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(10/12/90 9:00am)
Kazin is known for his book "On Native Grounds: An Interpretation of Modern American Prose Literature." He has also held numerous academic and editorial posts. Kazin will read from his most recent work, "The Almighty Has His Own Purposes: Lincoln, God and the Civil War." He is currently professor of literature at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. PEN at Penn speakers are chosen from the ranks of the PEN American Center, a worldwide association of poets, playwrights, editors, essayists, novelists, and translators. The program to bring PEN speakers to campus began in the fall of 1987. It is funded by University graduate and Trustee Saul Steinberg, who came up with the idea for the program. PEN members who have come to speak -- among them George Plimpton, Susan Sontag and Steven Sondheim -- are called Steinberg Fellows in his honor. PEN speakers are selected by a committee chaired by English Professor Robert Lucid. He said this week that the committee tries to choose speakers from a variety of backgrounds. "We try to appeal to different constituencies," Lucid said. He also said he is excited about Kazin speaking because of the influence Kazin had during the middle half of this century. "I think so highly of Kazin that it is difficult to exaggerate," Lucid said. The other speakers scheduled for this fall are author John Wideman, who is also a University alumnus and former professor of English, and historian and political critic Arthur Schlesinger Jr. Kazin will speak from 4 to 5 p.m. in Room B-6 of Stiteler Hall on Wednesday. The speech is free.
(10/11/90 9:00am)
During yesterday's University Council meeting, Hackney charged Judicial Inquiry Officer Constance Goodman with investigating the 45-minute show, aired October 2, during which the hosts split a bottle of tequila, discussed oral sex in explicit detail and showed pictures of nude men and women. The president requested that Goodman pay particular attention to the portion of the show where hosts identified first-year women by their name and face from the Freshman Record and put one woman's voice on the air without her knowledge or consent. Hackney said that he shared the University community's "deep revulsion" at the show's contents. "I really feel for the two women involved," Hackney said. "When [the hosts] were engaged in what they thought were fun and games, they may have affected the lives of other people." The hosts and producers -- Wharton senior Vincent Fumo and College senior Richard Rothstein -- called two women, reaching one on the air. They put the student's voice on the air, commented on her appearance and asked if she would agree to go on a date with one of them. UTV's executive committee fired Rothstein and Fumo and canceled Pig Penn the day after the show premiered. Hackney commended UTV officials for their "swift" action, saying after the meeting that the station management "moved in a very responsible way." Rothstein said last night he was sorry if the show offended anyone, adding that the hosts did not mean to harass the women. But he said he did not understand the furor over the show. "Would it be construed as harassment if a woman called me on a show and said that my picture was attractive and if I were so in real life?" Rothstein said. "I very much doubt it . . . I don't think that it's making people feel vulnerable by telling them they look attactive in their face book picture." Fumo could not be reached for comment last night. Fumo, son of Pennyslvania state senator Vincent Fumo, changed his phone number within the past week. JIO Goodman said yesterday that she will begin her investigation this morning by viewing the show and by talking with Station Manager Dianne Rekstad for more information. "Depending on what I find in the tape I will go forward with the investigation," Goodman said last night. But it is unclear how Goodman will obtain a copy of Pig Penn because few copies exist. Rothstein said last night that he does not have a copy of the show. UTV officials could not be reached for comment last night and it is not certain whether UTV owns a station copy. Hackney said yesterday that he asked JIO Goodman to investigate the show after reading partial transcripts of the show and a guest column, both of which ran on the editorial pages of The Daily Pennsylvanian.
