recognizes that I have to act as the CEO and dean and not as a placekeeper," Traber explained. "Because we don't have time for that." Traber, who served as chair of the Department of Medicine before taking the position, already has clear ideas about what he must do to right UPHS. And one of the first things he set out to do as CEO was to assure faculty and staff about the transition. "I spend most of my time communicating to different stakeholders within the School of Medicine and the Health System and there are lots of them," Traber said. And many in UPHS have bought his style of medicine. "These are difficult and unsettling times," said Jack Ende, Chief of Medicine at the Penn-owned Presbyterian Medical Center. "And we need strong and identifiable leadership. That certainly is Peter Traber. I think he'll get the respect of the faculty." Ende said he doesn't see the "interim" in Traber's title as detracting from his ability to lead UPHS. He speculated that the Health System will have the same leverage in negotiating with insurance companies as it would have had under Kelley. "I don't think the fact that Peter has the interim title is going to mean much in that regard," he said. But most would admit that Traber has more serious issues to deal with than negotiating insurance contracts. UPHS has lost $300 million over the past three fiscal years, which has sparked speculation that the University Trustees may choose to force a financial separation from the Health System or a selloff of key assets, like one of Penn's four wholly-owned hospitals. And the recent ban on gene therapy at the Institute for Human Gene Therapy has added to the Health System's difficulties. In January, federal regulators accused IHGT director James M. Wilson and his researchers of breaching research protocol in their gene therapy clinical trial that resulted in the death of an 18-year-old. Traber was hesitant to talk about Wilson or the IHGT, though he stressed that researchers must follow rules and that the IHGT must put systems in place to identify potential problems before they escalate. Well-versed in the troubles the Health System is facing, Traber -- who arrived at Penn in 1992 -- has not yet formed any definite plans for its revival, though he has ideas about ways to mend the fiscal bleeding of UPHS, namely increasing efficiency as a primary means of cutting costs. Traber will have help with the specifics. Executives from the Hunter Group -- the Florida-based consultation firm known for its slash and burn tactics in cutting costs -- have been brought back to Penn after helping to plan a 20 percent workforce reduction last year. Traber and other University officials have maintained that the executives from the Hunter Group are serving only as consultants for the time being. But their continued presence has prompted speculation that other moves may be in store. The recent resignation of the Health System's chief operating officer has been blamed at least in part on Hunter's involvement in Penn affairs. "You don't bring the Hunter Group because you want everyone to fall in love with the board," said Alan Zuckerman, a consultant with Health Strategies and Solutions in Philadelphia. "It's very straightforward, you bring the Hunter Group in to cut costs." While Traber promised that UPHS would find its way back to financial solvency, he said additional lay-offs are not currently on the agenda. Traber maintained that he was opposed to a total separation, though adding that he would not discount some sort of separation of the Medical School and the Health System, which Ende and the rest of the faculty, strongly oppose. "I'm committed to that integration between academic medicine at the school and at least a portion of the healthcare delivery process," he said. And he stressed that any decision to change UPHS would involve consultation of faculty along with trustees and administrators from UPHS and the University. "There are lots of different people that'll be involved in that," he noted. "And that discussion will be ongoing."
(03/09/00 10:00am)
The consumer advocate is running for for president on the Green Party ticket. A subtle irony hung in the air of Room 1206 in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall yesterday afternoon, when Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader addressed about 200 Penn students and faculty and other interested area residents on his campaign and his cause. But the liberal press conference and rally's location -- a pristine classroom in Wharton, a school whose Economics classes espouse principles of free-market capitalism -- was not intended to produce any ironic effect, College freshman Lincoln Ellis said. "It was the only room available," said Ellis, a member of Penn Students Against Sweatshops, which sponsored the event. Nader is running for the presidency on the ticket of the Green Party -- the 16-year-old left-leaning party that focuses on grass-roots democracy, social justice, non-violence and ecology. Quoting Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, Nader, 66, told his audience that history teaches two important societal lessons: "Democracy works," he said. "But the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few doesn't work." He called specific attention to current economic conditions, noting, "There's a huge disconnect between most people and the booming economy." Citing statistics that showed that the average American has become progressively less wealthy and more indebted since the 1950s, Nader chided the media for not addressing the financial difficulties that many citizens face. "Millions of Americans after years of work are essentially broke," Nader said. He then elaborated on pollution, declining public works, corporate under-regulation and military overspending, which he said were "the results of an oligarchy" of corporate interests and "tweedledum, tweedledee, look-alike political parties." It is the inability of most Americans to influence change, Nader said, that causes "civic demoralization," which he described as the belief of many citizens that their voice will not be heard. Nader drew applause when he decried inaction on the part of the United States and its citizens in regard to the exploitation of children as laborers in other parts of the world. He went on to cite PSAS as an example of a student organization whose dedication during its recent sit-in in University President Judith Rodin's office evoked comparisons to student activists in the 1960s. Nader was introduced by Philadelphia City Councilman David Cohen. Of Nader, Cohen said, "I know of nobody in the U.S. who's fought more consistently over time on behalf of consumers?. It's wonderful Ralph Nader is going political." To this, Cohen added, "It is my hope that the Democratic Party can someday adopt all the principles which the Green Party espouses." Nader's speech was followed by an open question-and-answer period. One audience member commented on the lack of a Green Party membership base in this part of the country. Nader pointed out that the party is relatively new, having been founded in the United States in 1984, and that all important political movements start small. He said that it had the potential to become "a populist-progressive movement? of thought, not blind belief." History graduate student Chris Klemek looked to Nader as a potent alternative to the Democratic Party. "I'm attempting to look elsewhere for progressive politics," he said. "It's inspiring," local political activist Val Sowell added, "to see someone so fueled by their beliefs."
