Apathy to blame
To the Editor:
The comparison of Ivy League college house systems ("Building up an Ivy League institution?," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 12/4/01) was one-sided and short-sighted. It suggests that the college house system is failing to create community, while in fact, the student body is responsible.
Much was made in the article of dormitories having dining halls. Do not forget that Harrison College House converted its Rathskellar into a dining hall for the 1998-99 school year. The facility closed the next year due to lack of student interest.
As a GA in Harrison House, and a resident here for four years, I am offended by the contention that our house and staff make no effort to foster a family-like atmosphere. Nothing could be further from the truth. We hold a wide variety of events on nearly every day of the week, and we hold them whether two people show up or 200 people show up.
If anything is to blame for this so-called failure of the college house system, it is the pervasive apathy of the student body. The Penn community is not interested in being a community, and no dining hall or even an exceptional staff, is going to change that.
Ellen King
Fels '02
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