Van Pelt, Modern Languages resolve issues

Van Pelt and Modern Languages house councils have come to terms on several differences. Despite the initial controversy surrounding the combination of the Modern Languages and Van Pelt college houses next fall, members of the two house councils have reached several recent compromises, including the selection of a new name, designed to ease the transition into the new residential program. To avoid favoring one program over the other, the combined house will be known as Gregory House after Emily Lovira Gregory -- Penn's first female faculty member and one of the original supporters of graduate student fellowships, according to Residential Faculty Chairperson and Van Pelt Faculty Master Al Filreis. The combined college house was originally slated to be called Van Pelt, a move which offended MLCH students who feared that several aspects of the new system would allow Van Pelt to dominate MLCH. The house councils decided that any combination of the two names as would be too awkward, and preferred a new name, said Filreis, who is also an English professor. And the University's development office suggested a name that was both historical and "not so prominent" so that it can be changed when a donor is located to sponsor the house, he added. A similar technique was employed when the new college house plan was released six weeks ago, as High Rise North was temporarily renamed as Hamilton House. The house councils also agreed to maintain separate budgets for the two programs and to allow each program to select its own staff. The only concern not addressed in the compromise was the possibility of non-MLCH students living in the its building. The original reasoning behind the proposal to combine the two programs was the possibility of filling up MLCH --Ewhich has suffered from low student participation in the past few years --Ewith students from Van Pelt. This would allow the program to shrink without being eliminated due to University concerns about the loss of rent, Filreis said. He added that since MLCH students are putting considerable effort into attracting residents for next year, he does not expect occupancy to be a problem. MLCH Faculty Master Peter Steiner, who will continue to direct the program next year while Filreis takes over as Gregory House faculty master, said relations between the two houses have been greatly improved by these compromises. "We would rather have had our own college house," said Wharton senior Julia Kung, a member of the MLCH house council. "I think for the past few weeks a lot of students have had concerns and a few expressed negative feelings but [faculty working on the residential plans] have really tried very hard to calm us." But Steiner added that some students are still suspicious that the compromises will not be adhered to in the future. To combat this possibility, students want these agreements in writing, he said, and have drawn up a MLCH constitution which they would like to have signed by administrators. Confusion in the Provost's office in the wake of Provost Stanley Chodorow's announced resignation has prevented students from sending the constitution out for approval as of yet, Steiner added. Filreis said he is pleased with the results of the house councils' discussion, adding that they show the new system's flexibility and ability to be driven by student needs. "We are not talking about top-down decisions here," Filreis. "We are talking about members of both houses getting together and working things out."

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