(03/09/00 10:00am)
When a jury found officers accused of murdering Amadou Diallo, a West African immigrant and Bronx resident, not guilty last month, people across the country raised their voices about the controversial case. And yesterday, Fels Center of Government Director and noted criminologist Lawrence Sherman continued that discussion by speaking about the case in his Sociology class titled "Deviance and Social Control." Sherman, who is also a Sociology professor, used a third of his regular three-hour lecture in College Hall 200 to discuss and analyze the recent trial and the circumstances surrounding it. "I think it is one of the most important events in the history of policing in this country. It is as important, if not more so, than Rodney King, and it is going to have an earth-shaking effect on the field," Sherman said. Diallo was shot and killed in 1998 by the four New York City police officers, who claimed that they thought Diallo was reaching for a gun. The officers were indicted on charges of second-degree murder. During the trial, the officers argued that that they fired in self-defense. Sherman, who served as a consultant for the prosecution in the Diallo case, gave detailed analysis of the inner workings of both sides of the issue. A large part of the discussion focused on the shooting and the fact that 41 shots were released from the officers' semi-automatic weapons, 19 of which actually struck Diallo. One student asked if the officers could have just aimed for a limb. But Sherman said, "Every police officer in this country is trained to hit body mass instead of shooting a limb." However, Sherman pointed out various flaws in both sides of the argument. "Not only the police but also the prosecution is taking a huge beating from the press for not cross-examining, for not focusing on identification and for focusing too much on the 41 shots," he said. "The jury ultimately said that it was the first shot that mattered. The jury was not impressed [by the amount of shots]," he said. One complication, Sherman explained, was that in order for the officers to be convicted of second-degree murder, the prosecution had to prove intent to be negligent. "Calling it criminally negligent homicide probably would have been more credible," he added,"but I think they overshot and missed the jury and just couldn't bring the jury back." The students taking the class said the time spent on the Diallo case was appropriate and informative. "This is a perfect example of what needs to be worked on in the system today. I think it is very important because everything that we have been learning can be found in this situation," College freshman Stephanie Beyer said. Adam Warshafsky, a College senior, agreed. "He is talking about police strategies and plans and how they are supposed to approach suspected offenders. And there's a real-life case where we can examine where they [the police] didn't follow the proper strategy," Warshafsky said. Sherman himself voiced a strong opinion about the long-lasting effects of the Diallo case. "It had effect on people's view of the law all over the country. Everyone gets labeled with the failures that were perceived in this case and that is why we have to fix them," he said following the lecture.
(03/09/00 10:00am)
Nearly 19,000 high school seniors await the University's admissions letters. The Penn Admissions Office is in the midst of the most competitive admissions period in the University's history, according to Admissions Dean Lee Stetson. Admissions officials are weighing the fates of the record 18,803 applicants for the roughly 2,350 spots available in the Class of 2004. The total applicant group is 6.6 percent larger than last year's pool. The rise in applications means that the final acceptance rate may drop to 23 percent for the applicant pool as a whole, compared with 26.6 percent for the Class of 2003, Stetson said, adding that Penn will accept a smaller number of students this year to make up for last year's higher-than-expected yield. "We're going to be more conservative with admissions? and we will use the wait-list to control the class size," Stetson said. About 200 students more than were expected accepted admissions offers to this year's freshman class, resulting in a housing shortage in the fall. Stetson said this year's applicants are stronger than ever. "Penn has moved into a new realm," Stetson said. "The personal qualities of the students are exceptional." The average SAT score of the applicant group is 1355. But, Stetson said, "It's not even close to where we're going to end up with our average [for the Class of 2004]." Each of the four undergraduate schools reported an increase in the number of applicants this year. The College received 11,986 applications, up 7.7 percent from last year, Stetson said. Engineering applications rose to 3,325, marking an increase of 7.4 percent. Wharton received 3,278 applications, 1.8 percent more than last year's 3,220. And applications to the Nursing school increased by 5.9 percent. In addition, interest in the dual degree programs increased this year. Management and Technology -- the joint Wharton and Engineering program -- received 829 applications, 36 percent more than the 610 received last year. And 641 students, 1.6 more than last year's 631, applied to the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. The applicants hail from all 50 states and 87 foreign countries. Also, the University received record-high numbers of applications from 23 states. A record number of minority students applied for admission to the Class of 2004. African-American students submitted 1,222 applications, Asians filed 5,847 applications, Latinos submitted 907 and Native Americans sent in 40 applications. Those figures are all increases from last year. Admissions Officer Leslie Smith estimated that 85 percent of the applicants are academically qualified to attend Penn. And Admissions Officer Martin Bonilla said the statistics suggest that Penn is a hot school for high school seniors right now. "The message is that Penn is a really elite institution but not elitist," Bonilla said. Stetson agreed, saying the applicant pool shows Penn's growing popularity. "I think students are telling a good story about the University," Stetson said. Bonilla attributed part of the rise in applications to the popularity of schools located in cities. "Urban universities seem to be quite in vogue," Smith said, noting that many students are attracted to the city's internship opportunities. The Admissions Office will mail acceptance, rejection and wait-list letters on April 1. Penn has made a remarkable climb through the ranks of the nation's top colleges and universities over the past decade. In 1991, the University accepted 47 percent of applicants applying for admission to the Class of 1995. Since then, the number of applications has continued to rise while Penn has moved higher and higher in national college rankings.
