TV crew, students, profs bamboozled

Logan Hall room 17 was the place to be at 7 p.m. last night, even though no one found what they expected when they arrived. Several students and faculty members were invited to the lecture hall for a talk on mathematics and corporate life. About 20 students and professors -- and a KYW-TV news crew -- showed up for a rally and forum on Israel's future which was thought to be held there. And one Math professor says a Math 141 review session was scheduled for the room. But none of these things happened. And the ensuing discussions of an apparent joke with no known punchline caused several people to wonder who's behind one of the most puzzling hoaxes in recent University's history. "It's a curious hoax or prank," said Mathematics Professor Peter Freyd, who was invited to introduce a speaker who did not appear. "I don't see poetry in it -- it seems random." Several people said yesterday they received phone calls inviting them to events at Logan Hall 17 last night from people identifying themselves as professors. Those professors deny ever inviting anyone to any speech last night. KYW-TV set a news crew to Logan Hall after receiving two phone calls from a man saying he was Mathematics Professor David Shale. The man told them there would be a "300-person rally" outside Logan Hall. Shale denied last night ever calling KYW. Jaffe was unavailable for comment, but other professors who say they have spoken to him say Jaffe himself did not call the newspaper. Someone also circulated fliers advertising two separate mathematics forums featuring Harvard Mathematics Professor Robert Barrow. Those fliers, Mathematics Professor Freyd said, did not identify a sponsoring group. Open Expression Committee Chairperson Robert Davies said last night at Logan Hall the fliers did not comply with University regulations because they did not identify the sponsoring group of the event. And Freyd said he checked to see what was scheduled for the room, discovering students holding a Math 141 review session reserved the room. Flonnia Freeman, who schedules the University's facilities, was not available for comment last night. The result has been countless versions of the planned events for last night and no clear indication as to who masterminded the hoaxes. Graduate and Professional Students Assembly Chairperson Michael Goldstein said yesterday this was not the first hoax centered around Jaffe. A student in Jaffe's Finance 102 class says someone identifying himself as Jaffe told students they had to meet with Associate Finance Professor James Ghandi about the diversity of their project groups last Thursday instead of attending class. Students were told to meet in Vance Hall B-3, although Jaffe lectured the entire time to half the class, Wharton senior Katie Blanchette said last night. Because of the confusion over the activities planned for Logan Hall, Deputy Vice Provost George Koval sent two open expression monitors to the event. Open Expression Chair Davies said he thought the hoax was not funny. He speculated that the same people who convinced several hundred freshman Convocation would be held an hour late may have been behind last night's events. "It's unfriendly, uncollegial behavior," Davies said. "Some people think hoaxes are great fun, but they're not, really." Finance Department Chairperson Richard Kilhstrom said that after receiving an invitation to Barrow's speech from someone identifying himself as a Mathematics professor, he called Harvard to see if Barrow was coming to the University. He discovered Barrow had no plans of coming. Shale said he was not "terribly disappointed" someone masquerading as him was calling TV stations. Shale said he first heard about the questionable events from Freyd. Davies also questioned the manner in which the story appeared in yesterday's DP, questioning whether or not anyone could submit information to the paper without it being verified. DP staff writer Roxanne Patel, who wrote a brief about the forum, said she received a call from a man saying he was Associate Professor Jaffe at approximately 10:15 p.m. The man, Patel said, was not comfortable with his name being used the paper. Patel added that she does not remember whether or not he gave her a name before she asked for it. The DP has a policy of confirming all stories with at least two sources, but the daily "In Brief" section, which usually contains short articles on talks and events, is excepted from the policy. Staff reporter Consuelo Santiago contributed to this story.

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