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(03/07/00 10:00am)
John McAdams, the Palestra's public address announcer, makes a living with his voice. For 19 seasons, he has been a fixture at the mike, reminding fans that the Palestra is "college basketball's most historic gym." But even McAdams' smooth voice quivers just a little bit when he recalls his first impression of the Palestra in 1956. "Wow! You look up at the ceiling, and you say, 'What a place!' You walk in there, and you just look around, you see everything -- the big high ceiling, the scoreboard, the stands?. Wow." Almost a half century later, little has changed. It's 11:45 a.m. on a Saturday, seven hours before tip-off, and the Yale team has just filed into the Palestra for its morning shoot-around. Dan Harrell, the Palestra's caretaker, watches the wide-eyed Elis take in their surroundings. The Yale players, five of them freshmen, remove their warmups in a reverent silence. "I can tell when an Ivy League team comes in if they're young," says Harrell, 56, who has worked for Penn since '89. "Because when they walk in, the players look up. They look around and they know they're someplace special." As the fifth-oldest gym still in use, the Palestra doesn't have the distinction of being the dean of college arenas. With a capacity of 8,700, it's hardly the biggest facility. It doesn't have luxury boxes or a jumbotron scoreboard or even comfortable seats. What it has, though, is more character than any other arena in the country. And no one challenges McAdams when he calls it college basketball's most historic gym. In its 73 years, the Palestra has hosted more games and more visiting teams than any other gym. It hosted the first NCAA Eastern Championship in 1939 and has since played host to 50 NCAA Tournament games. But mere numbers aren't what makes the Palestra so special. "If you throw that subject, the Palestra, out at people in Philadelphia -- actually at anyone with a connection to East Coast basketball -- they just start to rhapsodize about the place," says Alex Wolff, a longtime Sports Illustrated writer who first became acquainted with the Palestra as a Princeton student in the late '70s. "Everybody just feels they have a piece of the building?. Everybody has warm feelings about the place." Talk to anyone who has played or coached in the Big 5. To anyone who grew up within a trolley ride of Penn and spent their winter evenings at Palestra doubleheaders. You hear the same thoughts, the same warm feelings. "I don't think there's any question that it's magical and special," Penn coach Fran Dunphy says. Dunphy often brings the key to the Palestra with him when he speaks to groups. "I'll say how fortunate I am to have this [key] and that the Palestra is my place of work every day -- that's very special." "It's the best building in college basketball," says St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli, a native of Southwest Philly. "I know that people would say Cameron [Indoor Stadium at Duke] and Pauley Pavilion [at UCLA] and places like that, but to me, [the Palestra's] synonymous with a noise level that doesn't exist anywhere else." With its arched ceiling and huge rafters, the Palestra has been likened to a giant bass drum, where the noise resonates like no place else. "It's so loud, that sometimes you can't decipher if people are cheering for you or against you," says Penn Athletic Director Steve Bilsky, who captained the 28-1 Penn team of '70-71. "It's loud and it's ricocheting off the walls and, as a player, it just propels you to be more juiced up and play better. At Big 5 games in particular, when the crowd is split down the middle, the noise is incessant. "When it's right, and both teams have their share of the crowd, you have noise the entire time," Martelli says. "It's really spectacular. I've never been anywhere else like that." The Palestra served as the exclusive home of the Big 5 and its doubleheaders -- synonymous with streamers, roll-out banners and city bragging rights -- from 1955 to 1986. The rivalry between Penn, Temple, St. Joe's, La Salle and Villanova thrust Philadelphia into a role as the nation's leading basketball city, with the Palestra as its focal point. In 1986, the five schools signed a 10-year pact continuing the round-robin but with a catch -- games would be held at each school's respective gym, closing the book on a storied chapter of the Palestra's history. In 1991, the dagger was driven deeper into local hearts when Villanova successfully petitioned to halve the schedule, ending the round-robin. "It's unfair to students today that they've never been to a Big 5 doubleheader at the Palestra," Harrell says. "Sometimes you have something, you don't realize how lucky you are until it's gone." Through it all, though, the Palestra stood like a portal to another era. Times changed, but the gym stayed the same. Whenever two Big 5 schools tangled at the Palestra, the magic would return, at least for a night. Last May, however, area fans erupted at the surprise announcement that the Big 5 would return to a full round-robin. While the Palestra only sees a share of the games, many view the rebirth of the Big 5 as a victory for everything the Palestra stands for, a reaffirmation of an era when local rivalries were more important than TV contracts, conference requirements or 20,000-seat-arena gate receipts. "['Nova] came to find out that you can play a Big East schedule and play in all these big arenas and be on TV all the time," Wolff says, "but there's nothing like coming into that building on a cold winter's night, making the walk over from 30th Street Station? and being in there for a couple hours and getting that energy." It is that energy that lured Wolff to the Palestra from Old Nassau as an undergraduate. "I was so taken with the place that I would come down from campus, the way if you go to school in New Jersey you can either go to New York and to a jazz club or to Philly and to a college basketball game in a temple, in a cathedral." To thousands, the Palestra serves as both a fan-luring mecca and a shrine to another era, of both basketball and America. Martelli chalks up his days taking the trolley to doubleheaders as a different age, when "parents could trust they could send their kids somewhere, and everything was going to be alright and you were going to get home safely." The Palestra stands as a time capsule in a changing world. A mere glimpse of the building is enough to send shivers down the spine. "As bad as things get in your life, you come here and you feel young again," Harrell says. "Things aren't as bad." So many great games have been played at the Palestra that picking one as most memorable is impossible. But ask anyone who has spent more than a few evenings on the Palestra's wooden bleachers and you'll be met with a flood of stories that make no mention of final scores. "It's every moment," Harrell says. "It's game time, when you can feel the place come alive. It's just a feeling." Martelli laughs when he thinks about a game between the St. Joe's Hawks and the Fairfield Stags in the mid-'60s. "Some friends of mine and I were running up and down in the portals, and we went near the Fairfield student section and started yelling, 'What the hell's a Stag?!' A couple of college students who'd had a few libations before the game ran down and started chasing us -- these college guys were chasing seven sixth-graders through the corridors of the Palestra. That's something that I will never forget." Jack Scheuer, an Associated Press writer, has been getting paid to watch games at the Palestra for 40 years -- he used to read Bob Vetrone's copy back to the Evening Bulletin for $2.50 a game. "I thought I was overpaid, I loved being there so much." Scheuer is still amazed by a pre-game shooting performance he saw over 30 years ago. As fans counted audibly, Princeton's Bill Bradley hit 22 -- or 26, depending on whom you ask -- straight jumpers. Wolff loves the bomb scare story. The capacity crowd was evacuated prior to a game in 1965, but immortal play-by-play man Les Keiter continued reporting from an empty gym. "It was almost like the captain refusing to abandon ship -- he was going to go down with the thing," Wolff says. "That's part of the Palestra legend -- there are all these wonderful stories you don't hear about any other building." They are the stories that make the Palestra into what Harrell calls a "living museum." They are part of what makes it the most quintessential of college gyms, the pulse that makes this building so different from the flashier new arenas that appear more suited to professional teams than college ones. At 73 years old, the Palestra is very much still alive. "That's the heartbeat right there -- it's a living thing, this building, when the basketball bounces," Harrell says, hearing the echoes from the court reverberate through the gym. The Palestra is frequented by a stream of former players and old fans. They walk the concourse and peer into the dusty trophy cases. They climb the bleachers. They tell stories to their children or grandchildren of what it's like to watch a game on a cold winter night, a feeling that Wolff describes as "human electricity passed from elbow to elbow" when 9,000 fans are shoe-horned into the bleachers. Harrell sees it every time an ex-player comes back. "You can just tell when a guy comes in, if he played here," he says. "And I never bother them, because they're 20 years old again." As much as the old place is alive, Harrell swears that there are spirits at the Palestra. "She's seen one of the ghosts down here," he says, holding a picture of his daughter Erin, 17, a basketball player at West Catholic. "She was shooting here one day and said, 'Daddy, I always thought you were kidding me, but I looked over and there was a guy in a plaid shirt. I shot and looked back and he was gone, but I know he was there.' So ever since then she believes me. It's true though." Mostly, though, the spirits make themselves felt and heard but not seen. Tony Crossen, an electrician who has worked at Penn for 39 years and at the Palestra for 25, agrees with Harrell. "If you're walking through there at night you can swear that you hear somebody walking behind you or somebody talking or a crowd noise. It's definitely haunted." Still, Crossen can point to a few explanations. Renovations to the Palestra altered the air flow of the original design, creating a circulation problem that causes doors to slam and the concourse, on occasion, to howl. "You can feel the strong wind," Harrell says. "To me, that's like the spirit of the building trying to get back to where it was." Walk through the front doors of the Palestra, past the lobby and into the main concourse. Adjust your eyes to the dim lighting, soak in the musty smell of concrete and wood, of floor varnish and sweat, of basketball -- 70 years of basketball. Look at the dusty photos. Stare through one of the portals and look up at the iron rafters, the sky blue ceiling. But don't enter the gym. Turn to the wall on the front concourse, where there is an old bronze plaque. It reads: "To win the game is great? To play the game is greater? But to love the game is greatest of all?" On paper, it's the kind of saying that sounds a little too mawkish to inspire awe. But hanging on the wall of the Palestra, it makes your pulse quicken and your throat well up. The Palestra is not nearly so much about basketball as it is about collective emotion, about the stories and memories of generations of fans who have shared a love for an old mass of concrete and steel. "This is home to a lot of people. Somebody wrote a book years ago that you could never go home again -- you move on in life and you can never go back to the old neighborhood. But you can come back to the Palestra," Harrell says.
