Hackney addresses grad students

President Sheldon Hackney warned incoming graduate students to look past society's dim view of universities and emphasized the improvements of higher education during a welcome assembly yesterday. Hackney told the 400 graduate students who attended the convocation that universities have suffered a "decade of political and ideological bashing," but welcomed the students by saying that the University is an exciting place to be right now. "I hope that I have not depressed you," he said. "On the contrary . . . I want to welcome you to Penn very enthusiastically. I can't think of a more stimulating time to be on a college campus than now." Only the second graduate convocation in the University's history, the Welcome Assembly for Graduate and Professional Students included a reception and information fair for the 3300 incoming students. Besides Hackney, several other administrators addressed the new students, urging them to take advantage of the University's widespread opportunities and go beyond their chosen disciplines. In his speech, Hackney gave several examples of how higher education has suffered in recent years. He pointed to former Secretary of Education William Bennett's calling colleges "elitist," the numerous scandals in intercollegiate athletics and, more recently, Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey's decision to eliminate state funding for the University. Hackney added that higher education is facing a number of crises, including a lack of resources and confidence. But Hackney said that despite the hardships, higher education has improved over the last decade, with better teachers and a more diverse student body. "[But] the danger is that all this success is threatened," Hackney said. "Our crisis of confidence and resources . . . are symptomatic of a larger social crisis already upon us. The sense that America has lost its way." Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Chairperson Allen Orsi and School of Social Work doctoral candidate Marina Barnett, organizers of the reception and information fair, said afterwards they were pleased with the event. Orsi, a doctoral candidate in the School of Nursing, said the fair was held to give graduate students a sense that there is a lot more to graduate studies than just studying. The fair attracted several University organizations, such as the Residential Living Department, the Penn Women's Center and Van Pelt Library. First year Fine Arts graduate student Rebecca Klapper was glad she attended, but said she was not inspired by Hackney's speech. "I felt that at an occasion that should have been celebratory. He was kind of negative," Klapper said.

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