To the Editor: I am not embarrassed by the way our country is handling the close presidential election, in a relative sense at least. It may be ironically typical of our country that the situation has resulted in a legal battle. But compare this with the recent opposition in Egypt to the results of their election. There were several murders there as a result of displeasure with the results. The worst we have here is at most a few months of waiting and a lot of arguing and debating.
Howard Vegter Engineering '04
Keep the Biopond pristine
To the Editor: I read with interest David Balamuth's letter about the proposed construction of a new life sciences building in the Biopond garden ("Protecting the Biopond," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 11/9/00). I appreciate the professed commitment of Professor Balamuth and the committee responsible for the building to preserve the garden, but I am also aware of the garden's history. Over its 100-year existence, it has been continually shrinking. It used to extend all the way to the Woodlands Cemetary, and I myself remember it before the Goddard Building was built on a good chunk of it, further hemming the garden in. If this continues, the garden will cease to be an oasis and become just another bit of landscaping, if it doesn't disappear altogether. The garden was originally used to grow medicinal plants for the Medical School. It is still used today to secure good health for the Penn community. People like me come to take breaks during their workday, to de-stress in a gentle, natural environment. Stress is a major contributing factor in disease, and many health professionals recommend nature breaks for good health. In addition, I as well as others find this an excellent place to think and reflect. It should be a University priority to provide places for thinking, without which research is useless if not harmful. Not only would the proposed building remove yet another edge of the garden, but during the years of construction, the quiet outdoor lunches and strolls many Penn people look forward to would be effectively eliminated. Long ago, planners in New York City realized the importance of nature and created Central Park -- acres of "undeveloped land" in the heart of urban America. Even though the dollar value of the park's land is astronomical, the park remains, to the benefit of all New York. Penn should follow this example and declare the Biopond garden to be a "building-free zone."Christine Szczepanowski Staff, Department of Sociology
TA work not about money
To the Editor: Ronald Kim ("Ruling gives TAs due recognition," DP, 10/9/00) complains that having worked approximately 35 hours per week as a teaching assistant, he worked a total of approximately 600 hours over the course of a semster and was paid only $6,000 -- which comes out to $10 an hour. This is, he concedes, well above minimum wage but "doesn't include the benefits that most university employees receive." I would like to remind him that while he was a TA, the University also paid his tuition. Right now tuition is more than $10,000 per semester, and including that amount in his salary he was paid more than $16,000. That comes out to more than $16 an hour. This is not to deny that some TAs are overworked. I am a member of the Graduate Student Association Council and we have worked with the University administration over the past two years to address this concern. We welcome input and participation from graduate students as we continue to do so. More importantly, Mr. Kim writes that, "Last week's ruling acknowledges that graduate students are worthwhile members of society whose existence serves a real purpose." It may be that our society undervalues (and hence underpays) people who work in the humanites and in education, but most of us choose to do so because we feel that it is intrinsically worthwhile. Ron Kim doesn't seem to think so, and I don't see how an NRLB ruling helps value what we do.Marc Cohen Philosophy graduate student '04
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