(03/07/00 10:00am)
Point guard Michael Jordan will play the final home game of his illustrious career tonight at the Palestra. There will be no comebacks for this Michael Jordan. There will be no more games at the Palestra. And unlike teammate and fellow senior Frank Brown, Jordan will have no fifth year of eligibility. Instead, when the final buzzer sounds after tonight's Penn-Princeton game, Quakers senior Michael Jordan will make his final postgame trek to the Palestra locker room. Except for the NCAA Tournament, his storied career at Penn will be over. But what a career it's been. Jordan's name is now a staple in the Penn record books. He is in the top five in school history in career points, three-pointers attempted, three-pointers made, assists and steals. But, somehow, those numbers fall short of revealing Jordan's true legacy. To get a better idea, let's go back to the 1996-97 season, Jordan's first in a Penn uniform. The Quakers were just a shell of the team that had won the previous four Ivy League championships. Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney -- two future NBA players who made up one of the top backcourts in Penn history -- had graduated in 1995. Without them, the remaining Quakers posted a less-than-stellar 17-10 record the next year. While that team was good enough to share an Ivy championship with Princeton, the vacuum of graduation would suck away the rest of the players that made up the dominant Penn teams of the mid-'90s. Into this untested roster came Jordan. He was viewed by many as the next Jerome Allen -- a little less athletic, a little more skilled. He was the guy who was supposed to carry the torch of Allen and Maloney, a torch held briefly by Ivy League Player of the Year Ira Bowman in '95-96. And Jordan did carry that torch. Sure, his hold on it was tentative during his freshman year, when Penn finished fourth in the league and two games under .500 overall. Sure, he may have nearly dropped it a few times in his 17-12 sophomore season. But Jordan kept that torch burning, and now his team has been able to brand two Ivy League titles into the record books. Back in April of 1996 -- five months before Jordan arrived at Penn -- his high school coach, Abington Friends' Steve Chadwin, gave Jordan possibly the highest praise a point guard can receive: "His best attribute is that he makes his teammates better," Chadwin said. And, time and time again, that became evident in Jordan's four years with the Red and Blue. True, Jordan will lead the team in scoring for the third consecutive year. But, more demonstrative of his impact on the team, Jordan will also top the team in assists for a third straight time. One gets the feeling that, if he needed to, Jordan could score 25 points a game. But instead, Jordan plays the role of distributor on offense and tenacious defender on defense. "There's stretches every single game we played here where he strapped the rest of the team on his back, scored a few baskets in a row or hit the shot we needed," Penn center Geoff Owens said. And Jordan is never more in his element than in the final minutes of the game. "When it comes crunch time and we need a tough basket, we're probably running everything through him," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. But running everything through Jordan most often means that the Quakers point guard isn't the one taking the shot. While Jordan's slashing layups certainly are a large part of his game, more often, visions of Jordan drives and kick-outs to fellow senior and backcourt mate Matt Langel for a three-pointer will dance in the heads of Penn fans when they recall the Quakers' No. 23. Langel, too, will see his final action on the Palestra floor tonight. For four years now, his lethal outside shot has been the dagger for many a Penn opponent, as the Quakers' guard stands just two three-pointers behind Garret Kreitz for second all-time in Penn history. Langel will close his career with well over 1,100 points, a 40 percent three-point percentage and a place in one of the best backcourts to wear Penn's Red and Blue. Debates will rage over which duo was the best since Steve Bilsky and Dave Wohl graced the Palestra court 30 years ago, but Jordan seems to give the nod to his predecessors. "What'd they [Allen and Maloney] win, three championships together?" Jordan said. "We only have two." That, in a sense, sums up Jordan's definition of success. He'll be first team All-Ivy League for the third consecutive time and seems a lock to be Ivy Player of the Year, but Jordan is the first to dismiss his individual accomplishments. "All that stuff is all well and good and fine, but I just want to focus on going 14-0 and all the team goals," Jordan said. In many ways, Jordan has been married to this team since his first practice with the squad three and a half years ago. With his arrival came lofty expectations -- expectations that he would be the man to lead Penn back to the Big Dance. "For anybody to do what he has done, in terms of coming in and basically being a significant other from day one, is not the easiest thing to do in anybody's program," Dunphy said. When things have gone right for Penn these last four seasons, Jordan has often received the majority of credit. When things have gone wrong, the Philadelphia native has taken more than his share of the blame. However, Jordan tends to downplay his impact to Penn basketball. "I'm just a member of this team," Jordan said. "I didn't carry the team." But most would agree that the Quakers would have much less of a chance of celebrating back-to-back championships without Jordan at the point. "[Jordan] was a star in every sense of the word -- his personality, how he played on the court," Owens said. "He's just someone that will be sorely missed around here." But Jordan will not be the only player stepping foot on the Palestra tonight for the last time in a Penn uniform. Langel and Brown -- who has scored 404 career points himself -- will also be playing their last Palestra home games. "[Today is] not a fun day for me," Dunphy said, "see[ing] those guys walk out there and represent the last time they'll be playing in a Penn uniform at the Palestra."
