Search Results
Below are your search results. You can also try a Basic Search.
(10/09/91 9:00am)
Campus Apartments wants to see if the road is big enough for another escort service. The company which rents dozens of houses to students in the campus area now offers a free shuttle service which may siphon some of its tenants away from the University's Escort Service. "It's quick and direct," said College junior Walter Benjamin, whose landlord is Campus Apartments. "I don't have to worry about someone stealing my bike, which allows me to concentrate on my studies while I'm in class. It's a necessity that more realtors should be providing." Benjamin prefers the new service to the University's Escort. First-year Veterinary School student Lara Chavin said that the shuttle bus is much more efficient than Escort. "I've used Penn Escort a few times and twice I've had to wait an entire hour," Chavin said. Assistant Director of Transportation and Parking Stephen Carey said that Escort had to deal with a 60 percent increase within the past year. "I hope that [Campus Apartments's shuttle] will decrease the amount of students that use Penn Escort," said Carey. "I hope that the two services will compliment each other." Though the service is still in its infancy, Campus Apartments General Manager Dan DeRitis said he is concerned that some tenants do not know how to register for it. Tenants are asked to come into the Campus Apartments office, verify that they are tenants, and get their names on the shuttle list. Then, tenants need only show their PENNcards for easy access onto the bus. Though Campus Apartments's shuttle service has only been operating for one week, the idea for it was informally considered in 1989. "We originally created the idea for buildings that we had further west two years ago," DeRitis said. "We then abandoned it when we sold the buildings out at 48th Street because we believed that there was no need for it." But DeRitis said that a year ago one of his tenants on 41st Street had suggested the idea of a shuttle service and that many people would use it. Campus Apartments began informally polling prospective tenants coming in to sign leases and received encouraging feedback. This led to the existing shuttle service. To provide efficient service for stops both on and off campus, Campus Apartments has installed a cellular phone in the shuttle bus. This has proven to save time by allowing tenants to call the driver directly, DeRitis said. The service is currently operating from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and continues at 5 p.m. until the early morning hours when it receives its last call. But DeRitis says that flexibility is their main concern, and hours will be adjusted to suit tenant demands. Campus Apartments has set boundaries at 45th and Pine streets, 40th and Sansom streets, 42nd and Chester streets and 33rd Street, which encompasses much of the University area. The shuttle bus will stop at any University building or commercial establishment within these boundaries. In addition, the shuttle service will make stops at both the train station at 30th and Market streets and at Philadelphia International Airport. Though initial responses have been partial to Campus Apartments' shuttle, DeRitis has no desire to rival Escort. "People walking the streets is a concern of mine," DeRitis said. "I live here and walk down the same streets [students] walk down. I guess objectively I see things differently than other landlords. I don't know anyone that lives here but me."
(10/04/91 9:00am)
A Soviet-born University professor suggested Wednesday night that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was somewhat less than a victim in August's coup attempt. "Mr. Gorbachev prepared it. He orchestrated it," said Decision Sciences Professor Aron Katsenelinboigen. Katsenelinboigen suggested that Gorbachev surely would have been killed by the coup plotters if he had not taken part. Furthermore, he questioned the purpose of one of the plotters visiting Gorbachev on the third day of the coup. Katsenelinboigen, who lived in the Soviet Union for over 40 years, spoke at a 90-minute forum addressing the question "Did Gorbachev Mastermind the Coup?" at Bodek Lounge. Katsenelinboigen began his speech with a history lesson on Russian leadership. He said that for the past 700 years, Russia and the Soviet Union has been under totalitarian regime by two types of leaders -- forceful and flexible. Katsenelinboigen characterized Gorbachev as another totalitarian leader. "Mr. Gorbachev was and is a leader who tried to preserve . . . his own power by flexible methods," he said. Katsenelinboigen offered the 60 people in attendance a number of recent events that he claimed illustrate Gorbachev's tendency towards totalitarianism, among them the conflict in the Baltic republics this past January. The professor said that Gorbachev blamed the Lithuanians for the deaths of several citizens, and that this incident was a "very clear statement that [Gorbachev] supported right-wing methods." In the wake of the coup, Katsenelinboigen believes the future of the Soviet Union is bleak. "In spite of all the very interesting and liberal things, I'm very pessimistic [about] what will be the future," he said. According to Katsenelinboigen, the widespread belief that democracy is finally taking hold in the Soviet Union is unfounded. He said that the media exaggerated the participation of the masses in protests. Furthermore, Katsenelinboigen says that the existence of "semi-military groups and chauvinistic organizations" in the Soviet Union make the possibility of a Russian nationalist government much more likely than a democracy, though he added that he hopes that does not happen. He also said that the introduction of capitalism, while needed, would hurt the Soviet economy. "To introduce a market system is to bring unemployment," he said. Following the speech, College and Wharton junior Vladimir Bernstein, who is a resident of Moscow, disagreed with Katsenelinboigen, saying citizens did resist the takeover. "I was in Moscow [during the coup], and I saw a lot of people in the subway and bus stops who were strongly protesting the coup attempt who were ready to fight," Bernstein said. He was unsure, however, as to whether or not Gorbachev masterminded the coup. "He was very sincere after the coup," Bernstein commented, "But he is also a very bright politician." College senior John Bertland also disagreed with aspects of Katsenelinboigen's speech. "He certainly left out a lot of events regarding the military and what they did," Bertland said. "My personal reaction is . . . that he's right." Garg said. "The optimism [in this country] is dangerous and unfounded." Last night's forum was the first "Soviet Symposium" in a four part series. The second forum is titled "Collapse and Chaos . . . Toward Federated Freedom or Domestic Dictatorships?" It will take place October 7, at 7 p.m. in College Hall 200.