(03/08/00 10:00am)
Penn decided last week to retake control of on-campus facilities from the Dallas-based corporation as part of a reqorked contract. Less than a week after the University announced it would once again manage its on-campus facilities, Penn employees said they were optimistic about the change in leadership. As part of a new, six-year contract unveiled last Thursday, Trammell Crow Co. will continue to manage Penn's for-profit real-estate arm, University City Associates, as well as its large scale construction projects. But the University will retake control of the day-to-day operations, housekeeping and maintenance of its on-campus facilities, scaling back its groundbreaking but controversial decision in 1998 to outsource nearly all operations. Trammell Crow has always been particularly unpopular with most workers who became employees of the Dallas-based real estate management firm in April 1998. And now, those maintenance and housekeeping workers say the University's agreement to restructure its outsourcing relationship did not happen soon enough. "I think [Penn management] will definitely be better because [Trammell Crow] was a disaster from the start," said one University worker, who has been a housekeeper for more than 20 years. "The system wasn't perfect before, but it was much better than when Trammell Crow took over." "It's a big change throughout the University," a veteran Penn maintenance worker added. "We're hoping it's going to work and trying to be positive." But Vice President for Facilities Omar Blaik said that the shift in management will not necessarily translate into noticeable -- or even immediate -- change. "Just because we are creating structures doesn't mean things are changing over," Blaik said, pointing out that the University management will retain the same organizational structure procedures and even the same Trammell Crow personnel. "This is a long-term effort." Under the new agreement, the 75 current Trammell Crow managers for on-campus facilities were told that the University would rehire them to do the same jobs, with comparable salaries and benefits. And Blaik said that, so far, more than 20 of those former Trammell Crow middle managers have signed on to come back in the same role as University employees. However, while the management personnel may be the same, University workers say that having Penn take responsibility for its own facilities might improve service. "Penn is going to be taking care of their own problems instead of having someone else take care of them," a veteran University maintenance worker explained. "Now there is going to be a little more of a push to get the job done." Many current workers complained that Trammell Crow tended to drag its feet when responding to service requests, bogging them down with bureaucratic red tape and delaying the start of projects because of a lack of supplies. In an interview last week, Executive Vice President John Fry said the new University management would concentrate on deploying staff more efficiently. He added that Penn might work out an arrangement with the unions to allow more University workers to cross-craft -- allowing a carpenter who also had knowledge of plumbing, for instance, to save time by performing multiple tasks at one site. But most of all, Penn employees said that eliminating Trammell Crow's extra layer of management would get rid of the confusion caused by too many organizations running one university. "It's so tripped up over here, I don't know who is running this place," one campus maintenance worker said.
(03/08/00 10:00am)
Jordan and Langel say goodbye to Palestra by leading M. Hoops win There were 14 minutes and 19 seconds left in the Penn men's basketball game against Princeton last night. The Tigers, after trailing by as many as 21, had just gone on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 12. And most of the Penn fans in the sold-out Palestra crowd all thought the same thing. Not again. The fans remembered back to February 9, 1999, when the Quakers blew a 33-9 halftime lead to lose by a heartbreaking score of 50-49. But that disaster would not be repeated thanks mostly to the senior backcourt leadership of Michael Jordan and Matt Langel. Playing in their final game at the Palestra, Jordan and Langel stepped to the forefront and led the team to victory. Following a C.J. Chapman three-pointer that capped the Princeton run, Langel found Jordan cutting through the middle for an easy layup, and the Quakers were back on track. "When they cut the lead, we knew we had to step up and stop the run, and I think we did that," Jordan said. "Guys stepped up and made some big shots." Following the layup, Chapman sunk another three-pointer. But the Quakers did not panic, and Jordan spotted up from beyond the arc at the other end and responded by nailing another clutch shot. Later in the game, the Tigers clawed back to pull within 10, 55-45, but unlike in last year's debacle, the Langel-Jordan backcourt stayed poised throughout the game and did not allow the Tigers to cut into the lead any further. On the next trip down the court, Jordan hit Penn center Geoff Owens, who scored to increase the lead. On the Penn possession after that, Langel did the same, finding Owens for another bucket. "We're a totally different team from last year," Jordan said. "They had a lot of veterans last year. This year we have the veterans. We were prepared. We knew they were going to make a run. We just had to withstand it." And withstand it they did. Langel nailed his third three-pointer of the game with 3:44 left in the game, vaulting him past Garett Kreitz and into second place on Penn's all-time list. The bomb from downtown also put Penn up by 17 points, which the Quakers extended to 21 to win 73-52. While the crowd may have worried about a Princeton comeback, Penn coach Fran Dunphy did not think about it, knowing the type of leadership his co-captains provide. "I felt as good going into tonight's game about what [Langel and Jordan] were going to do as I have all year long and as I have anytime they've been playing for us," Dunphy said. "There was a feeling that they knew what they had to do, and there was a sense that Matt and Mike would step up and make big shots and that's exactly what they did. They played great defensively and did everything you would want from senior leadership." The Tigers' second-half run was not the only time that Langel and Jordan rose to the occasion last night. The Quakers went on a 17-0 run that began with 6:52 left in the first half and ended with 16:59 left in the second. Jordan was the main contributor to the run, coming up with a steal and a breakaway layup in the final seconds of the first stanza and an assist and a basket in the opening two minutes of the second. "I guess I had a little extra energy tonight," Jordan said. "I was feeding off the crowd, I know when I got that steal I was really high over the rim. We talked about making a statement within the first five minutes after halftime, and I think we did that." Both guards ended the game with impressive numbers. Jordan had 25 points -- two shy of his career high -- along with six rebounds and three steals. Langel had 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point land. He also tied a career high in assists with eight to go along with four boards. "Mike was able to get to the rim and get some open shots. I didn't get a lot of looks, but I thought I was able to set some people up for some good buckets," Langel said. "The second half I got more screens off the ball, and my teammates got me open for some threes." While Penn's guards clearly illustrated what leadership means to a team, Princeton coach Bill Carmody did not put much stock in the experience factor. "We have guys that have played before -- they're 19, 20 years old -- so I don't like that out," Carmody said of the Quakers, four of whom have been playing together for four years. "It might be a factor, but I don't want our guys to think that it is. You can win with sophomores." Jordan and Langel's veteran inspiration will certainly help the Quakers as they enter the NCAA Tournament next week. Last year, Penn had an 11-point halftime lead over Florida in the first round, but then closed up shop in the second half to lose, 75-61. "The two guys in the backcourt are better than they were [last year]," Dunphy said of the senior duo's readiness for the Big Dance. "They were good last year, but now they understand how hard it's going to be. But they also understand that they can go there and do some damage."