(03/07/00 10:00am)
Ask any member of the Penn women's lacrosse team how she felt when first taking the field against Old Dominion on Saturday and she will give you the same answer -- nervous. The game was just a scrimmage -- the first of 11 the Quakers would play over the weekend at the College of William and Mary -- so it had no bearing on records or statistics. Still, there was plenty riding on the 25 minutes of competition. It was Penn's first game under new coach Karin Brower, and the team's first chance to turn things around after last season's disappointing 1-12 performance. "I think that going out there everyone was a little nervous that we weren't going to play well and that our confidence would be shot," Penn senior tri-captain Brooke Jenkins said. Penn's first-year coach made her debut at her alma mater, the College of William and Mary -- the place where she earned All-America status as a player just eight years ago. "I think she was a little nostalgic. She would be like, 'Oh, this is this and that is that' and she would just go off a little bit," junior goalkeeper Christian Stover said. "It was kind of cool to see things from her perspective since she went to school there and coached there for a little bit." But the Quakers got over their butterflies quickly and defeated Old Dominion, as well as their next opponent, Richmond. Penn's upperclassmen had not achieved back-to-back wins since 1998, with last year's team claiming just one victory against Columbia. Of course, Penn did not look much like last year's squad, with 13 freshmen wearing the Red and Blue and a new coach pacing the sidelines. Jenkins said Brower's style differed from former coach Anne Sage's in several respects. "In the past, we had no coaching on attack," Jenkins said. "[Sage] would just be like, 'Go down there and set up whatever you want,' but [Brower] tells us, 'I want you to run this, this and this,' so it's more structured -- which is good." Brower mostly played her starters in the first two contests, but by the third game against Shippensburg, every member of the Quakers was getting into the action. In fact, Brower put out freshmen-only teams for several of the scrimmages. "They really didn't play timid," Stover said. "Maybe in the first couple minutes of the first scrimmage they did, but then they came out completely dominat[ing] over people who have had more experience then they've had." One freshman really made a name for herself -- literally. Crissy Book from Coatesville, Pa., defended her opponent so closely that Penn's assistant coach Amy Sullivan started calling her 'the White Shadow.' "I guess [the White Shadow] is a cartoon or something," Penn senior tri-captain Lee Ann Sechovicz said. "[Book] would come out of nowhere and get the ball away from her player every single time. She'd either intercept it or take it away from her." Brower described Book as deceivingly fast and very composed with the ball. Judging by Sechovicz's reaction to the freshman's play, Book just might have deceived her own teammates before last weekend's showing. "She'd started to come out in practice, but we never saw her full-force like that before," Sechovicz said. Jenkins' performance was another promising sign for Penn. The senior, who tore her ACL playing field hockey last season, said that her knees held up throughout the whole weekend of competition. "She had a little problem mobility-wise defending the clear, but she knows where to go, and she came up with a lot of balls just from being in the correct position," Brower said. With such a young squad, Jenkins' on-field presence will be crucial in leading the Quakers attack this season. "The upperclassmen have been here, so they know how to push us along," freshman Kate Murray said. "Offensively, I look up to [Jenkins] because she knows a lot about college-level play." Brower said that even though the Quakers successes were "off the record" last weekend -- from the initial wins to the final victory over Division III powerhouse The College of New Jersey -- there was still much to gain from the scrimmages. "I think the best thing is that they came back with a little bit of confidence. They came back believing that all of the hard work they've been doing is going to pay off eventually," Brower said. "That was really positive. I think they feel they're ready to take on their first game." The Quakers' season officially begins on March 14 when they face American University in Washington, D.C.
(03/07/00 10:00am)
Bassey Adjah, Ruthie Neuhaus and Liz Eittels finished highly in their respective events. The four members of the Penn women's track team who qualified for the ECAC Championships headed to Boston to take on some fierce competition in the final meet of the indoor season. Senior Ruthie Neuhaus, juniors Ami Desai and Bassey Adjah and sophomore Liz Wittels met the difficult qualifying standards in their events during the season to earn the right to compete in the prestigious meet. Neuhaus, Adjah and Wittels each took 10th place in their events. Desai came in 24th place in the pole vault. The previous weekend, Penn competed in the two-day Heptagonal Championships. Having the ECACs, the only other two-day event of the season, right after Heps undoubtedly left the Quakers athletes a little fatigued. "This was sort of like the calm after the storm," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "Those girls all had great Heps, and it was really difficult to have to come back and compete in another two-day event the next weekend." Tenisci believes that mental rather than physical fatigue might have hurt the squad the most. "We definitely weren't as charged up and as energy-packed as for Heps," Tenisci said. "They were on the other side of their emotional peak, so it was very hard to get yourself motivated to try and gear up for another performance." Neuhaus, the only competing Penn senior, recorded a leap of 37'11.5" in the triple jump to place 10th, while Wittels turned in a jump of 10'11.75" for her 10th-place finish in the pole vault. Neuhaus might have placed higher in the event were it not for a botched landing on one of her jumps. "Ruthie jumped really well, but she had a bad landing on her third jump," Tenisci said. "She could have advanced if that had not happened." Adjah turned in a personal record of 18'7.75" in the long jump. There was, however, some controversy over the measurement of one of Adjah's jumps. "We thought that they might have measured one of my jumps wrong," Adjah said. "A lot of people said that it looked like my best jump, but that's not how they measured it. There obviously isn't anything I can do about that now, so I'm kind of just forgetting about it." Hopefully for Penn, Adjah, Wittels and Desai, who are all planning to return next year, gained some valuable experience from competing against such a skilled field. "I thought that it was a great experience to see what the next level is all about," Tenisci said. "It was a real honor to be in that group, and our kids just went out there and did their best." With the indoor season complete, the team's attention now turns to the upcoming outdoor season. The Quakers will have a break of several weeks before the outdoor season's first meet on March 26. "We really don't have any time to rest right now," Adjah said. "With spring break coming up, we need to take advantage of all the time that we have."
(03/07/00 10:00am)
Having already clinched the Ivy League championship, M. Hoops hopes to cap a perfect league slate tonight. When the men's basketball teams from Penn and Princeton meet for the 202nd time tonight at 8 p.m., the fact that the Quakers have already clinched their second straight Ivy League title and trip to the NCAA Tournament goes right out the Palestra's ancient, paint-covered windows. The Quakers (20-7, 13-0 Ivy League) know that the Tigers (19-9, 11-2) will come with everything they can muster and that a Red and Blue win will bring something that Penn's senior trio of Michael Jordan, Matt Langel and Frank Brown have never experienced -- an undefeated season in the Ancient Eight. "It's nice to have won the championship," Langel said. "But being undefeated in the Ivy League has been a goal of ours from the beginning of the year." The Penn Class of 2000 has history on its side. Tonight marks the eighth time since the inauguration of official Ivy play in 1956-57 that Penn and Princeton have met in the final game of the regular season when one of the teams has already clinched the title. The league champion has emerged victorious from each of the seven previous meetings. That fact is somewhat misleading, however. On March 3, 1998, the last time this scenario came about, the roles were reversed and coach Bill Carmody's Tigers sported a near-perfect 26-1 record and a staggering No. 8 national ranking. Penn was 17-11, 10-3 in the Ivies and, on the surface, an obvious underdog. Forty minutes of basketball later, the score was knotted at 66. It took Princeton an overtime period to finally put the Quakers away, 78-72. What was supposed to be a coronation turned into a mutiny, further reinforcing the fact that the drama of this 97-year-old rivalry transcends wins, losses and league championships. "You can never call a Penn-Princeton game meaningless," Penn center Geoff Owens said. "You can almost throw out any incentive, any NCAA Tournaments, the Ivy League championship? and it's still going to be seriously intense." Penn currently boasts a 15-game winning streak -- the second longest in the nation -- and has won 20 consecutive Ivy games, dating back to a calamitous 50-49 collapse at the hands of the Tigers on February 9, 1999, at the Palestra. There have been a few shaky moments along the way in this Ivy campaign, the most notable of which was Penn's narrowest of wins at Harvard, 62-61, on February 26. Still, the Quakers, who have pretty much been healthy throughout, have tripped but never fallen. The Tigers, on the other hand, were decimated by injuries earlier in the season. With their second-leading scorer, freshman swingman Spencer Gloger, and sole senior, Mason Rocca, out of the lineup, the Orange and Black fell to lowly Yale, 44-42, before facing Penn for the first time. A 55-46 Quakers victory gave Princeton its second Ivy defeat and virtually sealed their bridesmaid status. Since that loss at Jadwin Gymnasium on February 15, the Tigers have disposed of their Ancient Eight competition in very convincing fashion. Princeton has beaten each of its six subsequent Ivy foes by double digits. The Tigers average margin of victory in this span is 21.5 points, compared to just a 14.7 average margin for the Quakers. Even if this is all too little, too late for Princeton, the Tigers' recent exemplary play makes tonight's Penn senior night all the more intriguing. Although fifth-year senior Brown was part of a 1995-96 squad that managed to beat the Tigers at home, Jordan and Langel have yet to notch a Palestra victory over Princeton. Tonight's game gains added significance because of this string of bad luck. "We would like to go out on a positive note," Jordan said. "I'm gonna miss playing college basketball. I'm gonna miss playing with these guys. Obviously, this is going to be a special night." The past decade of this rivalry has not been kind to the home team, however, as the visiting Ivy power has won 11 of the last 19. Still, this crop of Quakers has a better chance than most to break the mini-slump at home. Jordan sits comfortably in third place on the all-time Penn list with 1,571 points and is second in career assists with 463. Meanwhile, Langel has compiled 1,169 career points and has a very good chance to move into 19th position tonight, as he needs just 11 points to move past Paul Romanczuk. In addition, with just four three-pointers, he can tie Garett Kreitz at second place with 199 treys. Brown, who is ending his five-year Penn roller-coaster ride in style, is also coming off a 16-point barrage in the Quakers' victory over Yale this past Saturday. Barring an NIT bid for the Tigers, tonight will mark Rocca's final contest in a Princeton uniform. The rough-and-tumble big man was able to play 33 minutes against Penn in February, scoring 16 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, but has played a grand total of 28 minutes since then. Youth will complement the outgoing experience of both of these teams tonight as well. Particularly interesting will be the showdown between Gloger (12.1 ppg) and Penn's Ugonna Onyekwe (11.2 ppg), two of the league's premier rookies.