(10/03/91 9:00am)
The lawyer for groups opposed to the demolition of Smith Hall filed an appeal yesterday of a city ruling which allows the razing of the 99-year-old building. Alan Kaplan, an attorney with the Center City firm of Sugarman and Associates, said he filed the appeal of the September Licenses and Inspection Board decision with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Last month the board upheld a Philadelphia Historical Commission decision allowing the University to tear down Smith. In the case, the state Supreme Court ruled that the city's historic preservation law violates the state constitution. In an uncommon move, the court agreed last month to rehear part of the case. Kaplan said last month that the University would probably try to have his appeal dismissed immediately rather than go along with a delay of the appeal. He said the success of the appeal hinges on the possibility that the high court will modify or change its decision on the case. Smith Hall is at the center of a controversy between preservationists and the administration because it is the proposed site for the Institute of Advanced Science and Technology. Opponents of the planned institute argue that Smith Hall is a historic building and destruction of it will ruin that section of campus, which is currently filled with 19th century buildings. General Counsel Shelly Green said yesterday that she has not received a copy of the appeal yet. Green said she did not want to speculate on what action the University will take. This case will probably be more complicated than some others because the city is also involved, Green said. "I would not want to prejudge what our response would be," Green said. "I am not a great fan of delays as a general proposition."
(10/02/91 9:00am)
The University is waiting for legal documents which would state the terms of a short-term $90 million loan it and other non-profit institutions might advance the city, Treasurer Scott Lederman said yesterday. Lederman added the University has agreed only "to consider seriously" a plan to loan the city. The non-profit institutions are awaiting the documents to ensure there will be adequate funds to repay the loan on time, Lederman said. He added the city and the non-profit organizations have not reached an agreement over how much interest the non-profits would charge the city, only saying the University was considering an amount of money "bigger than a breadbox." Lederman also said the deadline for the city to close a deal with the non-profit institutions is by the end of next week. The University was approached a few weeks ago to participate in the $90 million loan that several non-profit organizations are offering the city, Senior Vice President Marna Whittington said Monday. The University still has not decided how much it will loan the city. The money is critical for the city to maintain an adequate cash flow until the city's oversight authority is willing to issue bonds on the city's behalf at much lower interest rates than the city itself could offer. City Council voted Saturday against giving PICA the ability to monitor contract negotiations -- a power required by the state legislation creating PICA. Lederman said he has been in touch with city representatives on a day-to-day basis but added he does not know when all of the non-profits will meet together with city officials. The officials and representatives of the non-profit organizations last met Friday. Lederman also said more non-profits have shown interest in loaning the city money over the past few days. Last November, the University and two other private corporations prepaid $10 million in wage taxes when the city faced insolvency -- an amount which covered the University's obligation through June.
(10/01/91 9:00am)
The first annual Latino Awareness Week at the University begins today on College Green with two speakers from the latino community. While only a few events are scheduled this week, organizers hope that a foundation can be set for future celebrations of the latino tradition. Latino Awareness Week is organized and sponsored by Sigma Lambda Upsilon -- Senoritas Latinas Unidas, a latino sorority with five members founded at the University in the spring of 1990. Today at noon, two leaders from the Philadelphia and University communities will speak on College Green. Sigma Lambda Upsilon member Patricia Di Carlo, the Executive Director of the Norristown Civic Association, will speak first, according to organizer Carmen Maldonado. Maldonado, a first-year graduate student, said Di Carlo will speak briefly about latinos in the U.S. and their political and civic rights. Following Di Carlo, College Advising Assistant Dean Olga Rubio will speak about the latino accomplishments and presence at the University on the undergraduate level. "She does a lot for her latino students, and students of all colors know her for the job she does at the University," Maldonado said. Also scheduled for this week is a speech by Angela Jorge, an associate professor of Hispanic Studies at the State University of New York at Old Westbury. The speech will begin tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the Houston Hall Smith Penniman room. Jorge will talk about Christopher Columbus, and the role his Spanish identity is playing in the current multiculturalism debate. "I am very excited about the speakers," Maldonado said. "The Columbus issue is one of very big revelance in the latino community today." Latino Awareness Week will end on Saturday night with a party inHouston Hall's Bodek Lounge from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. for the entire University community. Latino Awareness Week is being held this week to coincide with National Latino Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15.