(10/08/90 9:00am)
University Television officials will put stricter controls on what goes over the air and what goes on in the studio after controversy over what the station termed a "blatantly offensive" talk show. Officials Friday changed station policy to ban alcohol in the studio and proposed to give the UTV program director power to pull the plug in the middle of a live show, Production Manager Kirk Marcolina said last night. Taped shows would have to be viewed by the production director in advance. The executive committee canceled the program and fired the producers and hosts of the program -- College senior Richard Rothstein and Wharton senior Vincent Fumo -- because of their behavior on the show. During the 45-minute premiere, shown last Tuesday, Rothstein and Fumo discussed oral sex in graphic detail, displayed both male and female centerfolds from Playgirl and D-Cup magazines, and called first-year women whose pictures appeared in the Freshmen Record. During the show, Fumo and Rothstein each downed numerous shots of tequila. UTV said they fired the two because they could have damaged UTV's equipment. The alcohol ban in the studio became effective immediately after Friday's board meeting. At the meeting Friday, the board proposed that the program director sit in on all live shows and terminate broadcasts if he or she deems it necessary. Criticism of the show intensified after the publication of a partial transcript in a Friday Daily Pennsylvanian editorial. Because UTV can be seen only in Superblock dormitories, many students were not familiar with the show's content until they read the DP account. Several students said last night that the show was shocking and offensive. "I thought it was definitely in poor taste and the humor was pathetic," College sophomore Elana Horden, who viewed the show, said last night. "The other [UTV] shows were pretty disgusting also, but this one was unbelievably disgusting." Some students said last night that although Rothstein and Fumo had a right to express their opinions, they should not have said them on the air. "You can't step on other peoples' rights in order to get a joke out of it," College freshman Dana Lynch said. "They have a right to say it, but they shouldn't do it publicly." Associate Communications Professor Carolyn Marvin, who teaches a course on freedom of expression, said last night that while the printed transcripts she read were were offensive, UTV's right to broadcast the show should be questioned only if the DP's right to publish the transcript is also questioned. "I think the DP did a service by printing a portion of the transcript so that the campus could discuss it," Marvin said. "But if we were to say that UTV could not broadcast that portion, we would also have to say that the DP could not print it." Pig Penn has received media coverage in Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania due in part to the fact that Fumo is the son of State Senator Vincent Fumo (D-Phila.) Matthew Hilk contributed to this story.
(10/05/90 9:00am)
All three of the popular campus restaurants will remain open to serve food and non-alcoholic beverages, and the owners of Backstreet and Kelly and Cohen said they will appeal the decision. The owner of High Rise said that he would probably not file an appeal. LCB spokesperson Donna Pinkham said that the appeal process could be as brief as one week, but said that in the past, only a few appeals have been successful. The current liquor licenses do not expire until October 31. Pinkham said that sale to minors was the main reason why the bars' licenses were not renewed. She said that in the past two years, each of the three establishments has been cited and fined two or three times for between $300 and $1250, and has had its license suspended, for serving minors. "When [LCB members] see evidence of blatant disregard for the law, you're putting your license in jeopardy," Pinkham said. In all, 21 licenses were not renewed at the LCB's twice-monthly meeting Wednesday, she said. The owner of High Rise Restaurant, who gave his name only as Pano, said that he does not need the liquor license and may "let it go." He said he is happy with his food business. Kelly and Cohen owner Vinesh Vyas said yesterday that he was confident he would regain his license on appeal. He said, however, that he has tried to deemphasize the restaurant's liquor business. He said employees now check identification more closely and the establishment closes at 10 p.m. "The aggravation was just not worth it," Vyas said. He said that both Kelly and Cohen and Poor Richard's Deli, which he also owns, will remain open to sell food even if he does not win the appeal. Backstreet Cafe owner Mark Wright also said that he will appeal, but added that future plans are "up in the air." Backstreet will remain open regardless of the result of the appeal, he said. College junior Jeffrey Jacobson, co-chairperson of the University Council's safety and security committee, said that the combination of the non-renewal, the new fraternity BYOB policy and the University's strict alcohol policy may "push campus drinking further west." Jacobson said that travel back to campus from off-campus bars and parties poses problems, since intoxicated students are less able to recognize dangerous situations and are easier targets for crime. Jacobson said that the Council's safety and security committee is discussing the role alcohol plays in crimes. Smokey Joe's Tavern, along with High Rise, was on a list of "nuisance" bars submitted to the LCB by state police over the summer. Smoke's license was renewed. "There isn't any bar in a college area that isn't vulnerable, because there's so many underage people directly across the street from you who don't obey the law," said Paul Ryan, the owner of Smoke's.