(03/07/00 10:00am)
John Sinclair conceived the idea of the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show about 30 years ago. Today, though, Sinclair is anything but a "sweet transvestite." Sinclair, who has since become a rabbi and now goes by the name of "Yaakov Asher," discussed his career transformation from producer and actor to rabbi and inspirational speaker before a crowd of about 20 students at Vance Hall on Thursday. Decades ago, while working as an actor in London and Hollywood, Sinclair said he never would have imagined himself as a rabbi. While working on the musical Hair in England, he and a friend came up with the idea of staging a "a science-fiction rock-and-roll musical." He made a deal with his friend that he would produce the stage musical if his friend agreed to write it. The result was the ever popular Rocky Horror Picture Show, which routinely draws devoted fans -- many of whom come dressed as their favorite characters from the film and bring assorted props -- to midnight screenings of the film in select theaters around the country. Before the production of the film in 1975, Sinclair opened up the first 24- track studio in New York, where Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody became the "magic hit." By 1976, with The Rocky Horror Picture Show still bringing in loads of money and four platinum music albums under his belt, Sinclair said he was enjoying an extravagant life. But he was far from content. "Is that all there is? Is this what people go crazy for?" Sinclair rhetorically asked the audience. It was about this time in the mid-1970s that Sinclair read The Shell, a Yiddish novel that relates the story of one man's return to his Jewish roots. The book, Sinclair said, would ultimately inspire him to inspect his own spirituality and return to Judaism. From then on, Sinclair said, he has pursued Judaism passionately, learning more about its religious tenets and practicing the beliefs that he had left behind in his childhood. Choosing God over Hollywood was by then an easy decision for Sinclair, who said he feels more fulfilled now than ever before. "People think that they're going to be happy by having material success, but I'm much happier now," Sinclair said. "I have a real feeling of contentment through the Torah and how the Torah tells us to live." Having experienced life from two radically different perspectives, Sinclair said he now desires to share his experiences with others. After the talk, several audience members said they attended because they had heard Sinclair was a charismatic speaker with an interesting story to tell. "He was inspirational," College freshman Risa Small said. "I really enjoyed how he would act his stories out. He's very talented." "He said things very humbly. He was open-minded and not at all preachy," College freshman Beno Freedman said. "That's not always the case with these things. His story was interesting, even in a non-religious way." The event was organized through the Hillel Outreach committee. College senior Matthew Wieder, who organized the talk, said, "It is of utmost importance that the 7,000 Jews on campus realize that no matter how far removed from Judaism they may be, as was the case with Rabbi Sinclair, it is never too late to learn more about their religion."
(03/07/00 10:00am)
The Penn men's basketball team wasn't the only team on campus winning a league title this past weekend. The Penn men's club hockey team battled back from a 1-0 deficit in the third and deciding game to defeat Temple 2-1 for the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference championship, putting the wraps on a very dramatic best-of-three series. Temple routed Penn 8-2 in the first game of the series, but Penn answered with an 8-3 drubbing the following night to set the stage for the winner-take-all third game at Lehigh. "We came out flat [in game one]," Penn sophomore Whit Matthews said. "The next night Temple didn't play worse, it was just that we came out on fire." In game three, Temple beat Penn goalie Pat Baude to open the scoring a little under seven minutes into the game. That was the only time Sunday afternoon that the Owls would solve Baude, who stopped 42 out of 43 Temple shots. Game three proved to be a goaltending duel as Temple goalie Mike Palermo was just as dominant as Baude. Palermo stopped an unbelievable 65-of-67 shots. With only 3:32 gone in the second period, the Quakers finally knotted the game at 1-1 on an unassisted goal by Matthews. Matthews tapped a face-off draw through the opposing center's legs and then beat Palermo through the five hole to put Penn on the scoreboard. The game remained deadlocked until Penn captain Joe Merrill scored what would prove to be the championship winning goal. Merrill's goal came with 12:20 left in regulation. Penn freshman Jeff Bagnoli, who is also a member of the Penn varsity sprint football team, found Merrill right on the doorstep and Merrill banged in his own rebound to give Penn its first-ever DVCHC Championship.
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After a 15-month search, Professors Michael Fitts became the third internal candidate to be named to a deanship this year. Law Professor Michael Fitts was named the new dean of the Law School yesterday, ending a 15-month search and marking the third time this academic year that the University has selected a candidate from within its own ranks for a top-level position. "Michael Fitts has superb academic judgement and proven leadership and administrative skills," University President Judith Rodin said in a statement. "We are absolutely delighted that he has accepted this new assignment." In February, Rodin appointed Patrick Harker to head the Wharton School, and she named Eduardo Glandt to the Engineering School's top post in November. Fitts succeeds former Law School Dean Colin Diver -- who stepped down in August after a decade of leadership -- and will replace Interim Dean Charles Mooney. In an interview yesterday, Fitts said he expects his new job to be both a challenge and an opportunity, as he prepares to enlarge the faculty and increase the school's endowment. "I like institution building," Fitts said. "I like hiring faculty. I like building programs. I like speaking with alumni." Over the next few years, Fitts said he hopes to hire between seven and eight new professors as well as expand the Law School's interdisciplinary reach, strengthening ties with the University's other professional schools. And, in the process, he said he will be able to improve the school's standing in various academic rankings. Currently the Law School is ranked 12th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. "We have to take [the rankings] very seriously and I take them seriously," Fitts said. "As we expand the faculty and expand the endowment, it can only help us." The announcement is the culmination of an exhaustive search, that ranks among the longest in the University's history. The search that landed Provost Robert Barchi took 13 months, and 16 months were required to select School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston. "The conclusion was terrific," said Wharton Vice Dean Richard Herring, who chaired the Law School dean search committee. "But if we had gotten the decision at six weeks, we would have been all the happier." A West Philadelphia native, Fitts graduated from Harvard University in 1975, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa. He later received a law degree in 1979 from the Yale University Law School. While at Yale, he served as editor of the Yale Law Journal. Before coming to Penn in 1985, Fitts worked as an attorney advisor for the Office of Legal Council at the U.S Justice Department and served as a law clerk for former University Trustee Leon Higginbotham, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Court. But while Fitts comes with a distinguished legal and academic background, he has never before been a rainmaker. "I have not done a lot of fundraising," Fitts said, unfazed by his inexperience at what has become a priority for most deans these days. "But I have a great product to sell -- an excellent law school with a lot of opportunities." According to Herring, Fitts' genuine enthusiasm gave the committee confidence that he could raise money. But it was his experience as the chairman of the Law School personnel committee at a time "when it did its best hiring in years" that made him stand out from the more than 100 candidates the committee reviewed. Although the nationwide search process dragged on for more than 15 months, Herring said Fitts was identified as a candidate right away. "If you went around the table that first day, [Fitts] was on the list. It was an obvious choice," Herring said. "But Fitts said that he wasn't willing to do it." According to Herring, before Fitts finally agreed to be considered late in the search process, the committee had reviewed a diverse group of candidates -- including practicing lawyers, other law school deans and six internal faculty members. Herring would not reveal the names of any other candidates the committee considered. As they narrowed their selections during the fall, Herring said the committee met more frequently -- conducting almost 80 hours of off-site interviews -- and meetings became more intense. "It was as rambunctious a committee as you will find, but we were all very collegial," Herring said. Herring said the committee submitted its final list of between three and six candidates to Rodin and Barchi in late December. The two then met privately with the individuals on the list before deciding on Fitts in early February. Although he never attended Penn, Fitts' connection to the University runs deep. His father,William Fitts, was the chairman of the Surgery Department in the Medical School. And his grandfather, Joseph Willits, was the dean of the Wharton School.
