Staff Editorial: Silence not acceptable

Engineering School employees are scared.

In the Towne Building, they're scared because several of their colleagues are reportedly taking antibiotic drugs to stave off the effects of anthrax -- a recommendation from the FBI after a pair of suspicious letters were received by an influential computer science professor.

They're scared because that professor, David Farber, allegedly received specific warnings that dangerous mail may soon be arriving; they're scared because officials did little to screen the applicable facilities when that news arrived.

They're scared because the University is handing out rubber gloves for mail-reading, but not explaining how likely an anthrax exposure really is here on campus and in their workplace. Most of all, they're scared because they just don't know what's going on. And they're angry, because Penn isn't helping them draw any answers.

This week's events in the Engineering School are chilling not just for them, though, but for the entire University. They open up the remote possibility that the kind of terror experienced in a select few newsrooms and government offices may be now reaching into our midst.

That's an altogether frightening reality for anyone, let alone faculty and staff members accustomed to the relative shelter of the academic world. But it's made even worse with Penn refusing to publicly address the issues that are arousing such fears and uncertainties.

Perhaps the University is attempting to allay unfounded panic. Perhaps administrators want to keep the issue quiet until concrete results can be determined. Both are understandable reactions to a series of events that may threaten the confidence of employees and students in the safety of the University.

But neither is an acceptable excuse, as long as Penn could be helping its staff understand the possible dangers around them. By remaining quiet, the University has fueled an atmosphere of fear and uncertainly, and it must immediately confront these fears with the whole story -- even if that story includes the occasional "We don't know."

Under these stressful circumstances, "No comment" isn't acceptable. The employees and students of Penn demand it. And the University owes at least that much to the people who make this place run.

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