(09/27/91 9:00am)
Charles O'Brien, vice chairman of the Psychiatry Department, is no stranger to the White House. As a leader in the field of substance abuse, he participated in President Nixon's "War on Drugs," served as an advisor to Gerald Ford's cabinet and has visited the White House to meet with President Bush. On September 12th, however, the tables turned, and Bush came to visit him. O'Brien described the president's visit as an "amazing experience." He said that Bush visited the Treatment Research Program "to show his support for demand-reduction," so that fewer people will want to try drugs in the first place. Although much of Bush's visit was out in the open, with reporters and cameras watching, he spent considerable time meeting privately with doctors and patients. The president visited a methadone clinic at the Treatment Research Center for a first-hand look at dispensing medication, urine testing and patient therapy. Bush then met privately with a patient who did not want to be seen in public -- especially with photographers around. "Bush showed a great deal of concern and asked good questions," O'Brien said. O'Brien and Clinical Psychiatry Professor George Woody then experienced the thrill of being invited to ride with Bush in his limousine to the main building of the VA Hospital. Once at the VA Hospital, Bush spoke at a public briefing, praising the faculty for their work. The briefing featured posters which presented research data on the Addiction Severity Index, which the VA/Penn center developed, as well as their findings regarding treatment with methadone and Naltrexone. According to O'Brien, the president seemed very much at ease as he passed by the University. "When we were in the limo, he talked about how he remembered when he was on the Yale baseball team and Yale would come to Philadelphia to play Penn," he said. O'Brien said he was impressed with Bush. "He comes across as being a very intelligent person who is genuinely concerned with the problems of substance abuse," O'Brien said. "He showed sensitivity in worrying about patients who were on medication for addiction." The Treatment Research Center features programs ranging from pre-clinical work with animals to actual treatment of patients. Currently, 25 research programs are comparing the effects of various medications in treatment of patients. "We're trying virtually every form of treatment which has a chance of success," O'Brien said. The Treatment Research Center measures the success of treatment on the basis of the Addiction Severity Index. The index considers medical, family and occupational dimensions to give doctors a better idea of the patient's progress. The index is used all over the world and has been translated into seven languages. O'Brien said that two thirds of the cocaine addicts at the center have shown improvement. "The recovery rate is better than I expected," he said. According to O'Brien, intravenous drug users are the fastest growing segment of people who are turning up HIV positive, as other at risk groups are changing their lifestyles. In the past 18 months, 36 percent of IV drug users not undergoing treatment tested HIV positive. However, the center's AIDS research has found that HIV is not increasing significantly for IV drug abusers who are in treatment. "We need more money for research and treatment," O'Brien said. Other work at the center involves testing Naltrexone, a narcotic antagonist which blocks opiate receptors. A study involving probationers convicted for drug activities compared the re-incarceration rate for those who received the drug with those who only received counseling. Researchers discovered that people given Naltrexone had half the re-incarceration rate of the control group. O'Brien also said researchers have also found that Naltrexone causes a significant improvement in the relapse rate for patients undergoing treatment for alcohol abuse. This new finding has been replicated at Yale University. However, according to O'Brien, "use of the relatively new drug requires more sophistication."
(09/26/91 9:00am)
I am sad. Sad I am. Dr. Seuss, the creator of . . . And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street and The Cat in the Hat died Tuesday night in California, leaving many students and professors at the University sad. "I grew up reading Dr. Seuss," Engineering junior Mina Surmeli said last night. "I've always loved him and I can't believe he's dead." "He's a piece of history that helped so many kids grow up and now he's dead," said Marylouise Geraghty, a Nursing sophomore. From the classic Green Eggs and Ham to the controversial The Lorax, Seuss's outrageous characters and kooky rhymes were what most students and some faculty members grew up with. During his 87 years, Theodor Seuss Geisel wrote and illustrated 47 books, which were sold in 18 different languages and which won a Pulitzer Prize for Children's Literature in 1984. "Dr. Seuss's appeal is strictly to children, because children see miracles around every corner," Senior English Lecturer Kristin Hunter Lattany said last night. "Dr. Seuss provided that for them. He was their Peter Pan." But Dr. Seuss books are more than just children's entertainment. Educators say the books are also used to teach children to read and to use their imaginations. "Children learn lots about books and how to read by listening to patterns," Education Professor Morton Botel said last night. "Dr. Seuss's ability to arrange words and put whimsical, funny storylines together delight children's senses." Botel also said Dr. Seuss was an innovator, attributing to him his own genre of writing: "whimsical poetry for children with wild imaginative characters." "Nobody else has written in that genre yet," Botel said. "When anyone else tries, it sounds artificial." While its creator may be dead, The Cat in the Hat and Bartholomew Cubbins are still alive, and students and faculty predict that generations to come will still be having green eggs and ham for breakfast. "Even though he's not alive, our kids and their kids after that will always read his books and love him just like we did," Surmeli said. And Botel said he thinks Dr. Seuss books will be around "300 years from now." But Dr. Seuss was more than just ridiculous rhyme and loopy cartoons. Some stories, like The Lorax with its ecological slant, also had messages for the children. Despite the controversy the book caused in logging towns, Dr. Seuss said The Lorax was his favorite book, the one he put his message into. "It was an icon for our group," Yost said. "It was a great, great book. At the end it gives a solution . . . Even though everything's destroyed, it can still grow back." Yost added that his group's newsletter is called The Lorax.