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About 150 people gathered to remember the West African immigrant, killed by four N.Y. police officers. On College Green last night, the United Minorities Council and the Greenfield Intercultural Center co-sponsored a candlelight vigil in memorial of Amadou Diallo, the West African immigrant who was shot to death in 1998 by New York City police officers who mistook his wallet for a gun. The four officers were acquitted of murder charges two weeks ago, to the dismay of many who saw it as another example of police brutality against African Americans. About 150 people, including students and professors from Penn and several nearby colleges, gathered on College Green. "As playing the role of representative of many people of color on this campus, it's very important that we make an overstatement against the injustice, and we bring it to the awareness of all Penn students," said College junior Archana Jayaram, the political chair of the UMC. Speakers at the event included University Chaplain William Gipson, Director of the Police Advisory Commission in Philadelphia Hector Soto, Political Science Professor Joao Resende-Santos and other audience members who wished to voice their concerns. Many of the speakers stressed the relevance of Diallo's death to their own lives, emphasizing that what happened to Diallo could have happened to anyone else when prejudices prevail. College sophomore Michelle Watson, the editor-in-chief of The Vision, Penn's independent black newspaper, told of how her mother bought tapes from Diallo, who was a New York City street vendor. "I know a man who lived on the same block three doors down," said Know Iself, a sophomore at a local school who addressed the crowd. Several visibly angry audience members discussed the prevalence of racial stereotypes and the detrimental effects they can have -- which, they say, provides a breeding ground for the Diallo case and other similar incidents. "I'm just frustrated. I'm just really upset," said UMC Chairman Jerome Byam, a College junior. "Before I open my mouth, someone has an opinion of me. I work hard, but people don't just look at me that way -- and I'm upset." In the beginning of the vigil, Gipson encouraged the crowd to heed the callings of Diallo's mother -- to "pray and fight" in order to prevent future racial injustices. Discussing the significance of holding such an event in the heart of a college campus, Wharton senior Sammy Sugiura, the chairman of the Asian Pacific Student Coalition, said, "The most important thing is to remember that these incidents do happen in the U.S. -- a lot of these victims don't have a voice to defend themselves. "The vigil is not only a way to bring light to the tragic way he died, but a way to educate everyone not only about his death, but of other hate crimes that occur," he added.
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Princeton might have taken the Ivy League title away from the Penn men's fencing team this season, but the Quakers got revenge when they edged the Tigers by one point and took second place at the Intercollegiate Fencing Association championships at Yale over the weekend. While fencing powerhouse St. John's won the men's three-weapon overall competition in addition to finishing first in both the sabre and epee events, Penn was second to the Red Storm in the overall and with the sabre. The Quakers finished fourth with the foil, one spot behind St. John's again. Penn's most impressive win came from junior sabre Mike Golia, who placed first in the individual sabre championship. Golia started out with a less-than-stellar performance on Saturday, a day when the Quakers fenced against 12 schools during a tiring 13-hour day at Yale's Lanman Center. "Going in there, I just wanted to beat a couple of people," Golia said. "I never thought I was going to win this competition because there are some really tough fencers." Golia barely made it to Sunday's individual tournament. To qualify for Sunday, he needed to finish in the top six in the elite sabre A pool -- and he ended up sixth. On Sunday, twelve fencers -- six from the A pool, four from the B pool and two from the C pool -- competed in a round robin. Eight moved on to compete in the final round robin. Once again, Golia was the last seed. But in the final round robin, Golia went 7-0, never allowing his opponents more than three touches. "On Sunday a lot of people came up to me and said, 'I've never seen you fence better,'" Golia said. "I just fenced a great day on Sunday." Golia's most memorable victory on Sunday was over the Red Storm's Ivan Lee, a member of the junior national team who beat Golia on Saturday. "Anyone watching those two guys fence would have no question that fencing was an athletic sport," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. "It was an extraordinary bout." Golia wasn't the only Quaker who qualified for the individual championships on Sunday. Sophomore sabres Daniel Vincent and Jeff Lee both made it to the second day, but were ousted in the preliminaries of the round robin. Penn junior foilist David Cohen, who won the foil competition last year, also qualified for the individuals. This year, Cohen only finished fourth -- but he did beat Columbia's Jed Dupree, who won the foil event. In the epee, Penn sophomore Jim Benson won seven bouts and just missed making the individual tournament, and sophomore Scott Eriksen went 5-1 before he had to withdraw due to a pulled hip flexor. Eriksen was replaced by Penn freshman Javier Garcia-Albea, who made an impressive IFA debut by winning approximately two-thirds of his bouts. Eriksen wasn't the only injured Red and Blue fencer. Despite fencing with a previously sprained ankle, senior captain David Liu, a foilist, won 10 of his bouts on Saturday and nearly made the cutoff for Sunday. "It was a decent performance," Micahnik said. "With a few more bouts here and there we might have got a higher score, but I don't necessarily think we would have had the balance to beat St. John's." And while Micahnik is happy about placing second overall, he still knows that the Quakers could have done better. "We didn't win everything there, so I'm not satisfied," he said. "That's just the way it is."
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Star triple jumper Tuan Wreh did not compete because of a hamstring injury from Heps. Consider how difficult it is for a team to sweep through the 64-team field in the NCAA basketball tournament. Now consider doing it with just three people in your starting lineup and your leading scorer sidelined with an injury. The Penn men's track team faced similar odds at last weekend's IC4A championships at Harvard when the Quakers sent just 18 men to the tournament, while top programs such as champion Georgetown sent in excess of 30. To make matters more difficult, Penn's star jumper, Tuan Wreh, made the trip to Boston but did not compete due to a nagging hamstring injury, which he initially suffered during his record-setting jump at the Heptagonal Championships the previous week. Georgetown's Nathan Rollins, who won the triple jump event, only outdistanced Wreh's Heps mark by 3 1/2 inches, suggesting that, if healthy, Wreh would have had a terrific shot at scoring some points for Penn. These circumstances rendered the Red and Blue unable to legitimately compete with the region's elite teams as Penn finished in an eight-way tie for 36th place in the enormous 104-team field. Penn athletes did not have visions of IC4A glory heading into the competition, as they acknowledged their lack of depth. "I think the only disappointment was that we didn't send more people there," junior pole vaulter John Church said. "I don't think we really expected to make an impact at ICs." Especially after having participated in Heps the prior weekend, admittedly the most significant meet of the indoor season to most Quakers, Penn came out somewhat flat in Cambridge, Mass. "Most Heps teams don't do very well [at IC4As]," said junior pole vaulter Josh Coleman, who agreed that the team's performance was not that big a disappointment, given the situation. Though the Quakers do not appear overly concerned with their outing, an occasional lack of focus continues to hamper the progress of the team and is causing inconsistency. "I just sort of lost it mentally for the first time this year," said Church, who is confident that such a lapse will not recur in the outdoor season. Even despite a possible lack of intensity, Church, as well as senior vaulter Bob Reynolds, still put forth solid efforts. Reynolds placed sixth with a clearance of 16'1", while Church finished seventh, clearing a height of 15'9". "As a unit, we did pretty well," Church said. Coleman, though, actually ran into some difficulty as he found out just how deep and challenging the IC4A field was. "The opening height was actually my PR, so I didn't do that well," he said, indicating that a career day would have been mandatory to advance. With the exception of Wreh and senior thrower Matt Pagliasotti, who are both still awaiting potential berths in this weekend's national championships, the rest of the Quakers can now turn their attention to something they hold in even higher regard than either indoor Heps or IC4As -- the outdoor season, which commences with the Quaker Invitational on March 25. The Red and Blue feel ready for the new season and will welcome the opportunity to host the majority of its spring meets, including Heps, after traversing much of the East Coast throughout the winter season. Though excited about its prospects, Penn is careful to not be overly optimistic. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves and start making predictions," Church said.