(10/04/90 9:00am)
Some professors have been waiting 45 years for this week. For the faculty members who were born in Germany or those who have spent their entire careers researching Germany, this week's reunification of East and West Germany represents the beginning of a new era in their research. And while the German unity is just a day old, some have already used the startling events as basis for studying, celebrating and re-assessing the world. "I think that it's a new world," said History professor Thomas Childers. "The second World War is finally over." Childers, who teaches the popular "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" class, said that since both his father and uncle fought in World War II, he has devoted much of his research to the evolution of Nazism in the early part of the 20th century. Childers said he expects the new Germany to be very different from the one that existed in the first half of this century. He said that the fact that most Germans today were born after World War II is an assurance that this united Germany would learn from its past mistakes. But Childers is not alone in his optimism for the future. "What has happened since January internationally is more or less a stunning execution of the impression that they belong together," German Professor Frank Trommler said this week. But professors added that there must be several economic and political changes before the reunification can be declared a total success. Economics and Finance professor Lawrence Klein has spent the last year studying the dramatic changes in Germany as part of Project Link, an international group which attempts to predict the world economy. Klein, a Nobel Laureate in economics, said that the former West Germany will need to "bail out" the financially troubled East Germany, adding that there will probably be a need to rebuild the infrastructure and modernize work habits in the former Communist country. Still, he also predicted that the merger will be successful. "On the whole, people believe that this will be a production juggernaut -- that it will be a very powerful economic state," Klein said. "I think anyone who has been through the second World War is thinking back to the contrast in emotions in 1945 and today, wondering whether there will be a new Germany or not," added Klein. Assistant Political Science Professor Michaela Richter, who was raised in West Germany, said she never expected anything but the status quo for her native country. She also said she is still awed by the speed of reunification. "One [will have] to rediscover the identity in being German," she said. But the reunification of the Germany has affected more than just the personal opinions of the professors. Trommler and Richter, for example, have both visited Germany in the past year to do first-hand research of the remarkable changes. Trommler visited Germany in May to study the new economic plans, while Richter spent the summer in East Berlin and Bonn meeting with German political leaders. And Richter added that she believes after talking with German leaders this summer, that the new goverment will be able to handle any short-term problems caused by reunification. "The first thing one can say is that it's approached in a much more sober fashion," she said. "The enthusiasm of last December has, well, not evaporated, but changed into a sober energy to transform this Germany." "Although there are some differences about what the costs are and who will pay for it, for the first time there is a consensus," she added.
(09/28/90 9:00am)
Last February it took editors of The Vision over nine hours to lay out the very first edition of their newspaper. But for the more experienced staff set to release its first issue of the semester next Monday, final production is just a short evening's work. As the campus's black student newspaper begins its second semester of publication, staff members say that they expect the publication to be a stronger force this year, and that The Vision is here to stay. The monthly newspaper was formed last January by then-College sophomores Harold Ford and Altoine Scarborough so that black students would have a forum in which to address the issues important to them. Ford, who is continuing as the paper's managing editor this semester, said last week that the publication "is there to articulate and reflect the concerns of the African-American community to everyone." The Vision, which came out three times last semester, is currently the only minority campus newspaper. Two other papers, The Voice and The New Voice, were last seen in the mid-1980s. Wharton senior Gabrielle Glore, The Vision's new editor-in-chief, said last week that although the newspaper's main emphasis is not on creating racial harmony on campus, she hopes that the paper will help non-black readers understand the issues important to black students. She said the paper can be used as a tool for understanding the differences between groups of people on campus. Glore also said the paper helps the black community to address issues openly and to strengthen bonds. She added that she is confident that it will remain a permanent part of the University. The 2000 copies of the first issue will be distributed to University buildings and to all West Campus residences and dining halls. Several black students said The Vision fills a void which they previously felt in their community. "African-American concerns written by African-American students have never been addressed in the DP and that is important," College senior Thomas said. "A lot of times it [The Vision] may not appeal to large proportions of the University population and people may take the stories for granted if they are written for the DP." And College junior Marcella Goodridge said this week that the paper "makes us as a community more recognized, more seen, more known as a force at Penn." "The DP is okay in terms of general information," Goodridge added. "But I think every ethnic group should have a paper to express their individual thoughts." And Wharton senior Stephanie McNeal said she thinks the newspaper is essential for black students because "some things are more important to the African-American community, but not to the University as a whole." While some non-black students said they do not understand the black community's need for a separate newspaper, others said they support The Vision's effort to publish black students' goals and ideas. "I would like to read [The Vision] to have a better understanding of the needs of black students on campus and what they as a community want to do," College junior Denise Wolf said this week.