(09/25/91 9:00am)
Singing South American songs and partaking in ponotos chileanos, over 400 students and community members celebrated Chile's 181st anniversary Saturday night at the second annual Pena Chilena at the Christian Association. The Coro-cane band, the first of four groups to perform, played music from the Andean highlands of Peru, Bolivia and Chile using indigenous instruments such as pan pipes and wooden flutes. Corazon al Sur, an Argentinian and Colombian trio specializing in folk music and "nueva cancion" from throughout Latin America was the next musical group to play. Corazon used several Chilean instruments including the charango, a small five string instrument made from an armadillo shell, and the bombo, a large drum made from hollowed tree trunk. Javier Aguilar, a Mexican singer and guitarist who is also a Drexel University administrator, then played authentic Mexican music. And Banda Bacana, an American band that plays Afro-Brazilian dance music, was the last musical group to perform. Aguilar said that this year's Pena Chilena was better than last year's. "It is a challenge and a privilege to be a representative of my country," Aguilar said. "This is the second time we've done this event, and this year is a big improvement over last year. The musicians are more mature and of higher quality." One of the most popular performances of the night was the poetry reading by award-winning Chilean poet Carlos Trujillo. Trujillo, a third-year PhD candidate in Latin American literature, has published four collections of Chilean poetry about human rights abuses in Chile and the poor living conditions. "His poetry is very connected to the people's experience," said Vivian Schatz, Penn-Chile Committee chairperson. In addition, there was a variety of Chilean foods served at the event. On the menu were empanadas, ponotos chileanos -- a classic South American food composed of beans, corn, squash and tomatoes -- pastel de chocole -- a corn casserole -- and Chilean salads. Most of the students and community members at the festival said that they found the evening very exciting. "The music is very beautiful and relaxing," first-year graduate student Chris Seipel said. "The empanadas were delicious. They reminded me of my being in Argentina," said College freshman Priscilla Elliott. Some of the money raised from the event will go toward aid for poor neighborhoods in Chile while the rest will be sent to the families of political prisoners in Santiago and Valparasio, Schatz said.
(09/25/91 9:00am)
Even though math may not be everyone's favorite subject, fraternity and sorority members were able to make it fun for local elementary school students yesterday on College Green. As part of Greek Week, fraternity and sorority members played math games on campus with children from the New School, a private school on 42nd and Walnut streets. Math bingo, chip trading and geometric designs with rubber bands were just some of the interesting ways the students, who are in kindergarten through the sixth grade, approached learing math. "I wish we had games like this when we were growing up," said Wharton junior Meesh Joslyn, a Delta Delta Delta sorority sister. "The more creative ways of teaching are really neat." The school held a similar "Math-a-thon" last spring in the elementary schoolers' classrooms, but coming to the University added something extra for the children and the school. "It's a way for people to have exposure to what the school is, and for the kids to have exposure to this [college] atmosphere," said New School teacher Elizabeth Nardell. Nardell said that it is nice for the children to work with other adults, and the kids agreed. "We met friends, we don't have to be inside, and we get to play games," third-grader Elizabeth said. "If we would do this all day I would be thankful," added third-grader David. In addition to playing with the children, Greeks collected money from passers-by on Locust Walk for books and scholarships. Participants also solicited sponsorships to raise money. College senior Chrysten Cunningham, a Delta Delta Delta sister who organized the event, said they raised at least $200, but she will not know exactly how much until pledges are collected on Friday. Cunningham said University faculty and West Philadelphia families have children in the school, and money to help keep tuition down is helpfull. At least 200 children and 30 Greeks participated between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Students signed up to help out prior to the event, but Cunningham said they "got a lot of support from people just walking by that thought it looked like fun." Cunningham said Panhellenic Council sororities want to continue supporting the New School through the sororities. "This was kind of a kick-off for the whole year," she said."
(09/20/91 9:00am)
Lisa Niver could be the woman next to you. The 1989 College graduate attended a private high school in Los Angeles and came to the University because she wanted a taste of the East Coast. She majored in Women's Studies, but also finished the requirements to attend medical school. And, according to Niver, she was raped by her boyfriend. · Niver said she is telling her story because she no longer has nightmares and she no longer has flashbacks, but she still does not trust people completely. She spoke about her own assault without tears, but several times she sighed and gathered the strength to continue speaking. Niver said she wants other women to be able to recognize what happened to them and use the criminal justice system to prosecute their rapists. She waited almost four years to file a police report, so the chances of it ever going to court are very low. "My sense it that my case is going nowhere," Niver said this week. "It is sort of the case that wasn't." · After almost three years of therapy and support groups, she still occasionally sees the look on her boyfriend's face before he attacked her. "The thing that haunted me for the longest time was the look he had," Niver said. "I knew I was in deep shit." Niver said she still feels she has no control over her own life. While she said this feeling is not unique to rape survivors, she is more acutely aware of it. She compared the loss of control to the trauma of living through a bad earthquake. Niver said that when she was in the San Francisco Bay Area quake in October 1989, others around her were distraught because they realized that their lives can change at any moment. Niver said the quake didn't faze her as much because she had reached the same conclusion two years before -- after she was raped. "I hate to admit that I don't have control," Niver said, "But I don't. That sort of shatters reality." · It has been over four years since Niver's boyfriend allegedly raped her in his High Rise room. She was a sophomore. Her boyfriend was a junior whom she had been dating for five months. In retrospect, Niver said she realized he was regularly emotionally cruel to her, but at the time she thought he was perfect. "He was older, which at the time I thought was important, and he was cute and smart and Jewish," Niver said. "I thought he was really cool." Her parents had met the man several times and loved him, too, Niver said. "He fell into all the right catagories," she said. "Only in hindsight did I realize that he wasn't very nice to me. He hated my best friend. He hated anything that didn't center around him. He was very controlling." Niver said she had had sex with the man before the attack, but he had never physically or sexually abused her before. The night she said was assaulted, in March 1987, Niver and her boyfriend had gone out to dinner. Though community living was not yet available in the High Rises, Niver said her date had friends in all the rooms surrounding him. He locked