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Sarah Bruscia broke her own school record on the uneven bars for the Quakers, who easily topped Wilson. On a day that saw another school record broken and a new personal best set, the Penn gymnastics team's seniors said goodbye to Hutchinson Gymnasium in commanding style. The Quakers' total of 189.125 points dwarfed Wilson's 175.450, and Penn's four seniors ended their careers at Hutchinson in the same fashion they started them -- with unprecedented success. "As freshmen, they came in and helped lead a team that in '95 and '96 had recruiting difficulties," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. "They helped lift the program to the next level." Consistent with season-long performances, Penn's beam team provided the most outstanding routines of the meet. Turning in an outstanding performance on beam, Penn junior Sarah Bruscia broke her own school record of 9.825, established last season, with a meet-high 9.850. "Sarah's performance was simply brilliant," Kovic said. In addition, senior Joci Newman established a personal best score on balance beam with a score of 9.800 in her last regular season meet at home. "I'm glad that it happened here. It's just a good ending. I don't have any regrets with this team," Newman said. Penn captain Lizzie Jacobson contributed two solid routines in her return to the lineup after sitting out all last season with a knee injury. "Lizzie's just heroic comeback on bars and beam was just fantastic. She's worked so hard to get back into the lineup and she demonstrated that today," Kovic said. More significant than the loss of solid gymnastics scores, however, will be the new absence of leadership that the seniors have provided throughout the season. "They are one of the most motivational and spirited classes," Penn sophomore Lauren Hittner said. "We're going to miss their presence a lot." The meet did not go as smoothly as the Quakers had planned, with injuries and illness affecting the lineups. Junior Jenn Capasso is day to day with a hyper-extended knee, and junior Kelly Haberer is still bothered by her sprained foot ligament. "I stuck the landing on bars [at Saturday's meet], and my foot really hurt. I'll be on bars next weekend, but I'm probably done vaulting for the season," Haberer said. Sophomore Sarah Tudryn, crowned Ivy Classic champion on uneven bars in last week's meet, was out with the flu. But, despite the absence of some of the Quakers' most solid gymnasts, the team put together a strong, consistent effort. "With some people out today, the people that stepped into the lineup really stepped up for us," Penn senior Kirby Thorpe said. Up next on the agenda for the Quakers is the Wolfpack Invitational this Saturday, hosted by North Carolina State. "[The meet] is going to prepare us for ECACs. It's in the championship format and we're going to be competing against some of the top teams in the country," Kovic said. "We look forward to meets like this because it's such a high level of competition. Ivy and ECAC rival Yale will also be competing at the meet, providing another chance for the Quakers and Elis to renew their rivalry. "It will be exciting to see Yale again, which will help us for ECACs," Penn senior Becky Nadler said. Saturday's invitational will be the last chance for the senior Quakers to lead their team to another solid performance before ECACs.
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The Roots and Ben Folds Five will share top billing at the annual concert. Melding an unusual combination of harmonious piano rock and rhythmic hip hop, Ben Folds Five and the Roots will share center stage at this year's Spring Fling concert. The Social Planning and Events Committee, which announced the co-headliners last night, said negotiations for a smaller opening band are still in the works. By having the two groups co-headline the event on Friday, April 14, the concert's organizers hope to please a larger range of Penn students than in past years, when only one or two types of music were represented. "Our goal is to get a mix, since music is such a matter of taste," said SPEC concerts co-director Ari Jaffess, an Engineering senior. "I think a lot of people will be excited for these two bands." Tickets will go on sale on Locust Walk starting March 27. Tickets bought in advance will cost $15 for PennCard holders and $23 for the general public. There will be a yet-to-be-announced surcharge on tickets bought the day of the show. The concert will be held on Hill Field, rain or shine. For the last three years, the event has been moved inside to the Palestra because of adverse weather conditions. Ben Folds Five, a unique guitar-free piano trio, was formed in 1993 by pianist and singer Ben Folds. The group made a mainstream name for themselves with their hit single "Brick" in 1997. Their 1997 album, Whatever and Ever Amen, went platinum. Since then, they have also released another album, titled The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, which did rather poor commercially. The Roots, a Philadelphia-based rap and R&B; group, was formed in 1987. With no turntables or disc jockeys, the group is known for its use of live instrumentation at concerts and has in recent years exploded from the underground club scene to achieve critical success and widespread popularity. Drummer ?uestlove and rapper Black Thought -- who met while enrolled in Philadelphia's School for the Creative and Performing Arts -- have been called crafters of "organic hip hop." Their latest release and first live album is The Roots Come Alive. Off that album, the hit single "You Got Me" with singer Erykah Badu earned the group a Grammy in the category for the best duo performance. The Roots' other albums include Organix in 1993, Do You Want More!!??! in 1995 and Illadelph Halflife in 1996. Last year's Spring Fling headliner was the punk-ska band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. They were joined by Run DMC, D-Generation and Clowns for Progress. "These bands are more current than past year's bands," Jaffess said. Bands that have headlined Fling in past years include Violent Femmes, Cypress Hill and A Tribe Called Quest. The theme for this year's Spring Fling is "Fling Me Baby One More Time," inspired by teen-queen singing sensation Britney Spears' hit song.
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Departing from the proceedings of traditional Undergraduate Assembly meetings, the UA on Sunday night held a special program with more than a dozen United Minorities Council members to discuss community service and minority representation in student government. The UA and UMC combined forces in Logan Hall and broke up into small groups -- each with two UMC members and four representatives from the UA -- to tackle how the groups can together address student government representatives and community service initiatives. "The UA does not represent accurately the school. We don't have enough minority representation," UA Chairman Michael Silver, a College senior, told the roughly 40 students assembled for last night's meeting. He added that the small groups should "start talking about how these organizations can pool their resources." After spending nearly an hour brainstorming, discussing and debating different initiatives the UA and UMC could put forth, the small groups came back together to pool their ideas. Among the proposed community service projects for the two organizations were culturally infused service initiatives, mentoring the student governments of local high schools and working together for Habitat for Humanity. But the students also spent time addressing how to recruit minority students to run for the UA and, once those students decide to run, how to help get them elected. The small groups suggested that the UA educate UMC constituent groups about different candidates that directly pertain to their interests, hold more UA and UMC joint meetings and co-sponsor more events. "Even when minorities run, they don't get elected. We don't know why that is," Wharton and Engineering sophomore and UA member Michael Krouse said last night to his small group. He added that the election of the next UA this spring may generate more voters -- including minority students -- because students will be able to access ballots electronically through Penn InTouch. UMC members echoed the need for undergraduates, minority or not, to understand the impact of the UA on student life. "We have to extend the idea that this is something that will affect you," College junior and UMC member Kevin Chan said last night. After the special session with the UMC, the UA returned to its traditional agenda. The group passed a $1,500 budget request for Change for Change, a project that will provide students with small plastic cups to collect spare change and, at the end of the year, pool it with other members of their college house, fraternity or sorority. The change collected will be donated to Upward Bound, a program to help Philadelphia high school students gain admission to four-year colleges and universities. The UA also passed a resolution supporting a new funding plan for Student Health Services that will prevent students insured by Penn Student Health Insurance from having to pay a Clinical Fee twice, as the current plan mandates.
