Students perplexed after group bars blacks from campus event

Students, administrators and supporters of the Penn Women's Center expressed concern yesterday with events that led up to accusations of racism against the group Tuesday night. That evening, Engineering junior Janali Davis and Facilities Planning manager Bah-Bai Makenta were not allowed to attend a White Women Against Racism support group meeting sponsored by the Center because they are black. The group had advertised the event publically in The Daily Pennsylvanian's Campus Events section on Monday. Penn Women's Center Director Elena DiLapi said Tuesday that the meeting was in fact not open to the public, and that the advertisement was not intentional -- since the meeting was for a support group that had already formed and was not accepting new members. Associate Vice Provost for Student Life Larry Moneta said last night that the affair was probably just a "misunderstanding" but that he had heard no official word from the Center. Moneta added that the Women's Center has maintained a good reputation on campus for fighting racism. According to Residential Advisor and College senior Scott Gallin, the RA Handbook given to all RAs lists White Women Against Racism as a support group for white women only. Gallin himself attempted to join the group last year, but DiLapi refused to allow him to participate. Many students who heard about the event yesterday were surprised and confused that the two African Americans were turned away. "There were a lot of students in support of [Davis]," said Black Student League President Robyn Kent, a College senior. Kent said she learned yesterday that the affair was more of a misunderstanding. "It was a support group," she said. "It also appeared in Campus Events -- it probably added to the confusion." "To me it doesn't seem to make sense," said BiCultural InterGreek Council President Trista Bridges, after hearing of the event. But for those familiar with the Women's Center, the sequence of events is not abnormal -- except for the Campus Events ad. "The way their groups run is basically they have people sign up in the beginning of the year and that core group sort of takes hold of the group and defines the group's focus," said graduate student Debra Pickett, a former member of the Women's Alliance -- another group sponsored by the Center. College junior Mike Nadel said last night that whether the reasons for denial were based on race or misunderstanding, DiLapi's judgement may be in question after the event. Nadel, a Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, spoke out against the Women's Center's move to the former Theta Xi fraternity house on Locust Walk at a University Council meeting last year. Other students and administrators were not sure what effects the event may have. "There was a range of reactions," said Ilene Rosenstein, director of the University Counseling Service. Former Penn Political Union President and College senior Peter Spier, who co-sponsored a poll on the Center's move to Locust Walk last year, said that while the event is ironic, he could not predict what effect it would have on campus perception of the Center.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.