both the outer door and his bedroom door as they walked into his apartment and turned on music in his room. Niver said she realized then that she could not get out of the situation. Her boyfriend then pulled her clothes off her and raped her, she said. Niver said she was scared and unable to respond to the attack. Though she said she did not verbally or physically resist him, she said she did not respond in an encouraging manner, either. She said her inability to respond to the attack stemmed largely from fear that he might hurt her if she tried to resist. He was also a strong man who worked out regularly and was close to 5 feet 10 inches tall, while she is only 5 feet 4 inches tall, Niver said. His strength scared her, she added. Afterwards she asked him what was wrong and asked him to explain what had happened. "He said I had excited him too much and he couldn't help himself," Niver said. "He said I had done something wrong." Acquaintance rape was much less publicized in 1987 than it is now, Niver said. She wasn't even sure what to call what was happening to her, but she said she knew it felt wrong. "He was this guy I was dating who was so wonderful and so perfect," Niver said. "There was only stranger rape. You don't get raped by someone you know." · Niver stayed with the man that night and continued dating him for over nine months because, she said, she didn't really realize what had happened. "I stayed with him because I was afraid if I walked home alone at night someone would attack me," Niver said. "That is bizarre in hindsight." Niver and her boyfriend broke up in the fall of her junior year when he tried to convince her not to travel to Israel for the semester. "He told me if I cared about him, I wouldn't go to Israel when he was graduating," Niver said. The fight convinced her that he was mean and manipulative, she said, and gave her the courage to end a relationship in which she was "very entangled." Niver said she can not guess how long they would have stayed together if he had not fought her on an issue which was so important to her. But she still did not call what had happened rape. · Niver began to write her senior thesis on how romance novels teach women to accept rape during her senior year. When she and her roommate read the books, she realized that her roommate considered scenarios rape which she did not. She also read I Never Called It Rape by Robin Warshaw and began to reconsider her definition of rape. She realized that what had happened to her almost two years ago fit. She reported the incident to Elena DiLapi at the Women's Center and joined the first support group for acquaintance rape survivors at the Center. Niver is adamant that she be called a "survivor" and not a "victim." She says she has lived through post-traumatic stress disorder, suffered flashbacks and contemplated suicide. "If I were I victim," Niver said, "I would be dead." The assault has profoundly affected her life in almost every respect. She told her family and friends about the incident and received a range of reactions. She told her parents and sister and gave them a copy of I Never Called It Rape to read. "To say they were unsupportive doesn't get the depth of what happened," Niver said. Her father, she said, read the book and "got a lot out of it," but she said she does not think either her sister or her mother finished it because they found it "too disturbing." While she was recovering she had continuing flashbacks about both the man who raped her and the man she was dating then. "I couldn't tell who was bad and who wasn't," Niver said. · Niver is now living in the San Francisco area and teaching at a preschool -- a career she plans to continue. But she said she is concerned about her attacker raping again. The last she heard, he was attending medical school at Georgetown University.
(09/12/91 9:00am)
It had all the signs of years past. Students packed into the main room of a Locust Walk house with Greek letters on its facade and chatted loudly while enjoying refreshments and trying to make a good first impression. But there was one major difference. The event gave students a chance to learn about over 20 community service organizations at the University and provided some groups with their main recruiting drive for new members. PVN Chairperson Lanelle Polen said that the turnout was better than in past years and attributed that to increased publicity and to the location -- a 100-year-old house on the edge of College Green. She said PVN, which is an umbrella organization for student community service groups, had heavily publicized the event to member groups and to the public in hopes of attracting a large group of students. In the past, the open house has been held in Houston Hall or at other locations, Polen said. "We thought the opening of the Castle would provide a focal point," Polen said. Although Polen admitted interest in the Castle was probably responsible for part of the attendance, she said most of the students seemed to be picking up information and asking questions. "I don't see that many people who are just curiosity seekers," she said. Most representatives from community service groups said the presence of the Community Service Living-Learning Program in the Castle will make an important difference in the attention paid to community service on campus. College senior Rich Schragger, who was representing PENNpals, said the location brought visibility to community service groups on campus. He said that the open house provides the group -- which provides youth companionship for local children -- with some recruits, but added that most of the 140 members hear about it through word of mouth. All the students said that publicity for their organization was the main incentive for participating in the open house. College junior Audrey Smolkin, a member of Students Together Against Acquaintance Rape, said her organization chose to participate because it provided an chance to educate more people about the issue. Smolkin also took the opportunity to distribute applications for STAAR peer educator positions. College junior Pam Urueta from Alternate Spring Break passed out colorful flyers about the introductory meeting and spoke to students about having a spring break with "a community service sort of tone."
(09/06/91 9:00am)
A mailing mix-up has delayed progress on veterinary oncologist Ann Jeglum's year-and-a-half old tenure grievance against the University. According to University policy, Jeglum should have received a response from the provost's office to her complaints in mid-August. But she said this week the response has not come, even though the provost's office maintains it sent it a month ago. "The provost has written her and offered her something and she has not yet replied," Deputy Provost Richard Clelland said Tuesday. Clelland has just returned from vacation and said the response was sent "a month ago." But Jeglum said Tuesday that she has received any notification. "If they are communicating by lawyers, it hasn't happened there either," Jeglum added, saying she met with her lawyer Monday. Jeglum left her office in the Clinical Studies division of the University Veterinary Hospital last February. She now works in a West Chester veterinary clinic and lab. She was denied tenure in 1987 and 1989 and filed her grievance shortly after. Neither Jeglum or Clelland will specify the grounds for her grievance. The faculty grievance committee heard the case last year and forwarded its confidential recommendations to Provost Michael Aiken. Aiken reviewed these recommendations and made his own ruling, which is outlined in the letter sent to Jeglum. Clelland would not describe the provost's ruling. Aiken said he became aware of the communications mix-up yesterday. He declined to discuss his response.