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Over eight years, Penn will spend $23 million to updae safety systems. Acting in the wake of a disastrous Seton Hall University dormitory fire that killed three students there, Penn's Department of Fire and Occupational Safety recently announced a $23 million plan to install updated fire safety equipment in all on-campus residences. The plan calls for state-of-the-art alarm, sprinkler and detector systems to be installed in residential buildings over an eight-year period and for new public address systems to be integrated into the University's three high-rise college houses. Director of Fire and Occupational Safety Harry Cusick said that while the University's residential buildings currently meet code, changing standards and concerns following Seton Hall's fire have made such improvements a necessity. "With the code, we are where we need to be," Cusick said. "We're always trying to figure out the ways where it's possible to step up our preventative procedures." All of the University's 12 college houses currently feature smoke detectors in all rooms and sprinklers in basements and laundry rooms, Cusick said, though the goal is to bring the buildings beyond the city's minimum fire safety requirements. "We're in compliance and we're also upgrading everything as the [college house] renovations go on," Cusick said. "What we're doing in the high rises and elsewhere is even going beyond compliance." He added that the new high-rise public address system and additional fire safety staff is going to help ease the crucial flow of information to students in the event of a fire alarm. "It was our thought that by having direct communication on every floor, we could get more on-site contact with students," Cusick said. "Having a few additional people on our staff is also going to help out." Dormitory fire safety has been an issue of great discussion ever since a fire struck Seton Hall's Boland Hall in January, killing three students and sending 55 to the hospital. Since then, fire and police officials -- as well as a federal grand jury -- have been working to isolate the factors that contributed to the fire. Three suspicious sofa fires in a third-floor lounge are currently being blamed for the disaster. But Penn officials reviewing the case have expressed concerns regarding the contribution of two particular factors: alcohol and prior false alarms. "One of the things that we saw at Seton Hall -- and it's stunning, particularly as far as colleges go -- is that alcohol was definitely involved," Cusick said. "Alcohol is the catalyst in about 50 percent of fires in the general population, while at colleges it's more than 90 percent." He added that it is often the victim's intake of alcohol -- as well as that of an intentional or accidental arsonist -- that contributes to fires and injuries. False alarms provide further challenges to fire safety, Cusick said, as they dampen residents' recognition of the seriousness of alarms. In 1999, only 48 of 335 fire alarms in campus buildings were real fires. To combat these challenges, University Police have pledged vigorous investigation of all false alarm incidents. "People become very complacent when it comes to alarms, so our goal is to decrease the perception that when someone hears bells, it's some kind of a false alarm," University Police Chief Maureen Rush said. "We're also really adamant about prosecuting anyone who has pulled a false alarm or discharged a fire extinguisher." Rush, whose department works directly with Cusick's division of Fire and Occupational Safety, added that the Seton Hall fire may have been a valuable warning sign for the rest of the higher education community. "It takes a tragedy sometimes," Rush said. "Seton Hall, tragic as it was, will probably end up saving lives across the country."
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Each of the local bands invited to participate in Friday night's "Attack of the Cover Bands" at the former Christian Association building write and perform their own songs. But this weekend, the six indie rock groups decided to pay homage to their own favorite bands -- including the Rolling Stones and The Smiths, among others -- by performing their tunes in front of an energetic audience of about 300 area college students and other music fans from the region. Co-sponsored by the Social Planning and Events Committee and the Foundation, the concert brought to campus bands like The Persons, Atom and His Package, Asteroid #4, Clock Strikes Thirteen, Lilys and Strapping Fieldhands to perform covers of bands of their choice as well as original selections of their own. With characteristic aplomb and enthusiasm, the bands rocked the auditorium for four hours. "It is a really good idea how the bands are covering one band they like. I've seen it done at other places before, but I'd never seen it done in this area," said Dany Sloan, a student at nearby Westchester College. "It is a good way to attract people and for them to see a different side of the bands they like." Audience members -- most of whom stood throughout the entire show -- ranged from silent admirers of the music who swayed contemplatively to the drum beats and the electric guitar strokes while banging heads and tapping the floor to those who danced more actively. Other audience members seemed particularly pleased that some of their favorite bands were present at the show. "Atom is the greatest guy in the world, so it makes the whole show worth it," Wharton freshman Mike Berlin said of Atom and His Package, who covered The Mountain Goats. Many of the band members seemed to enjoy their participation in the event as well. "It was very fun," said Benjamin Xavier Kim, the lead singer of both The Persons and Clock Strikes Thirteen. "I saw people dancing at the end." And others, in turn, commented on the state of support for local artists. "I think it's really important that people take a stand on their community activities, what kind of things you want to see your community do," said Kurt Heasley of Strapping Fieldhands. "Do you want just classical music as a cultural event? Or do you want to explore local talent?" The concert benefited from more sophisticated equipment and from the support of sound and light engineers who provided much of the ambience of the event. "Each musical group had a very distinct style and sound which was both exciting and challenging," said 1999 Engineering graduate Harris Romanoff, who works as a light engineer. "I had only worked with Clock Strikes Thirteen before, so almost all of the lighting effects had to be done on the spot." The concert was produced by College junior Jared Goldman and College sophomore Nick McDermott-- both SPEC liaisons -- with the support of College senior Andrew Zitcer, who is also the director of the Foundation. The Foundation works to bring together the arts and culture of the West Philadelphia and Penn communities in a meaningful partnership. "The Foundation was the perfect organization to host the event," Goldman said. "Its support has been invaluable for us tonight.
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Medical school-bound undergraduates might be pleased to know that it is more than their grade point averages and Medical College Admission Test scores that count in the often cutthroat pre-med environment. Last night, in a small lecture room of Stiteler Hall packed with about 130 Penn pre-med students, four deans of admissions from elite medical schools shared their views on the ins and outs of the application process and offered advice on pursuing a career as a physician after medical school. The topics discussed ranged from what medical schools are looking for to the quality of life at schools in general to working as a physician in the 21st century. Most of the students present were freshmen, sophomores and juniors, with only a few seniors interspersed in between. Those who came said they wanted to get a better idea of what qualities medical schools require of their applicants. "This [panel] allows you to have contact with people you normally wouldn't be able to during the admission process: the deans of admission," College sophomore Meredith Chiaccio said. The panelists stressed that high scores and grades are not the only important criteria for medical schools. Besides strong academic credentials, quality of character and individual special characteristics rank high on the lists of medical schools, the panelists said. "You need to have meaningful, dedicated involvement in something important to you," said Charles Bardes, an admissions officer at Cornell University's Weill Medical College. He stressed the importance of having different life experiences and possessing special talents and activities. A doctor, Bardes said, needs a balance of biomedical knowledge and healing ability. George Heinrich, the assistant dean for admissions at the New Jersey Medical School, then discussed the gap between the pre-med experience and life as a physician. He stressed that good doctors understand themselves and can interact successfully with those around them. And Gaye Sheffler, the director of admissions and financial aid at Penn's School of Medicine, did her best to soothe students' nerves about the interviewing part of the application. "You need to think about what things about you are special and unique and will contribute to the medical profession," she told the students. Students then asked questions on issues including whether they can take time off between college and medical school, taking the MCAT and required courses and receiving financial aid. College junior Ayca Gucalp said she felt the panel "reaffirmed [her] general idea of the process." "It was well organized and informative, but they didn't get into the details of the process," Gucalp said. "It was a more general idea."