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All season long, Penn women's basketball coach Kelly Greenberg has insisted that the Quakers' offense does not revolve around Diana Caramanico and Mandy West, the Ivy League's top two scorers. The fans who filed into the Palestra to watch the first game of the Penn-Princeton doubleheader last night saw four of the five Quakers starters score over 10 points for the third time this season. While the top two scorers were once again tri-captains West and Caramanico -- with 17 and 22, respectively -- sophomore forward Julie Epton also had 13 points, and freshman guard Jennifer Jones scored 11. This is the kind of balanced attack Greenberg has been trying to develop since she arrived in Philadelphia last summer, and she thinks this could be a good omen for the future of the program. "I hope that it is," Greenberg said. "I thought that our team was really aggressive. I thought that Jen Jones seemed really relaxed, and we haven't seen that Julie in a long time. Hopefully we will build on that." Jones missed just one shot on the night, and Epton, in addition to her 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and made three steals. Greenberg thought the Quakers' balance was a byproduct of their heightened defensive intensity and increased communication on defense, qualities that have been sorely lacking in late-season losses that knocked the Quakers out of Ivy contention. "I thought that in the first half, we came out extremely aggressively," Greenberg said. "And you know, [Princeton] has that darn offense that you just hate, and we only let them get the back door once the entire game. Even that time I cringed. When we all play together on defense, I think that helps everyone offensively." West and Caramanico do not usually need that help. Last night, West ended her impressive two-season Quakers career in which she scored 1,076 points. She now owns the records for most three-pointers made in a season and two of the top six spots in the record book for most points in a season. She is also third all-time for three-pointers made in a career. Caramanico, meanwhile, finished her record-breaking year with a mere 19 points shy of Ernie Beck's all-time Penn career scoring record (1,827). With 1,808 career points, she could conceivably break it in her first outing of the 2000-01 campaign. "That's huge, I mean that's 1953," Greenberg said of Beck's mark. "That's a big-time record, that's back when my dad played at La Salle. I know that name from growing up, and it's just incredible that she's breaking someone like that's record." Caramanico, who has had her fill of records this year, was simply content that the Quakers came out on top. "[Princeton is] scrappy. They're really tough. So I'm just glad we won the game," she said. Caramanico thought that the Penn-Princeton women's matchup carried with it nearly as much intensity and emotion as the men's game. It also had as much contact. "It was physical," Greenberg said. "And a lot of times off the ball there were a lot of altercations going on." One instance that was indicative of the contact throughout the game came in the middle of the second half. After a scramble for a loose ball, Princeton forward Hillary Reeser grabbed Caramanico's ankle and brought her to the floor. Greenberg, whose coaching style centers on running the floor and getting quick buckets, also pulled out all the stops at the end of the game when she ordered her troops into a slowdown offense that they had only run in practice. "We haven't [run it yet this year]," she said. "It's our 2-1-2, it's as basic as possible. Towards the end of the game, we obviously weren't making good choices, so I thought let's just hold [the ball] a little bit. We did get some good stuff out of it, so you will see that more next year."
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In yesterday's Super Tuesday primaries, Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Goe soundly defeated their opponents. Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush all but ended the battles for their respective parties' nominations last night with decisive victories in a series of primaries across the country. Challengers Bill Bradley and John McCain needed major wins in yesterday's Super Tuesday primaries to sustain their beleaguered campaigns. But both failed to achieve the victories considered necessary for them to stay competitive, propelling their opponents into positions of even greater dominance and leaving the future of their respective bids in serious doubt. On the Republican side, Bush soundly defeated McCain in seven of the day's 11 major GOP contests, most notably sweeping the crucial delegate battlegrounds of California, New York and Ohio. He supplemented those gains with wins in Georgia, Maine, Maryland and Missouri. McCain, whose insurgent bid had challenged Bush's dominance with wins in New Hampshire and Michigan, managed to eek out small victories in four New England states -- Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. Bush now holds a substantial edge in delegates to this summer's Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. Last night, he picked up an additional 347 delegates, bringing his total to 517 of the 1,034 needed to win the nomination. McCain garnered 117, bringing his total count to 222. The results were even more punishing for Bradley. The one-time Princeton and New York Knicks basketball star and three-term Democratic senator from New Jersey failed to win even one state delegation from the heavily favored vice president. Though he has picked up delegates in non-winner-take-all states, Bradley has yet to win a single state contest from Vice President Al Gore. His total now stands at 284 of the 2,170 votes needed to win the Democratic nomination. Gore has 975 delegates. In Democratic exit polling, African Americans preferred Gore over Bradley by a margin of six-to-one, and Latinos by eight-to-one. The margin among union members was smaller, but still a healthy three-to-one. Gore also won the vote of independents, a key element of Bradley's electoral strategy, and a group that the Democratic nominee will need in the general election race. The exit polling was conducted by Voter News Service, a consortium of The Associated Press and television networks. Exit surveys across the states showed women preferring Bush by a two-to-one margin over McCain. Among age groups, McCain carried only younger voters; those over 30 voted for Bush. Among Catholics, the vote was split evenly between the two candidates. And by a big margin, the voters said McCain was more likely than Bush to say what he believes. Now, as the primary season moves in the coming weeks on to the southern states -- areas where Bush and Gore are expected to dominate -- speculation continues to swirl as to when the two underdog candidates might concede their races. "We're very pleased with the victories we won and disappointed with the ones we lost," McCain said shortly after calling Bush to offer his congratulations. He later told supporters that he and the Texas governor "may meet again," leaving the door open for a possible departure from the race. One senior adviser said that he expects the Arizona senator to announce his withdrawal from the race tomorrow, but added that no firm plans had yet been made. McCain said he would take stock of his campaign today when he travels to his retreat in Arizona. Some aides planned to recommend that the senator depart the race, while others looked for him to forge on to the nine primaries coming up in the next week. McCain's