(07/03/91 9:00am)
The Scott Paper Company, famed for its napkins and paper towels, has awarded University public service programs a half million dollars to help clean up the urgent problems of the inner city. The program, now in its eighth year, allows students at the University to work with West Philadelphians to find and implement solutions to urban problems. Scott chose the University as a result of its successful recruiting efforts here, and its committment to the communities in which it operates, according to Doug Bauer, Scott's manager of corporate contributions. "Our communities have to succeed with us," he said. "We look at children as the thing to focus on, and programs with children who are in need." The grant will fund the summer salaries of the 10 to 15 interns who participate in the program each year, according to University spokesperson Carl Maugeri. The participants research community issues and work with community leaders to solve urban problems. The program was created eight years ago by History professor Ira Harkavy, as a part of the West Philadelphia Improvement Corps. WEPIC works with Turner Middle School in West Philadephia as an experiment in public-private cooperation, Magueri said, attempting to turn public schools into community centers. "There are many efforts on the part of Penn to reach out to the community, but in this case the undergraduates use their skills to effect change," said Maugeri. "The critical difference is that this form of public service also helps in the learning process." Ira Harkavy, the program's director, said he is pleased by both the results of the program and Scott Paper's decision to endow the project. "The students do work and help urban Philadelphia," Harkavy said. "This benefits the University as well as society. There will now be a long term continuous contribution to the community." He said he expects the the program to be a model for future cooperative efforts. "This is the kind of activity Penn and other universities will be developing because it puts minds to work," he said. University administrators also said they are pleased with the progress of the program. "This generous grant from Scott will help us to make a permanent link between academically based community service and research and teaching at Penn," President Sheldon Hackney said in a statement. Joe Gaeta, a College senior who this year is spending his second summer in the program, said while challenging, the program is worthwhile for all those involved. "The program is intense," Gaeta said. "The students participate in active roles in the community and also participate in research oriented to the project." Gaeta added that Scott's donation confirms the importance of the project. "In Scott Paper endowing the project, they have recognized its importance, and now it will live on forever, a model for future relationships between communities and universities."
(06/27/91 9:00am)
The Egyptian Sphinx, magnificently posing in the desert sun; the battleship USS Constitution, surging against monumental waves in an ocean tempest; a court jester, silently pouring himself a glass of liquor before his performance. None of these three diverse 19th century paintings are classics. Nor were they created by renowned masters of art, nor do they reflect brilliant innovations in art history or even a common aesthetic theme. But each of these paintings is worth a thousand words. Each follows in the tradition of narrative art -- depicting a single event which inspires viewers to imagine an entire story. "[The enhibit is] thematic, not the best or the most innovative," said Susan Danly, the show's curator. This rarely-examined theme of narrative art is featured in Telling Tales: 19th-Century Narrative Storytelling, which will be showing at the Academy museum, located at Broad and Cherry Streets in Center City through April 19. Danly, emphasizes that the exhibit portrays the popular works of art that the general public would admire during the 19th century; these are the paintings which would travel thorughout the American countryside, accessible to all, from poor farmers to the wealthy art collectors. Often reproduced in other mediums, including books and on fabric, these paintings tell the stories that American people wanted to see. Danly, who designed the show, says the exhibit, which was selected from the Academy museum's extensive collection, examines how narrative paintings reflect and shape the popular cultural views and values of those who originally viewed the art -- the American everyman. · The Academy, the oldest art museum in America, is pefectly suited for an exhibition on narrative art. Having first opened its doors in 1805, it gave special emphasis to narrative painting throughout the 19th century. The museum's original mission was to educate both art students and the general public alike, and it therefore collected narrative paintings as teaching tools. Telling Tales is geared towards educating today's students as well, Danly says. The paintings' labels provide particularly detailed information on the artist and the work's historical background -- the work's stories could fit into an American history student's curriculum. Centering around American artists and painters who spent their careers in the US, the 50-work exhibit focuses on three categories of tales which the paintings depict: traditional stories from the Bible, classical myths and European history, stories documenting American history and everyday life, and fictional stories created from the artist's imagination. These paintings served as a backdrop while the American people were building the set supporting their eventual emergence as a world power. And the cultural traits reflected in this exhibit persist in modern American society as well, according to Danly. · Some of the characteristics which the paintings reflect about American society are brutally accurate. Telling Tales shows that Americans have perpetuated myths and deceived themselves about their past for centuries. Edward Savage's work from 1800, "Penn's Treaty with the Indians", shows a group of Quaker statesmen making a civilized pact with local Indians and exchanging cloth while churches are being built in the background. The flaw with this idyllic scene, says Danly, is that William Penn never made a legal treaty with the Native Americans; the event never occurred. Danly sees the reason behind the gross historical inaccuracies of the narrative paintings as a reflection of a trait in American culture to perpetuate myths which suit the ideals of the times. In "Penn's Treaty," the American habit of romanticizing and sanitizing the cruelty of the nation's past in order to rationalize current immoral actions -- in this case the land-grabbing justification of Manifest Destiny -- is dramatically brought to life. But the purpose of the Academy's show is not meant solely to drive home America's flaws, and not all the insights into the nation's culture which Telling Tales shows are so ignoble. William Sidney Mount's 1938 narrative painting "The Painter's Triumph" portrays an artist illuminating a simple fisherman through his artwork. The painting implies an accompanying story, says Danly, which the viewer is meant to create in his mind. "The Painter's Triumph" reflects a common American cultural theme, that art appreciation can bestow sophistication and bring educational development. A few of the paintings featured are interesting solely because they create a beautiful and imaginative tale, and not for such complex sociological and cultural reasons. Thomas Buchanan Reed's 1868 work "The Flight of the Arrow" shows a glowing, sensual rendition of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. The narrrative painting alludes to a classic tale of how her son Eros fires his arrows of love. But whether you gain a greater understanding of American society or simply thrive off the paintings in Telling Tales as inspiring illustrations, these works of art are certainly worth a thousand words. Maybe even more.