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In wake of TLA Video's decision not to open a branch at Penn, University officials and student leaders have already started the search for another video retailer. Members of the Undergraduate Assembly and Penn officials agreed last week they would try to lure a chain video rental store to campus after having difficulty locating another independent store. Tom Lussenhop, the University's top real estate official, said he has begun negotiating with several large national chains, including Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. He added that the University will hopefully have a new video store by the fall, calling that target "optimistic." "Right now, students still crave movies," said UA Chairman Michael Silver, who met with the University to present the group's recommendations for a new campus video operation. "TLA would have been awesome, but it's not happening," Silver said last week. "The only choice we have is a chain." The Philadelphia-based TLA had been in talks with the University since September, when both parties showed an interest in filling the vacant store adjacent to the Eat at Joe's diner on the 3900 block of Walnut Street. But following a boom in the eclectic distributor's online sales and speculation of old-fashioned video rental becoming obsolete, they opted not to come to Penn. Students have repeatedly asked for more video options on campus -- a request the UA hopes to fulfill through its work with the University. "In the area of campus retail and social options, this is the priority for the UA," said Silver, a College senior. Lussenhop, who solicited the UA's input, said "this will be a good opportunity for the UA leadership to get more involved. They're part of the process." He added that UA members will meet with representatives from each of the chains during negotiations. UA video store recommendations include support from a 1998 student survey and criticism of the current video rental option -- Video Library on the 40th block of Locust Street. According to a UA statement, the 1998 UA 40th Street Developmental Survey showed that 53 percent of 470 students polled expressed interest in a late-night video store, while anecdotal evidence -- especially freshmen input -- also supports another store. In its recommendations, the UA complained that the Video Library -- which closes at 10 p.m. on weeknights and Saturdays -- lacks accessibility and selection. "Video Library doesn't cut it," said Silver. Bringing a late-night video store to campus was a recommendation made last spring by Provost Robert Barchi's Working Group on Alcohol Abuse as a way to provide more non-alcoholic activities on campus. Silver said he told Lussenhop that students would welcome a national video chain to campus, despite student complaints that the campus is starting to resemble a mall. UA member Molly Siems, a College freshman, participated in last week's meeting, as representative of the first-year perspective. "It'd be a good idea to have one of the bigger names in a more visible space [for freshmen]," Siems said. The University will first show retailers the empty space next to Eat at Joe's, followed by other locations along 40th and Walnut streets, according to Lussenhop.
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Starting today, the Undergraduate Assembly is offering students the chance to tell University President Rodin exactly what they think of Penn. During this week and the week after spring break, the UA is sponsoring an online survey called UA Visions, intended to let administrators -- as well as the UA -- know what students are looking to take away from their Penn experience. "This will give us a good idea of what individual students want," said UA member Josh Klein, who is in charge of the Visions project. The survey will include questions in five categories --academics, social life, ethnic diversity, relations between Penn and West Philadelphia and expectations versus experience. Respondents will rate each aspect of campus life on a scale of one to 10, and they will also have the option to write in their own personal responses to the detailed questions. Students will be able to access the survey beginning today and lasting through the week after spring break. The survey Internet link will be e-mailed to class listservs and the UA will advertise it on campus and in The Daily Pennsylvanian. To encourage students to fill out the surveys, the UA will award gift certificates to local restaurants and online retailers to randomly selected students who participate. Klein said the UA will spend about $250 on several online certificates and they are also seeking out restaurants to donate gifts. The UA will take about a week to tabulate the results and will then compile the results of the survey into a book, which will be presented to Rodin, Provost Robert Barchi, Executive Vice President John Fry and the undergraduate deans. "[Rodin's] enthusiastic herself for the survey," Undergraduate Assembly Chairman Michael Silver said. The College senior said the UA would develop a summary of their major findings and they "definitely want to draw specific policy ideas" to give to Rodin. Visions is not the first online questionnaire sponsored by the UA -- the assembly conducted a survey on alcohol use earlier this year, to which about 2,400 students responded. According to Klein, a College sophomore, the UA is taking action to ensure that even more will fill out the Visions survey. Another initiative geared toward learning students' opinions was launched last week by the Penn National Commission. The newly created PennTalks will facilitate discussion between students on issues at Penn, offering the information to Rodin. But Silver said the two efforts will not conflict. "I don't see it as an adversarial thing at all," he said.
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The FDA refused to lift the band on gene therapy studies at Penn's Institute for Human Gene Therapy. In a scathing letter to Penn's Institute for Human Gene Therapy on Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected the Institute's defense of its handling of the clinical study that cost an 18-year-old man his life and refused to lift the ban on gene therapy at the University. In the 20-page warning letter addressed to IHGT Director James M. Wilson, who led the study, federal regulators charged the researcher with having "failed to fulfill the obligations as the sponsor" of gene therapy studies, and accused him of violating federal human research regulations. "We are disappointed that the FDA appears to discount a number of the responses to those charges filed by the IHGT," University officials said in a written statement issued Friday. The warning comes six weeks after the FDA charged the Institute with 18 possible violations of federal research protocol breaches and placed a ban on all gene therapy at Penn. IHGT officials responded to the allegations last month and an external committee of scientists is expected to release its findings by mid-April. Federal regulators refuted nearly all of the responses offered by the Institute concerning the gene therapy trial in which Jesse Gelsinger, who died last September, was enrolled.Wilson and his researchers later determined that Gelsinger died of multiple organ failure induced by the gene therapy. The Institute -- which until recently had been considered one of the top gene therapy research centers in the world -- now has 15 business days to inform the FDA about any corrective steps that will be taken and submit any data and documentation for which the letter calls. But a source close to the investigation said that the University will now only submit the documents asked for in the letter; it will not seek to dispute every point with the FDA. "We will not reiterate our position on all of those points that state that we don't agree with [the FDA]," the source said, adding that the University will now await the FDA's final decision on gene therapy at the University, whether it be a lifting of the six-week-old ban or a continued or permanent suspension. University spokesman Ken Wildes said Penn officials could not speculate about the FDA's next move. FDA spokesman Larry Bachorik said the warning letter represents a major attack on Wilson's credibility as a gene therapy researcher. "Warning letters are issued only for serious violations," he explained. He added that the fact that the FDA issued Wilson such a letter "suggests that we had serious concerns" about Wilson's ability to conduct gene therapy research. "I think it's fair to say that the FDA disagreed with many of the responses," Bachorik said. "We take these violations very seriously, and we will closely monitor the response." While the letter is directed specifically to Wilson in his capacity as head of the Institute, the source said he expects Wilson and the two other principal researchers of the trial -- Steven Raper and Mark Batshaw -- to receive similar letters by Wednesday, which would "take them to task as investigators." Neither Wilson, nor Medical School Senior Vice Dean Richard Tannen, who has spoken for IHGT in the past, were available for comment, according to Wildes. Lee Silver, a professor of Molecular Biology and public affairs at Princeton University, said it's unlikely that this marks the end of gene therapy at Penn. "I think mediation will take place and all the deficits in the protocols will be corrected, and it will come back," he said. In the letter, the FDA maintained its position that patients were not properly informed about the dangers posed by the gene therapy trial. The letter stated that patients were unaware of prior adverse events in the trial, and cited numerous cases of poor documentation. Another issue that the FDA raised in the letter was that the IHGT failed to notify regulators of the deaths of two laboratory monkeys and the liver toxicity of a third until one year after the trial was completed. IHGT officials had maintained that the two monkeys were enrolled in studies unrelated to the Gelsinger case, and that the third -- though on a study very similar to the OTC study -- received a dosage of genes far greater than what OTC patients received. But regulators insisted that researchers "had an affirmative obligation" to notify the FDA about the monkey results. The FDA also reasserted its claim that many patients -- Gelsinger included -- were ineligible to participate because of high blood ammonia levels. In its response to the FDA, Wilson's researchers explained that though Gelsinger's ammonia level was high prior to infusion, previous readings were within protocol limits. But the FDA letter insisted that IHGT researchers should have waited to see if Gelsinger's ammonia levels would have decreased before proceeding.