strength so far has been his ability to attract Democratic and Independent voters who don't usually vote Republican. But in recent days McCain has pledged to support Bush if he were to become the nominee, putting a damper on speculation that he might consider a third-party bid. Bradley addressed a crowd of supporters in New York, taking credit for launching "the beginning of a new politics," and recognizing his followers for pushing such issues as gun violence, poverty and campaign finance reform into the national spotlight. "He won, I lost," Bradley said last night, all but conceding the end of the race. He said he would consult with aides over the next few days regarding the future of his campaign and make an announcement sometime in the next week. For the victors of yesterday's primary battles, though, the campaign focus now shifts from the primaries to the general election showdown in November. As Bush and Gore addressed their respective crowds last night, the target of their comments noticeably shifted away from their party opponents and instead, toward each other. "Our campaign is your cause," Gore told a crowd of supporters in his home state of Tennessee. "We are the party of the mainstream. We appeal to hope, not anger, not to exclusion. He continued by saying his approach was the right one to continue the current economic expansion begun under Bill Clinton -- the only time he used the president's name. In an unnamed reference to Bush's policies, he cautioned against "wasting the surplus on a risky tax scheme." Looking ahead to a potential fight with Gore, Bush congratulated the vice president for his victories in the Democratic primaries, but said, "He is the candidate of the status quo in Washington, D.C., and he has a tough case to make in the general election." Bush continued by saying, "My frame of mind is to keep moving. Soon our party will unite and turn to the main task at hand -- ending the era of Clinton-Gore." The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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One of the more rousing ovations at yesterday's Penn rout of Princeton in men's basketball had nothing to do with an alley-oop or a blocked shot. Instead, during a second-half timeout, nearly all Penn supporters in the sellout crowd of 8,722 put their hands together for the extraordinary accomplishments of the Penn women's squash team. Coach Demer Holleran's squad, the first-ever Ivy League and national champions in the history of women's squash at Penn, marched onto the court, where they received the Howe Cup from Athletic Director Steve Bilsky. The Quakers secured the national championship trophy on February 20, by beating Princeton, 5-4, in the Howe Cup finals so, naturally, most of those wearing orange in the crowd remained seated. The Red and Blue put just a dab more of icing on their history-making campaign this past weekend at the Individual Championships at Yale. Although Penn was by no means dominant at the competition, senior co-captain Katie Patrick and freshman Runa Reta both made it to the quarterfinals, while junior Lauren Patrizio captured the consolation bracket championship. Patrick, the tournament's No. 6 seed, made it to the quarters with relative ease. She beat Lindsey Bishop of Dartmouth in the first round and Harvard's Colby Hall in the round of 32. She won each by scores of 9-5, 9-1 and 9-1. Patrick then went on to beat Bowdoin's Dana Betts in straight games to reach the quarters. There she bowed out of competition with a loss to Princeton junior and defending national champ Julia Beaver in four tightly contested games. Beaver went on to take the title on Sunday. Reta was stellar in her first try at the individual crown. She dropped merely seven points in six games in the first two rounds. Particularly impressive was her 3-0 drubbing of Princeton's Liz Kelley to gain safe passage into the quarterfinals. Once there, Reta suffered a nip-and-tuck 3-2 loss to Yale's Laura Keating, who was the runner-up this past weekend. Patrizio, who has been hobbled by knee injuries all season, won her first match in New Haven, 9-3, 9-2, 9-3, over Abigail Drachman-Jones of Dartmouth, before dropping a four-gamer to Harvard's Carlin Wing in the round of 32. Her tournament was far from over, however. She won her next two matches, 3-1 and 3-0, to reach the consolation semifinals. There she bested Sarah West of Dartmouth in straight games. In the consolation finals, Patrizio recovered from a two-games-to-none deficit to score 9-6, 9-1 and 9-5 wins in a stirring comeback that added a little extra luster to an already sparkling season.
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Penn undergraduates pursuing degrees in the liberal arts need not despair about their postgraduate careers. There is at least one profession that can never use enough of them: Teaching. Yesterday afternoon, the Kelly Writers House hosted an information session designed to teach humanities-oriented students -- all undergraduates -- how best to go about receiving a master's degree in Education and a teaching certificate. Ellen Braffman, the coordinator of secondary education at Penn's Graduate School of Education, was the featured speaker at the event. In her talk, she stressed the growing need for teachers -- especially in inner city high schools. "It is estimated that 2 million teachers will be needed in the next decade," Braffman said. "Science, math and foreign language teachers are especially needed." The Teacher Education Program allows Penn undergraduates to submatriculate into the Graduate School of Education. The program begins the summer after graduation and lasts until the following spring. Students take a one-month Introduction to Teaching course and then teach in a West Philadelphia high school for two semesters, simultaneously taking graduate school courses. Once the students decide the subject area in which they want to teach, they are required to take a certain number of classes in that subject. The student-teaching aspect of the program works exclusively with West Philadelphia high school students, trying to increase literacy rates of these students and help them to develop essential writing skills. The student teachers involved in the program must create teaching methods to achieve this goal. Braffman stressed that many students who participate in this program, in fact, ultimately do not pursue a teaching career. Some students who receive their masters in Education and their teaching certificates then go on to pursue other careers. Still, Braffman said the Teacher Education Program can prepare students for success in a wide range of career fields. "The teaching program is based on a theory into practice relationship," Braffman said. "You don't really learn anything until you have to teach it." College senior Richard Adzei, one of the students who attended the talk, is currently in the teaching program. "This is a great opportunity to maximize your time here at Penn," Adzei said after the talk. "It also saves money," he added, referring to the fact that alumni who teach in inner city schools have their student loans waived. College sophomore Allie D'Augustine, who attended the event, also praised the teaching program. "It is a good thing to help in inner- city schools" D'Augustine said. Students apply to participate in the program at the end of their junior year. Applications are read on a rolling basis and the students are notified of a decision by the end of the fall semester of their senior year. Applicants must complete an application, an essay and submit recommendations as well.