(06/27/91 9:00am)
The University's five-year, $1 billion capital campaign, which hits its halfway point in September, is already 64 percent complete, according to Vice President for Development Rick Nahm. When administrators realized that the campaign's original $800 million goal was easily attainable early on, they increased it to one billion dollars, but donors have still surpassed expectations. "It looks like we are close to six months ahead of schedule," Nahm said. But Nahm warned that he expects a slowing period in the next month, as gift drives often start fast, with interested donors giving early. Fundraising tactics therefore must, he said, target individual donors, to show why their gifts are important to the University. "The strategies are continual," Nahm said. "We are seeing as many people as possible and helping them to become excited about Penn." Carole Karsch, director of leadership gifts agreed, saying the University is now targeting smaller donations. "We are extending our outreach to some of the lower rated but very important donors," she said. Nahm said the nation's current recession has not clamped down significantly on gift totals. The economic downturn, while having an effect on fundraising, has not hindered it significantly. "The recession probably made [the fundraising] tougher," he said. Despite the success in fundraising, Nahm and Karsch stressed the importance of not becoming confident before the goal has been reached. With this comes a continuing search for both new donors and second gifts from original donors. "The key strategy is not to get complacent and discouraged," Nahm said. Administrators said that specific projects, such as the proposed Revlon Campus Center & and the Institute for Advanced Science and Technology are of ten particularly attractive to potential donors. While the campaign is not even half over, administrators said preparations are already being made for future fundraising efforts. The Medical Center will be one target, Nahm said, of future efforts. "The Medical Center will be one of our top priorities [for fundraising campaigning]," Nahm said. Individual campaign goals, such as endowed faculty chairs and financial aid are exceeding expectations as well, according to John Gould, executive director in the Office of the President. "Many [fundraisers] reach their dollar goal, but not [individual goals]," Gould said. "It's really going superbly, beyond our expectations."
(06/20/91 9:00am)
In last month's decision, the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the University's right to punish the fraternity, and said the punishment that was given was fair. Last year, the Psi U fraternity was found by the University's Judicial Inquiry Officer to bear collective responsibility for the kidnapping of a member of another fraternity. The University imposed one of its strictest sanctions, kicking the fraternity out of its center campus chapter house (known as the "Castle") and revoking its recognition indefinitely. "They did file a petition for an allowance of appeal with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania," said Frank Roth, the University's associate general counsel. "They had an appeal of right to the Superior Court -- this time they have to ask permission." If the appeal is granted, he explained, the University would have to look forward to a whole new round of court proceedings. "There would be a [new] briefing schedule and then you're talking months, a long time," he said. For the Court to accept the petition, Roth said the fraternity will have to raise a "particularly important issue, or a novel issue for litigation, [for which] no case law has been established." According to the fraternity's petition, the Supreme Court "has never addressed the issue regarding the standard for a fair disciplinary hearing at a university?[and] has never determined whether the concept of punishment pursuant to a theory of 'collective responsibility' is constitutional." The petition, submitted by Psi U attorney John Ledwith, also claims that "the Superior Court erred by drawing numerous conclusions of fact which were unsupported by the record and the trial court opinion." Roth said plans for the community service living-learning project planned for the "Castle" next year, will proceed, unless the fraternity asks the court to postpone the plan. Psi U made such a request during its appeal to the Superior court, but judges denied the motion. Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson, who is named in the suit filed by Psi U against the University, said that renovations and programs planned for the fall are underway. "I think the existing order stands," she said yesterday. "I believe the lower court and the Superior Court have upheld the University's right to proceed."
(06/13/91 9:00am)
The new budget would reduce the cuts in the University's state appropriation levels proposed by Governor Robert Casey earlier this year from an $18.6 million reduction to apporoximately a $5 million cut. The House proposal returns all Veterinary School funding removed in the governor's budget, and reinstates much of the money cut from the University's instructional, medical and dental funding lines. Administrators universally expressed pleasure and relief over the proposal this week, but were quick to stress they are not taking the proposal for granted and are continuing efforts to increase the University's state appropriation. The new plan is far from set in stone. The proposal sent on by the Democrat controlled House has already met some resistance in the Republican controlled Senate, since the House plan did not include a tax proposal to fund the budget. Even officials familiar with state government are refusing to estimate when the budget process will be finalized, or even if it will be completed by the mandated June 30 deadline. "In order for all this to happen they need not only a budget, but a tax plan to fund it," Senior Vice President Marna Whittington said Tuesday. "So I think we have a long way to go." Earlier this year, administrators developed a comprehensive plan to deal with the governor's proposed $18.6 million cuts, which included reducing faculty and staff by 300 positions, freezing all capital projects and asking Trustees for a $6 million deficit. Yet, although it now seems likely the University will not have to take the drastic measures planned in the event of an $18.6 million shortfall, those measures have not been revised or updated to reflect the new proposal. "We will be going through all this a hundred times if we do that," Provost Michael Aiken said Tuesday. He did nonetheless indicate that restoring academic programs potentially frozen under the emergency plan is a high priority. Both Aiken and Whittington said the University's top priority would be to use additional appropriations to avoid the $6.7 million deficit the executive committee of the Trustees approved for the coming fiscal year. Veterinary School Dean Edwin Andrews expressed some relief over the proposed reinstatement of the school's appropriations, but indicated that his feelings were still somewhat mixed. Andrews said the new proposal offers the same appropriation as last year, without any increases to compensate for inflation. He added that even with the restoration of the funds, other fiscal pressures, including inflation, have Vet School administrators looking for ways to cover an expected $2 million shortfall next year. "It's not like we're fat cats," Andrews said Tuesday. "We're very lean, in fact." Andrews said that he and the constituents of the Vet School will continue to lobby Harrisburg as they have in the past. "Until it's a done deal you're always at risk in this game," Andrews said. "I don't think we're taking anything for granted at all."
(05/30/91 9:00am)
The money, which will be given if the state legislature approves the departments proposed budget, would be used for two research projects. "Pharmacokinetics of extra-label drugs in food animals," one of the projects, is to reveive $69,413 in state funding. The second project, called "withdrawel time for extra-label use of gentamicin in dairy cattle" will receive $83,480 in state money. State agriculutre secretary Boyd E. Wolf said that the universities and the research which they perform have been and will continue to be important to the state's farm business. "Research is crucial to agriculture, and our commitment to it will help farmers meet tomorrow's challenges to Pennsylvania's leading industry," he said in a statement. "Our universities have helped farmers protect consumers, animals, investments and the environment while increasing production."
(04/24/91 9:00am)
A Veterinary School researcher is waiting for the ruling of the Faculty Senate's Grievance Commission in a tenure complaint she filed last year against the University, professors involved in the case said this week. Ann Jeglum, a researcher who was once chief of Oncology in the Vet School, has recently finished the hearings stage of her tenure grievance process and is awaiting a final decision from the panel overseeing her case. Jeglum's first tenure bid was rejected during the summer of 1989. Jeglum did not leave the University until February 15, however, and is now working in a West Chester veterinary clinic. Citing confidentiality restrictions, she has repeatedly declined to comment under the advice of legal counsel. Associate Orthopedics Professor Gail Smith yesterday confirmed that Jeglum's grievance is one of two investigated by the commission over the past year, and said he was called to testify in hearings for the case. Citing confidentiality restrictions, Smith declined to comment on his testimony in the case or reveal whether he testified on behalf of the Vet School or Jeglum. Grievance Commission Chairperson Kenneth George announced at the Faculty Senate's annual plenary session last week that the commission finished hearings in a case two weeks ago. The hearings began last April. The case is one of only two cases under consideration by the commission this year. History Department professors said this week the other, accepted by the commission just three weeks ago, is that of Assistant History Professor Hilton Root. George said he expects a decision soon because faculty on the grievance panels generally do not like extending their work over the summer. While at the University, Jeglum spent more than five years -- funded by the American Kennel Club -- researching new treatments for certain forms of canine cancer, as well as treating animals in the Veterinary School's Small Animal Hospital. Veterinary School Dean Edwin Andrews could not be reached for comment on the grievance yesterday. Calls to his office were referred to Veterinary School spokesperson Helma Weeks, who said she was unaware of the grievance but would look into the case.
(04/19/91 9:00am)
Peter Wyeth, managing director of development for the Philadelphia Orchestra, discussed the Orchestra's plans for a new concert hall before a small group of students Monday night. Wyeth said the Orchestra wants to build a new concert hall on Broad Street, approximately one block south of the Academy of Music, which it would continue to operate. The new building, he said, would include the concert hall, which will seat 2800, a 600 seat recital hall and a 500 car garage. "There's 60 to 70 groups we turn away each year and Philadelphia loses," Wyeth said. He added that other groups do not even attempt to visit Philadelphia. The new hall would allow these groups to perform in the city. The new hall will be "acoustically perfect" for an orchestra, Wyeth said. The Academy of Music has "good acoustics as an opera house for the sung voice," but not for symphonic music, he added. Wyeth showed a brief video pointing out that the new hall will create 1500 permanent new jobs. "This project is a pretty substantial one, we're trying to raise $85 million," Rubicom said. The new concert hall will cost $110 million. The remaining $25 million will come from a surcharge on tickets to all performances and revenue from the garage. Rubicom said that $24 million has already been raised. Richard Wernick, a professor of composition at the University, also spoke to the audience about his role as special consultant to the Orchestra's music director. Wernick aids Riccardo Muti in choosing modern American pieces for the orchestra to perform. "It's just what Philadelphia needs," said College sophomore Marianne Alves after the presentation. "It was great," Wyeth said. "the students seemed interested. We could do it again with the faculty." Many members of the faculty are orchestra subscribers. The program, which College senior Alan Stern organized, was sponsored by the presidents office, the Music Department, and Spruce Street House.