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The popular duo will share the stage at April's annual Penn Relays concert, which will be held at the Class of 1923 ice Rink this year. The Class of 1923 Ice Rink will be pounding when twosome Method Man and Redman join opening acts The Outsidaz and Ram Squad for the annual Penn Relays concert this April, in what organizers are billing as one of the year's most dynamic hip hop events. "The duo was our first choice," said Shamika Lee, the co-director of the Social Planning and Events Committee To Represent Undergraduate Minorities, after receiving signed contracts from the performers. The College sophomore added that SPEC-TRUM selected performers that were popular in both Philadelphia and the hip hop industry. Last spring, SPEC-TRUM brought groups 112 and Mobb Deep to the concert for Penn Relays, an international track and field tournament that attracts tens of thousands of people to the University each year. Past years have seen heavyweights Busta Rhymes and the Fugees. Capping the University's second annual hip hop week and opening the Penn Relays weekend, the concert will for the first time take place in the ice rink, a venue larger than last year's The Armory, which Lee said no longer holds concerts. Lee said SPEC-TRUM tried for a "different flavor" and a "different feel" with this year's acts, hoping to appeal to more than just the hip hop fans in Penn's student body and attract greater diversity. Method Man started out as a member of the world renowned Wu-Tang Clan in 1993. After attaining stardom with the group, he released two solo albums --ETical in 1994 and Tical 200: Judgement Day in 1998 -- both of which went platinum. New Jersey native Redman gained popularity with the release of his 1992 album, Whut -- The Album, and has released several albums since. Method Man and Redman, with Def Jam Records, released their platinum album BlackOut in late September. And the pair -- who first collaborated on their 1996 single "How High" -- solidified after appearing on the highly publicized Hard Knock Life Tour with fellow Def Jam artists DMX and Jay-Z. Also from New Jersey, The Outsidaz have been working the rap scene since 1990. Their current album Night Life features artists such as Eminem and Rah Digga. And Philadelphia native rap trio Ram Squad has two popular singles out right now -- "How We Do" and "I See Nothing." Yesterday, organizers said they hope the lineup's MTV exposure will draw in a larger student crowd. "It will be accessible to more students," said SPEC Chairman Jon Herrmann, a Wharton senior. And Lee said SPEC-TRUM will focus marketing on campus more this year by selling tickets on Locust Walk for a month. Tickets for the concert go on sale starting March 20, the first day of classes following Spring Break.
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Many good things came to a pleasant end for the record-setting Penn women's basketball team last night as the Quakers rolled over Princeton, 68-54, at the Palestra in the season finale for both teams. Penn guard Mandy West, the lone senior on the team, capped her collegiate career with a 17-point night, including a pair of three-pointers that put the Quakers (18-10, 9-5 Ivy League) up by 18 late in the first half. "That totally took the momentum out of Princeton," Penn forward Diana Caramanico said. "When somebody hits two threes on you in a row when your game is to shoot threes? she just beat them at their own game." Caramanico played solidly in the paint to lead all scorers with 22 points, which included a short bank shot midway through the second half that put the Quakers up by 19 points -- Penn's largest lead of the night. The Penn tri-captain's shot and the Quakers' huge lead was answered, though, by the heroics of Princeton guard Kate Thirolf. The senior took the Tigers (9-19, 6-8) on her back for four full minutes in the heart of the second half, mounting a solo, 9-2 comeback that was met only by a pair of Caramanico free throws with 9:44 left. Running on the momentum of Thirolf -- who totaled a team-high 17 points before fouling out with 1:13 remaining -- Princeton managed to bring the deficit down to eight with two minutes to go. By that time, however, the Tigers were forced to begin fouling a Penn team that shoots 72 percent at the line. "We had a lot of shooters out there, and I really thought we could shake loose and knock down a couple of threes," Princeton coach Liz Feeley said. "We didn't capitalize on our next possession after we cut it to eight, and then we started fouling. And once we started fouling, all they had to do was knock them down." West went 5-for-5 at the free throw line last night -- including a pair that pushed the Penn lead up to 10 points with 1:13 left on the clock -- preserving her claim to the Penn career free-throw percentage record at 82 percent. And by night's end, West could claim a second team record. Including the two treys last night, West leaves the Red and Blue holding the team record for most threes made in a season with a total of 77 hit from downtown in her final Penn campaign. West's record-setting numbers have drawn deserved respect from opposing sides as well as her own team. "You have to contest her shot," Feeley said. "You basically have to be right there, sitting on her right hand to stop her. That's why she's scored over 1,000 points in two years, because she can just knock those down." But the departing tri-captain isn't only known for her shooting touch. Her special guard-forward passing connection with Caramanico -- who finished her junior year last night just 19 points shy of Ernie Beck's all-time Penn scoring mark -- is also an aspect of West's game that has resulted in individual and team success. This connection was highlighted in the game's final minute, when West made her last assist as a Quaker from midcourt under a Princeton double-team to an open Caramanico down low. Caramanico's layup -- giving the star forward the last of her 22 points and Penn a 66-54 lead -- provided West with a fitting end to her Penn career. "I'm glad it ended on that," West said. "Di and I have complemented each other so well. I wouldn't get all my open shots from the outside [without her], and vice-versa with her. I think it's pretty cool that we ended on that connection." Caramanico, too, was pleased that their connection was the closing chapter of West's tenure in a Penn uniform. "I actually thought about that when she passed to me, that it might be the last time," Caramanico said. "It was really special. Just the feeling that we had that connection and we knew what the other person was thinking, that's really special and I'll really miss it next season." The Quakers, riding the West-Caramanico connection for the last time, hardly missed a beat against Princeton in the first half. After trading the lead with the Tigers for the first six minutes, Penn finally broke free with a 10-0 run over a three-minute span that put the game virtually out of reach for Princeton. The run was halted midway through the half on a three-pointer from Princeton guard Allison Cahill, but it was not enough to cool the red-hot Quakers. By halftime, Penn was up by a comfortable 38-23 margin on impressive 62 percent shooting from the floor. The team was anchored by Caramanico and West, who both contributed 10 points in the opening stanza. The 15-point deficit on the scoreboard was unnerving for Princeton in its halftime locker room. "We knew that we would have to keep Penn in the 50s in order to have any chance to win this game," said Feeley, whose Tigers had not given up more than 51 points per game in their last six contests. With the victory over Princeton, Penn ends the season with 18 total wins and a .643 winning percentage, both team records. The Quakers also scored a team-record 2,122 total points, with a record-breaking team scoring average of 75.8 points per game.
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Almost a year after it began operating Penn's dining halls, food service management firm Bon Appetit is still working to settle into its role on campus. Residential dining services were outsourced to the Menlo Park, Calif.-based company last May amid promises of superior food options and improved service. But while some changes have been instituted, including expanded a la carte options and increased theme dining events, both University officials and students say there is still room for improvement. "It just needs more variety," College junior David Rice said of dining hall food. Penn and Bon Appetit officials said they are working to improve the quality and service at dining halls across campus. "You always strive to get better," said Elaine Smart, director of Bon Appetit's residential dining services at the University. "I think this year is a transition year for the Penn managers, for Bon Appetit [and] for the current Penn employees." Dining has held several round table discussions to seek suggestions from students. In the fall, Dining officials conducted a survey jointly with the Undergraduate Assembly. In the survey, students expressed doubts over whether dining was capable of preparing a wide variety of food. Most gave dining an overall rating of six on a 10-point scale. College freshman Aasta Mehta noted that there are a lack of options in dining. "There's not really that much variety for vegetarians, at least," she said. Dining officials said offering a greater variety of food is one of their top priorities. "We have to be observant of the multiculturalism on the campus," Smart said. "We can't just cook Philadelphia, we have to cook vegetarian and Indian and authentic Indian." Chefs from the Moosewood Restaurant, located in Ithaca, N.Y. and well-known for vegetarian cooking, were brought to campus in January to teach campus chefs about vegetarian foods, according to Managing Director of Campus Dining Peg Lacey. Lacey said more special events and a focus on fresh foods were two particular improvements this year. "Almost everything is a fresh product," Lacey said. "If you have broccoli in the dining halls, it's fresh broccoli, fresh beans, everything." Both Lacey and Smart emphasized the importance of student input. "I can't stress enough that we encourage participation from all students," Smart said. "They're our customers and we're here to serve them." And while officials are working to improve the food, they also want to better the service in the individual eateries. Dining hall employees attended a day-and-a-half long workshop on customer service at the beginning of the year, Lacey said. The recent UA survey also showed that students were confused about the logistics of the dining operations. Some said they were concerned with the hours of operation of the dining halls and confused by certain policies, especially regarding guest passes and the "dining dollars" included with many meal plans. In response, campus dining extended the operating hours of the Hill College House dining hall and will distribute flyers explaining the use of "dining dollars," Lacey said. She noted that dining continues to consider making further changes to operating hours for next semester, based on data on the use of the dining halls. Other improvements that Bon Appetit is hoping to make include integrating dining more closely into the college house system and increasing the individuality of the dining halls, Smart said. Bon Appetit also plans to add more a la carte options, like wrap and taco stations, and cook-to-order foods in the dining halls. "I also see having each unit really getting its own identity," Smart said. "Historically, all the units ran basically the same menu, and we're really trying to change that."
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For the last 30 years, he has studied American social policy and welfare programs. In his lifetime, he has advised several American presidents. And last night, Richard Nathan, the director of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, spoke to a roomful of 16 professors and students -- many of whom were Political Science majors -- about the changing face of welfare in America. Part of the Fox Leadership Program lecture series, Nathan's talk entitled "Is Welfare Really Over?" began by examining the Clinton administration's role in welfare reform. "It wasn't until 1994," Nathan said, "that the Clintons got around to handing a welfare reform to the Congress." With a few students busily taking notes, Nathan explained that the responsibility of welfare has increasingly returned to the states. "New welfare is highly decentralized," he said. As the Director of the Rockefeller Institute, Nathan has spent the last 11 years collecting data from states and publishing reports about welfare reform. His recent publication, A First Look, examines the effects of the Personal Responsibility Act of 1996. Under this act, Nathan explained, the Republicans implemented a program of block grants, a way of providing money to needy families based on a formula. The act, according to Nathan, was pivotal. "Big changes have occurred," he said. He stressed that the new regime of welfare policy has strongly pushed the "work first" concept. In the effort to make welfare a temporary form of help, welfare reform has focused on "helping people become self-reliant," Nathan said. He went on to describe the Personal Responsibility Act as a way of "hitting welfare bureaucracy on the head." Nathan also discussed the current presidential election and pointed out that debate over welfare reform has typically been a long-standing issue. This year, however, features less than normal controversy, he said. "Welfare bashing has always been a hot issue in every campaign for presidency. It's curious that we've heard little about it in the 2000 campaign." Several students in attendance said they were impressed by his extensive knowledge of the topic. "He gave a really different perspective on the current state of welfare," said College junior Meg Guliford, a Political Science major. "He was a fountain of knowledge," said College senior Justin Timbie, who praised Nathan for being "well-versed in the issues." After hearing Nathan speak of the shift in control of welfare policy from federal to local hands, Timbie said he believes that "communication will need to be improved" if welfare policy is to be effective. The Rockefeller Institute of Government conducts public policy research on the political and economic relationships between state and local governments.
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Versity.com may iolate copyright laws by posting class notes on a Web site. When it comes to the controversial Versity.com, there's one thing most everyone agrees on -- the legality of buying and posting class notes online is a very precise shade of gray. The site, which pays college students to post their lecture notes online, received negative publicity recently after Yale University demanded that all of its professors' lecture notes be taken down. Yale argued that each time Varsity.com features new notes online, the company violates copyright laws. And although Penn has not taken any action against the Web site, a committee of administrators is looking into the issue -- which, according to Penn Legal Studies Professor Dan Hunter, is very complex. Hunter said that while students would be infringing on copyright law if they copied professors' notes verbatim, because they are selling only their interpretations of the lectures, it may not be against the law. "There is a loophole here," Hunter said. He explained that copyright law protects the expression of an idea. The students employed by Versity.com are actually expressing the ideas, which are given by professors. The students therefore have a degree of the copyright material, Hunter said. And however complex the issue of copyright may be, Versity.com spokeswoman Janet Cardinell insists that the Web site is not infringing upon the law. She said that the copyright laws do not extend to information in the public domain and scientific facts -- the type of material presented in the introductory courses for which notes are posted. "These classes provide basic information," Cardinell said. "The student in the class is writing down their interpretation." The Versity.com notes are designed to be value-added, as the notes are meant to be used as supplements to professors' lectures, she explained. Cardinell admitted, though, that "there is a gray area of the law." Problems may arise, she said, because at times professors plan to publish the material they present in class, and thus want to protect it from being made available to the public before they are finished. Several Penn professors expressed concern earlier in the week because they were not informed that notes were being posted for their classes . In addition, some of the notes were of low quality. "We understand their concerns," Cardinell said, adding that Versity.com often does not contact professors before posting notes from their classes but plans to begin doing so and will likely encourage professors to review the notes before they are posted. This process would allow professors to have control over what is published and to find out if students are understanding the material presented in class, she explained. "We will work with professors individually so that everyone is mutually satisfied," Cardinell said. Versity.com has not contacted any of the Penn professors whose notes are online. Penn Deputy General Counsel Wendy White said that the University has a committee currently looking into the site, which has notes posted for 52 Penn courses in a range of departments including Economics, Biology, Philosophy, Political Science and Computer Science. "It is an issue for the University whether Penn wants to permit this activity," White said. "The Provost's office and our office need to take a look at it, and we are." White added that there will likely not be a problem if a professor has granted a student permission to post the course notes and if the notes accurately reflect class discussions.
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In the regular season, the Penn women's fencing team suffered devastating one-touch losses to both NYU and Rutgers. On Saturday, the Quakers got their revenge at the IFA championships, taking fifth in a very strong 14-team field, while placing ahead of both the Violets and the Scarlet Knights. The Red and Blue finished behind Princeton, Yale, St. John's and Columbia -- the same teams they could not overcome in the regular dual-meet season. Thus, the outcome of the tournament was somewhat expected. "We came in behind teams that beat us during the regular season -- it was a representative showing," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. "I don't feel like we did badly, but I don't feel like we did wonderfully either." Leading the way for the Red and Blue was their strong foil squad, which combined to win 27 of 39 total bouts, placing fourth behind Ivy League rivals Princeton, Yale and Columbia. Freshman foilist Lauren Staudinger won 11 of her 13 bouts, putting her in second place in the A pool, while senior Margo Katz and freshman Stacey Wertlieb each won eight bouts and finished in fourth place in the B and C pool, respectively. "Relative to the field, the foilists did the best," Micahnik said. Penn's sabre squad also did very well, however. In the first year that women fenced sabre in the IFAs, the Quakers finished in sixth place, winning 21 total bouts. "The sabres came along. They're not as good as the best teams, but they haven't been fencing sabre that long," Micahnik said. "They did very well for us given a very difficult situation." For the sabres, freshman Christina Verigan and senior captain Heba Abdulla each won eight bouts, placing them fifth in the A and C pool, respectively, while sophomore Abby Lifter came in ninth place in the B pool. These results satisfied Penn's sabre fencers, as they know that they are still lacking in experience. "I think we did really well considering that a lot of squads have been training for a year or two," Verigan said. While Penn's sabres had the challenge of fencing more experienced opponents, the Quakers epeeists also faced stellar competition. The field was packed with proven champions and excellent fencers, including St. John's national epee champion Arlene Stevens, who was not even good enough to make the A pool. Stevens' teammate, Emese Takacs of Hungary, took the Red Storm's spot on the A strip. Nevertheless, the Quakers held their own, finishing in seventh place while coming away with 20 out of 39 bouts. Freshman epeeist Kim Linton came in sixth place, going 7-6 in the very tough A pool, while sophomore Mindy Nguyen came in 10th place, winning six of her 13 bouts in the B pool. Freshman Julia Blank and senior Sandra Yens won five and two bouts, respectively, on the C strip. Each fencers' performance was good enough to give them a top-third finish, a realistic goal set by Micahnik prior to the tournament. Nevertheless, the long-time fencing coach was still not satisfied with the results. "It was a pretty good tournament -- we were ahead of two-thirds of the field," Micahnik said. "But I'd like us to do better than that." After the team tournament on Saturday, the best fencers advanced to the individual tournament held the next day. For the Quakers, Staudinger, Katz, Verigan and Linton all competed on Sunday. However, only Staudinger was able to make it out of the first round, which was made up of two separate pools of six fencers. Staudinger advanced to the final pool of eight foilists, where she won four of her seven bouts, which was good enough to make her the fourth best foilist in the competition. Linton, Verigan and Katz combined to only win two bouts in the first round of the individual tournament. But this was against some of the best fencers in the country, and Verigan, for one, was happy with her results. "My goal was to make it to individuals and I did that," Verigan said. "I think that I came out of the meet with a lot more confidence, and I felt up to fencing A strip." However, putting records, victories and results aside, the tournament was a very emotional one as the Quakers said goodbye to their four seniors. "After the last bout, we were all hugging -- it's kind of sad that it's all over," Abdulla said. With the seniors departing, the strong corps of freshmen will be looked upon to step up for the Red and Blue. "We've established the tradition for them and now we're gone," said Abdulla, who won her final bout 5-1, in what could very well be the final bout of her Penn fencing career. With the Penn women's fencing team now done with their season, some individuals will look to continue to shine in the upcoming weeks. Penn State will host the Mid-Atlantic South Regional tournament this Sunday, and Penn will send any fencer who fenced in at least half of the meets, while winning in at least 50 percent of their total bouts. The following weekend, the Quakers will look to send some of their top fencers to the NCAAs at Stanford.
